A New Friend?

Leon knocked the door and waited.William and Kumar waited.Alice giggled to herself but she waited too,swaying in her seat on William and Kumar's arms.Leon heard hurried footsteps,a door being slammed,then the door opened a smallish crack to reveal a suspicious eye.A guttural voice,which made Leon's hand drift nearer to his iron bar,sounded.It said,"Go away." The door closed forcefully,but not loud enough to attract any lurking adults.

Leon knocked the door again.The door clicked and swung open,this time opening fully to show part of a hall that seemed well-kept.The problem was,no one was standing in the doorway to welcome the four teenagers.Before Leon could call out for anyone,a boy stepped out from behind a wall in the hall.He held a strung sporting bow and was dressed all in black.Hoodie,jeans and socks,all of them were black.What startled the three boys but not the crazed girl was that the boy was missing his left eye.A clean white patch covered the hole where the eye should have been.Leon recovered and opened his mouth to say hello when the boy raised his bow and loosed an arrow.Not at Leon,who stared aghast as the arrow flew past him and punched through William's shoulder.William fell with a cry and he fell,clutching his shoulder.To his credit he did not scream.Kumar dropped Alice on instinct,swearing at the sudden attack.Alice fell to the ground,whimpering,"Owie." Leon tried to draw his iron bar but the sight of another arrow aimed squarely at his throat stayed his hand.The boy's expression did not change.His eye revealed a cold hate for everything outside the home he resided in.The boy,in that guttural voice of his,growled,"Now,will you leave me in peace?"

Leon swallowed,well aware of the arrowhead pressing against his throat.Despite the circumstances,he felt his humor stir and he said slowly calmly,"Even if we leave you alone,the adults won't exactly leave you in peace." The boy said nothing,but his eye mellowed a little.Leon was painfully aware of the arrowhead still digging into his throat.The two boys stared each other down.A bead of blood dripped from Leon's throat.Kumar stood,helping first Alice then William up,whose shoulder was bandaged.Alice giggled again,enjoying herself in her own world.The boy's gaze flickered towards her,then shifted back to Leon's.Leon betrayed nothing.After what seemed an eternity to the two sides,the boy lowered his bow.Leon heard signs of relief from the two boys behind him.Alice did the same a second later,mimicking the boys.The boy said,"One night thats it." Leon nodded thanks.The boy beckoned and the four teenagers followed him inside.The boy scanned the surrounding area before closing the door and its gate.

"Now,who are you people?" asked the boy.The five teenagers had settled in the hall.The boy fixed a mug of Milo for Alice but did not offer the same to the three boys.They said nothing,knowing that to provoke their host could mean their hospitality or even their own lives.Kumar cleared his throat and said,"We're all under eighteen if thats what you're asking." The boy snorted,"Hmph.Thank you Captain Obvious.You ain't some shambling wreck of an adult for sure." Kumar continued,unperturbed by the boy's remark,"I'm Kumar,you shot William,he's Leon and the girl's name is Alice." The two other boys nodded at their introduction while Alice suddenly let out a laugh that made the males jump.Leon glared at Alice,who hid behind her mug,still chuckling.the boy shook his head and asked,"What's up with your girl?" Kumar retorted,"First off,she's not my 'girl'.Second,if you got a bone to pick with us then at least don't have a go at Alice.She's been through a lot." Without another word,the boy swiftly took up his bow and fired an arrow at Leon's hand.It landed on the table the hand was on with a thunk,barely missing it.The action shocked Kumar into silence.Alice murmured,"Should have been hush-hush." The boy set down his bow and stared at William.He said,"You.How's your shoulder?" William croaked,"It's getting better." The boy nodded and directed his next words to Leon,"You all can sleep out here.There's food in the pantry.Take only the tuna and sardines.If anything goes missing,you're dead.Sleeping bags in the storeroom next to the fridge." Leon nodded mutely.The boy got up and took his bow.He was about to turn into another room when he stopped and said,"Oh and one more thing.Don't enter this room I'm going into.I'm Jordan.Don't make our lives harder."

He closed the door just as Alice said,"You're a good kitty." William swore he could have seen a faint smile on Jordan's stone-cold face.