Page 19 of The General's Captive
“Seriously, how are you still alive? Doesn’t know how to use a gun, walks straight out into the open, sings like a screaming banshee to whatever terrible music that was.” His hand shot out with surprising speed and grabbed my precious Cheetos, before growling,“And. No. Fucking. Chips.”He ended the statement with an audible pop as the bag burst, thanks to his big man-hand crushing the packet and, with it, my hopes and dreams.
Okay, so not quite, but I still wanted to cry. This before hoovering up the floor like some crazed junk food lunatic, snorting artificial cheese power from the asphalt like a drug addict.
Hence why my face dropped as the contents spilled to the floor.
“You seriously just did that… I… what… you…That was my favorite flavor!”I hissed before glaring at him.
But then without missing a beat, he heard a noise and acted immediately. It was so impressive, I forgot all about his hatred for chips. He swung the gun in the direction and BANG, he pulled the trigger. I jumped back in fright at the gunshot, then the sound of something heavy falling close by followed.
I hadn’t even seen the damn thing!
And he was right, because now even I was asking myself at this point,how was I still alive?
“What the hell was that?” I looked in the direction his gun had pointed and saw another Harpy bleeding out before my eyes.
“That…” he said with a cocky smirk, “…is the third Harpy and me proving my point.”
I narrowed my eyes and asked in a haughty tone, “Which is?”
“That you may be cute, but you’re useless.”
My mouth dropped and I quickly envisioned my knuckles making impact with his ridiculously handsome face as I rid it of its smirk. Of course, the stupid girly part of my brain wanted to point out that he thought I was cute. The other part, that made me want to kick him in the balls to see if he squealed, focused on the insult.
But then a quiet but high-pitched moan rolled across the parking lot. Zipping my backpack up quickly, I shouldered it the second he was no longer crouched down so I could follow him, watching as it looked like he was reloading the shotgun.
I had to admire the way he walked with confidence toward the dying Harpy. As for me, my pulse quickened at the sight, my breaths coming shallow and deep as visions of the Harpy suddenly jumping up and ripping me apart entered my mind. I was also scratching at one wrist, because that slight burning sensation was back.
Which was when something strange happened, and instead of snapping some insult my way, he simply caught sight of what I was doing and acted. He took my wrist in his hand, his eyes never leaving the body on the ground, and started to rub his thumb gently over my inner wrist.
His touch was like an ice-cold drink on a hot summer’s day; refreshing, and it calmed me nearly instantly. So, he had the ability to kill with one shot and could calm with one touch. What else could he do?
My Action Man.
I didn’t even know his name. I mean, I couldn’t keep calling him Action Man or GI Joe, no matter how much the shoe fit. Especially dressed the way he was, in his khaki, combat pants, tight army green tee, bulging muscles, and floppy blond hair. His hazel eyes were without a doubt my favorite part. They could be calm one second and then dancing with mirth the next, going from serious soldier to boy-next-door charm in seconds. It was confusing, and mesmerizing.
Damn… so mesmerizing.
Averting my eyes from the distraction, I looked at the creature before us. The Harpy was gravely injured and had blood leaking from its ear. Action Man offered out his hand to me and I took it, mine half the size of his, and he turned me to face the store. I would have questioned why but, seconds later, and I jumped with a shriek as his shotgun finished off the job. A sight he had wanted to save me from.
Okay so that was nice.
He was quickly making up for my lost Cheetos.
I couldn’t help but focus on the slight strain in his biceps and muscular forearms as he cocked the gun open, dropping the spent shells to the floor. This before reloading it from ammo he kept in a pocket hanging from his belt. He then pulled me awayfrom it, leading me back to the store, making sure to check the surrounding area as we went.
Action Man peered through the door of the Costco, being far more cautious than I was. Hell, I was tempted at this point to stride right in and shout all clear, but I think the guy would have had an aneurysm. So instead, I followed him at his pace and watched as he made his way to the electronics section at the front.
“I will get what I came for and then we will part ways. You head out the back and I will head out the front,” he pointed to the fire door I had attempted to escape through when I was attacked by the Harpies.
I stood there flabbergasted for a second before asking, “Why can’t I come with you?”
It wasn’t like I knew where ‘with you’ was, but it surely beat surviving by myself and, weirdly, this had been the most exciting moment I’d had in months. Oh, and it had nothing to do with three dead Harpies.
He ignored me, turned, and walked down the aisle toward the batteries where I had been earlier. I followed, ignoring his instructions as he began to talk.
“Unfortunately, that can’t happen. We are under strict instructions to bring back only those that can fight,” he told me without making eye contact, as if he was reading this from a script or something.
It was like he said this to every damsel in distress he had come across who wanted to follow him home and hump his leg…Jesus, I was glad I didn’t say that out loud.I had, however, nearly said something stupid like, ‘but I thought you said I was cute’. Something, I might add, I wouldn’t be for very long if I got attacked again.
