Chap 4: What’s a hungry man, Daddy?

Suddenly the door rattled open, bringing Sam out of his bitter thoughts. Sam leapt up, dropping Timmy in his haste. In the doorway stood a man whose face was filled with anger, fear and hunger. His eyes were bloodshot, as if he did not sleep a wink for days. His hair and appearance was unkempt. His entire shirt was drenched in sweat; he stood at the doorway panting. In his shaking hand, he clutched an old, rusty kitchen knife.

“Nicholas! What is God’s name are you doing?!” gasped Sam as he saw his neighbor, his best friend, his best man at his wedding. Sam had not seen Nicholas for more than four whole years since the Mongrels took over Earth. Yet, Nicholas seemed different today. Nicholas was wild and smelt of death and desperation.

Nicholas never heard. He only snarled at Sam like a wild animal and leapt towards Sam with the knife aimed at Sam’s unprotected throat. Sam frantically dropped Timmy from his lap and leapt to his right. By then, Sam could hear Timmy whimpering softly, “Stop. Please don’t hurt my daddy. Stop. Please.”

As Nicholas’s body landed on the hard floor, Sam aimed a hard punch into his ribs. Nicholas doubled up in pain but the man, wild with pain and hunger, clawed at Sam’s hair, pulling it hard. Sam lost his balance from the force, fell to the ground and Nicholas immediately pounced on top of him. Sam could feel the increasing pressure of Nicholas’s hands around his throat. Suddenly Nicholas let out a beastly scream and the weight was off Sam’s body and dark-red, warm liquid flowed down his face…

Nicholas had let go of his weapon in the midst of the struggle. Timmy was jolted awake from his slumber as his father dropped him to the floor and saw this unknown man trying to hurt his father. He had picked up the knife with his scrawny little fingers and as Nicholas was throttling his father, he plunged the deadly instrument into Nicholas’s exposed back.

“Timmy!” Sam called out and at the sound of his name; Timmy dropped the knife and ran towards his father.

“Daddy! Oh Daddy! I didn’t mean to! I didn’t! Daddy!” the little boy’s voice raised in an agonized scream.

“Shhhhhh… it’s alright. It’s alright. It was only a hungry man” Sam seethed as he looked over Timmy’s head at his best friend’s body, which was now lying in a pool of blood.

Nicholas was gasping for air, in short, sharp breaths. His pupils were dilated, the knife had probably punctured his lungs. In merely a few seconds, he passed away… but not before he mouthed to Sam, “I’m sorry…”.

After a while, Timmy lifted his head and asked, “What’s a hungry man, Daddy?”

Sam looked thoughtfully at Nicholas’s body and realized that he too was a very hungry man. He looked at his son and softly said, “Something that we’re not going to be for a while”.

*** The End ***