Apocalyptic Princess

Chapter 4

     Punching lost its appeal when the large man's back started to ache. He snatched Rick off the floor, standing him on his feet. They made eye contact before Rick was shoved backward into the wall. The force bounced Rick off the wall, and the large man kicked him in the chest. A large force to the chest brought Rick off of his feet. Back on the ground, Rick's lungs emptied out, leaving him gasping. Taking a hold of Rick's ankles, the large man tossed Rick through the air, and he crashed into the dining room table. Rick's lungs were able to catch small amounts of oxygen, and he took advantage of the only weapon he had control of, his tongue.

      "Someone," he said in between gasps, "hired me. I was sent here...Don't you want to know who?"

      The large man stopped charging when his curiosity was stimulated. "Who?"

      Rick couched as he got to his knees. Instead of saying another word, Rick snatched his gun from his waistband and fired off a shot into the large man's leg. The bullet caused the large man to lose balance and he fell down to one knee. Rick used a chair to help him get up to his feet.

      "A gun," the large man yelled out. "A weak man's weapon."

      "Yeah, I'd rather be called weak than to be found dead...Good grief." Rick stretched as he felt all of the muscles that now ached. "You dish out one hell of an ass whoopin'."

      "What now," the large man asked.

      "Oh, you want to get on with it," Rick answered back with his own question. Without wasting anymore time, Rick raised to gun again and left a bullet to rattle around in the large man's skull. The heavy body hit the floor, and Rick dropped down in one of the dining table's chairs, squinting from the pain from his new bruises. Placing his elbows on his knees, Rick took the time to rest and regain some strength.

      Rick was at full alert when he heard footsteps approach the door from the outside. The door opened and Rick pointing the barrel of his gun in its direction. Jack walked into the room with Rick's rifle hanging off his shoulder.

      "Every time we meet you're pointing that thing at me. I'm starting to take it personal."

      "Drastic times call for drastic measures. I don't meet a lot of friends these days."

      "Well you have today. So, can you not..."

      Rick lowered his pistol, then focused on his rifle, and the person that possessed it. "Did that gunshot come from you?"

      "It was me."

      "What the hell?"

      "I needed him dead. He wouldn't have just taken someone stealing from him lightly. Where'd you think we were going to keep the compressor? Or, how did you think I was going to run it, without getting my generator back. He needed to die...For all our benefit."

      "You see, that topic, would've been great to talk about, before I entered the cabin."

      "It worked out."

      "I got my ass kicked."

      "That wasn't the plan."

      "What plan?"

      "My plan."

      Rick placed his hand over his face and blew hot air through the cracks in between his fingers. "I don't think you get my point. I'd have like to have been informed of the plan. If he needed to die, maybe I could have just started out that way. You know, instead of getting tossed around like a damn Frisbee."