Lex stood impatiently above the door as the little girl and Jim squeezed into the hole. Before following the two into safety, she glanced down either side of the alley. As she looked down the side behind her, she noticed someone running hurriedly towards her. “Y-YOU GOTTA HELP ME! P-PLEASE.”
It was an older man, yet not “Jim old,” and his veiny, red eyes were frantic and swollen. As he waited for an answer, his eyes would continuously search the surrounding area. Lex could see the man’s hands shaking severely. “DRAGONS. FIRE-BREATHING DRAGONS. THEY’RE COMING.” Lex looked at the man as if he were crazy. “You mean the creatures?” She said slowly.
“NO I SAW THEM. LONG TAILS AND FIRE COMING OUT OF THEIR MOUTHS.”
Lex continued staring at the man. “Alright, then.” All in one breath, Lex whipped out her knife and, with the dull end of the knife, wacked the man on the back of the head. The man now lay on the ground in a slump and Lex quickly hurried into the hole, slamming the door shut and locking it tight.
“What was’at noise?” Jim asked her.
“Nothing, I was just talking to myself,” she replied, pulling the backpack off of her back and throwing it to the ground. “So, did you get anythin’ good?” Spoke Jim again.
“No. Who’s the girl?” Lex was not happy with Jim. Not only had he disobeyed her instructions, but he welcomed a complete stranger into his company. Even though she was a child, it was possible she was with others who may be looking for her. There was no way she could survive out there all on her own.
“This is Kat,” Jim patted the top of the little girls head. “She was sittin’ just outside waitin’ for ‘er brother, so I decided to wait with ‘er.” Jim spoke joyfully as usual, ignoring the anger in Lex’s voice.
Lex stuck both of her hands in her hair, “Are you stupid? Someone’s looking for her. What happens when they find her? We have no idea who this is and whether he’ll rip our heads off or not! When are you going to start thinking before you act, Jim? The world isn’t like it used to be.” Jim let Lex go off on her rant and gave Kat a sideways glance. “Ya hungry?” He asked Kat while walking to an almost empty shelf. Jim handed her a can of peaches whether she had said yes or no. After that, he grabbed a dusty blue blanket and put it over Kat’s shoulders. Jim could tell Lex was burning holes into the back of his head with her glare, but he continued on as if she weren’t there.
A few days later and Lex still wasn’t speaking to Jim. She lay fast asleep on the ground facing the wall, a once soft, fuzzy purple blanket now tattered and dull spread across her whole body. “Psst,” Jim tapped on Kat’s shoulder, unsure if she were sleeping or awake. “I need to get some fresh air, wanna go f’er a walk?” Lex ordered that they stay underground for a few days, and they did just that. Now, three days later, Jim was restless and needed get away from this stale, dusty air. Quietly, Jim made his way to the steep steps and slowly unlatched the door. Up above there wasn’t a thing in site and it was so quiet you would almost question if you were deaf. He didn’t look back to see if Kat would follow, but he assume she would. It would be awkward in the cave alone with Lex, especially since Lex despised her. Maybe even them both?
Once outside, Jim stretched his arms, flabby from weight loss, straight into the air and then side to side, letting out a big sigh following. He began walking down the alley, first waiting for Kat, and began humming a little tune. Of course he was on high alert, just in the case of Brute appearing, but there was no reason for any to be attracted to this place. Unless, of course, there were others in the area who weren’t being careful of how loud they were.