The Trap

Nothing. Nothing was all Henry could see down the dismal road ahead of him. Well, nothing that mattered anymore at least. There were chunks of buildings scattered upon what would graciously be called a road, arranged haphazardly within what was once a bustling metropolis of commerce and avarice. His mind wandered back to before this nightmare started, "There was a world here once..." he mused internally to no one in particular. "Coffee houses and supermarkets, billboards about car insurance, and terrible fast food". Didn't seem so terrible now though. Henry presumed he would probably kill for a greasy burger right about now, not he'd seen anyone alive in over a month. The concerns of yesteryear repeated in his mind. "Eat a healthy diet so you can live a long life they said... Yeah, great advice", he muttered. The words purpose echoed hollow in his thoughts. Henry dropped his head, already tired of today and exhausted from hunger. "I'm talking to myself again aren't..." he trailed off in silence. Henry kept walking along the road until he saw a sign in his path, the name of the business long worn off he could still make out the classic image of a hamburger it once sold. His thoughts flicked back to his daughter from before the world ended. He smiled fondly thinking of their weekend trips to the greasy dive on 2nd street. He sighed and let the bittersweet memory play out in his mind, taking Jessica off to get her favorite meal on her birthday. She had just turned 12 that year. Henry closed his eyes as his thoughts drifted towards remembering what a burger tasted like. He could almost smell it again if he focused on it.

A loud metal snapping sound suddenly broke the silence and several birds to the east fled the scene. From the treeline there was an immediate angry cry of pain from what sounded like a person followed by shouting. With his concentration broken Henry's eyes darted over to the nearby park where he had laid metal traps the week prior. Henry broke into a jog towards the sound of his traps he laid, his stomach growling in protest at the sudden expenditure of effort without being fed in a few days. Henry took his crossbow from his shoulder and fumbled while placing a bolt into the slot while he ran. The heavy thudding of his boots across the concrete and his haggard breathing were the only sounds beyond the flapping of birds quickly leaving in the distance. As he closed in on the park he could hear more swearing and what sounded like a second person struggling to help the first.

He spotted the couple near the playpen in the sandpit and quickly hid, placing his back against a large tree. He peeked out to get a clear view of them before aiming his crossbow at the woman who hadn't noticed his approach. She was distraught, hunched over the man trying desperately to pry open a steel bear trap. The sandpit below them was smeared red with the man's blood. The trap itself was clamped shut directly onto the man's leg and embedded deep against his bones. A bearded fellow with glasses, covered in a red and black checkered dirt laden shirt and denim jeans was crying and holding his bleeding leg trying to quell the intense pain. Henry saw the woman was struggling to pry the trap open with her hands, she was swearing even more loudly then the victim. "Why in the shit would someone put this here!?!" The man managed to gasp out between heavy breaths. The woman grimaced and grunted putting as much force as she could into dislodging the trap, "Y-You're gonna be okay sweetie, don't think about the pain. Don't think about it, just focus on me. I'm here. Focus on me." she vainly attempted to reassure him. Henry trained his arrow on the woman's back and quietly reached for the handcuffs hanging at his belt before tossing them over to the couple.

Henry called out to the lady, "Put ‘em on or you'll both bleed.". As the cuffs bounced off the woman's back foot, she scrambled around in surprise before quickly pulling out a knife and crouching low over her companion. A small silver heart shaped locket dangled from her neck which glinted in the sunlight above her red cardigan. "You can't be serious. He'll die if I don't get this off him!" she shouted back in exasperation as the man let out another scream of pain. Visibly shaking, the bearded man leaned forward once again in a vain attempt to pry the metal teeth off of his mangled leg before collapsing on his side again, dizzy and tired from the effort.

Henry looked visibly pained by their distress, but he steeled himself before returning a forced cold stare. "...I ain’t gonna ask twice." he warned, pointing the bolt now at her head. Both of them were drenched in sweat and visibly exhausted, the woman had bits of debris and leaves in her hair and the man's blood covering her arms.

"The woman’s face welled up with tears as she slowly let go of the metal trap. Before dropping her knife and picking up the cuffs awkwardly. She visibly choked back her tears and tried to reassure her husband as well as herself, "It's... gonna be OK. He would have done it already if he was going to kill us."

The man's condition quickly caught up with him, he slumped forward into the bloody sand at her feet. "...Kare..." the man barely managed to say to her before he finally passed out from the blood loss and trauma.

Henry trained his arrow on her and resumed questioning, "I'm willin’ to make a trade. You got any food on you? If so I'll let you both go and release him from the trap..."

The woman loosely clasped the cuffs on her wrists in compliance, tears streaming down her face as she pleaded, "Please, he needs help! We... we have food I promise, back at the shelter."

Henry felt his aim lapse for a moment at the thought of real food. He caught himself and straightened his shot once more “Shelter, huh? Why should I believe you?”

“I swear it's true, just.. Please help him and I’ll, I'll get you your food, just let us go.”

Henry thought for a moment, he had been tricked before. Last time he trusted someone it nearly cost him his life. “Why don't you go get that food, and bring it back here…. alone. And maybe, if you do that I might not shoot him. He and I can become real… good… friends. And if you bring any of your friends back with you, then you had better bring a shovel too.” he menaced, aiming the crossbow at the man instead.

The woman slowly rose “Please, don’t do anything rash. I will be back, I swear!” With her arms shaking she awkwardly removed the small heart shaped locket she was wearing around her neck and tossed it over to Henry. “This... is very.... special to me, just look inside and you’ll know I'll return. Please… don't shoot him or hurt him, he’s a good man.”

Henry sighed before lowering his aim. With a nod the woman stood up fully and started running towards the freeway, her hands still cuffed together as she moved as quickly as her legs would take her. As she left the park he picked up her locket laying at his feet. It was a small silver piece, somewhat delicate, tarnished with dirt and time but lovingly crafted into the shape of a heart. As he opened the lid Henry saw a picture of the man and woman's face, along with another younger child's face between them. In shock tears welled into Henry's eyes as memories flooded back to him of poor Jessica. In the first days after the world ended, they had been together crossing a cliff edge they were on in an attempt to sneak past a group of looters and violent bandits below. A gunshot had gone off in the valley and suddenly he turned to see her slip and fall. His hand darted out to grasp her but it was too late. That was the day the world ended for him. Not when the bombs fell, not when money lost its meaning, or when the cities turned upside down, it was the day he lost her.

As he held the locket he looked over to the man on the ground, his weathered hands trembling in regret as he fought to compose himself. He looked off to the woman in the distance down the highway, running for her life to save her husband, to save the life of her daughter's father. Henry’s brow furrowed as he stood over the man, he was inextricably frustrated with himself as he stepped on the trap’s catch lever to release the man’s leg. Henry pulled out an old shirt from his backpack and tore off a strip. He checked to ensure the man was still breathing and resigned himself to his decision. As he bound the man's leg he then placed the open locket on the man's chest before standing and giving him a nod goodbye. His stomach growled in contempt of his choice but with a wincing effort he dismissed the fierce hunger from his mind.

As Henry turned to leave the man to be found by his wife, he assured himself that his choice would have made Jessica proud.