The Boy of the Arms Dealer

Dad hasn’t been home in two months. I know he went out to sell his guns to those horrible raiders and although it wasn’t right, it was the only way we could keep food on the table. These days, I can tell it’s getting colder since the earth slowed down in its rotation. The morning air leaked through the torn and cracked roof and into my bedroom, which makes me shiver every morning when I wake. And a full day now would take about three full ones as compared to back then where it would just take twenty four hours, which means I had probably waited almost a year now for dad to return. But, I knew I couldn’t stay here any longer. If I don’t leave, the raiders will return and this time, they won’t be too happy. I couldn’t bring too much with me since my backpack was much smaller than dad’s. Just two small pistols, the rifle that dad had given me for my seventh birthday, some dried salty crackers and a water bottle. I walked out the door of our broken down, now abandoned house, and didn’t look back. I had left a little note for dad in case he happens to return, but I doubt it. I’ll travel west, where the closest and safer settlement was located and hopefully I could get more information on dad’s whereabouts.

After hours of walking and treading through the marshes and junkyards of the polluted earth, I had finally reached the outskirts of the settlement. In the distance, I could see many houses and buildings made out of clay and mud, metal and wood, hay and bamboo. Already, I could smell the fresh cooked slabs of pork and beef, the aromatic chicken soup that could cure any cold, and the amazing fragrance of silk cloth and body soap. All of which I haven’t had any of ever since the doomsday clock went off. Like lightning, I sprinted towards the settlement, making clanking noises from my backpack with each step as I ran, and before I knew it, I was right at the entrance. There were a couple of people who looked at me and immediately turned away, while a couple others looked with disgust. I didn’t realize, but I was filthy and dressed like an exiled thief, especially with my back pack and my giant fur coat. My stomach growled of hunger as my lips are chapped from thirst. The smell of mouth-watering meat grew stronger and stronger with every second passing by. I chased the smell, letting my nose guide the way. It led me to the front door of a bar. I gently pushed the door open and it did so with a loud screech of the hinges, but when it opened, the sound of laughter and clinging of glass cups entered my ear drums. It’s difficult being short. My view was blocked with big torsos and long legs, but I budged and tugged my way through the crowd in search of an empty table, or at least a table with an available chair. After a minute or two, I managed to find a seat at one. I climbed on and launched up my back pack up to the table with a loud thump onto the wood. A very beautiful lady with blue hair and a brown dress walked over to take my order.

“What can I get for you sweetie?”

“Can I get two slabs of meat please? One pork and one beef?”

“You got it. Coming right up,” she replied with a smile just before turning around and heading towards the back. I sat patiently waiting for the food to arrive until a man in an all black cloak came and sat down at my table. He tall, but very skinny and he had a hoodie over his head covering his face. It was like he was looking down the whole time. I leaned my head to the side in an attempt to catch a glimpse of his face, but it was very dark. Just before I could see anything, the same lady from before was walking my way with what my food. She calmly placed down the two plates with the pork and beef, and then walked back right away. I began digging into the food. Every bite melted on my tongue and the flavor grew stronger with every chew. As I kept eating, I noticed that the man had lifted up his head and was looking straight up at me. His face was covered with a mask with a glowing red light coming out the left eye socket. My chewing slowed down to a stop. Our eyes locked and for a minute, he looked very familiar. His smell and physical figure reminded me so much of dad. but, it couldn’t possible be him.

“Would you like some?” I asked him. He simply nodded. I slid over the second plate of pork towards him and he just stared at it for a while. He lifted his hands and then with a quick motion, he grabbed the whole pork slab and shoved it underneath his mask into what I assume is his mouth. With one big audible gulp, he had finished the whole slab. I looked in awe at how fast he devoured it, while still holding a chunk of beef in my mouth. He let out a loud monstrous burp that I could feel as it brushed against my face. I hurried up and finished my meal and set a couple of coins down on the table to pay for the meal. I jumped off the chair and proceeded squirming and nudging through the crowd again, towards the exit. I entered outside, and it was raining. It must’ve been so loud inside the bar that I wasn’t able to hear the rain at all. Feeling sleepy from the food, I decided to sit down right beside the door until the rain dies down. It was soothing. The sound of millions of tiny drops had never sound so soothing after a large meal. And before I knew it, I had drifted into a deep food coma.

“Hey wake up!”

I felt someone tugging me with their hands. The lady who served me earlier was crouching right in front of me with a confused look. I squinted and rubbed my eyes to try and regain my vision.

“Hey, sorry, was it not enough money?”

“No it’s not that, but are you sure you just want to let your beef go to waste like that? Meat is not easy to get these days and you’d have to have a lot of money to eat them, like you did, butYou didn’t touch it at all, young man,” she replied. I jumped back on my feet and patted my bottom to remove the dust or dirt I had been sitting on.

“What do you mean? I gave it to that man dressed in all black. He seemed hungry and so I let him have it.”

“There was no one at your table besides you. I kept an eye on you the entire time because I was afraid one of the guys near you would’ve gotten rowdy and tried something.”

“No, I saw him eat the whole pork with a a bite. He even burped right into my face.”

“Well, I’m telling you that there was no one. Here, take this for later.”

She handed me the pork slab wrapped up inside a plastic bag. I could still feel the warmth of it steaming through. Was I imagining it? I swear there was a man in a black cloak. I stood up and stuffed the meat inside my back pack. The rain had died down to just a drizzle and so I continued exploring deeper into the town. My shoes picked up mud as I walked. The ground had gotten so soggy that it was difficult and then in just a couple more steps, my right foot completely sunk into the ground. I tried my hardest to pull it out but it had fully engulfed my leg up to my knees. While I was busy trying to pull myself out, I see a shadow growing right over me. It grew cold almost instantly. A large man stood almost six foot, right in front of me. He grabbed me by the neck of my shirt and with one powerful pull, he lifted me out of the mud but kept raising me until I reached his face level.

“Are you stuck kid?” he snickered. An ugly smile ran across his face as so did the stench of his own horrendous breath. He roughly reached into the pockets of my pants and snatched out all the coins that dad had left for me.

“You see, now this is just payment for helping you out of your muddy situation.”

“Hey, give that back! I never asked you to help me!” I yelled and yelled, attempting to swipe for my money, but to no avail. Then, from behind that man, a long, thin, and dark arm reached out from above his shoulder, and latched onto his throat, immediately forcing him to release his grip on me and dropping my money from his hand. I fell into the mud which cushioned me somewhat and then I proceeded to pick up my coins. I looked up and saw that it was the masked man from earlier in the bar. He held my assailant up off the ground with one hand. Although a skinny man, he had some power in him. I looked at him in amazement. The assailant was struggling and choking, trying to break free from his grasp, but it did not look like he could at all. The man in the cloak then tossed him to the side with one swift throw of his arm. Immediately he knocked out. His hands slowly reached down and grabbed me from the mud and set me back on my feet on the side where it was much dryer and less muddy. We stared at each other for a minute and for some reason again, he looked very familiar. I bowed my head saying thank you, and then walked away. Maybe I should not stay in this settlement any longer. Who knows I might run into another person like that violent guy. I could always hit up the next settlement and start from there and find any information that I could about dad. And so I ran towards the other end of the settlement, to exit.

Just right before I stepped another foot outside the place, The cloaked man from earlier, appeared from behind me and placed his gigantic hand on my shoulder. I turned around immediately like I was prepared to fight even him, but he just stared blankly at me again.

“Look, thank you for helping me, but I am going to be leaving now. If you want payment, then I’m sorry because I can’t spare any coins right now,” I said sternly. Without a word, he just shook his head, like he never wanted the money in the first place. He just pointed at me, then at himself, and then towards the direction I was going.

“Did you want to tag along? Is that what you’re saying?” I asked. He nodded. I was confused. “

Why would he want to come with me? He doesn’t even know me, and I don’t know him either. But honestly, I could use a protector and he’s very strong,” I pondered to myself. Maybe he could be useful to me down the road. I don’t know. I guess I could use the company. With a smile, I looked up at him and said confidently, “ Then let’s go!”

For some reason, he reminds me of dad. He even smelled like him too.

To my dad. It’s been years now since he passed away, but he told me that he’d always be with me. Even if I may not realize it.

This story is about a little boy, wandering the scary world alone in search of his dad. Although terrifying at first, he was able to make a friend along the way that made everything seem more worth it and less frightening. The friend, is indeed, his dad. Although he’s just a ghost, he wanted to remain next to his son, riding along on the journey, protecting and guiding him the whole way.