The Season
She hugs herself tightly as a cold shiver runs down her back and into her groin.
“Why is it so damn cold?” she says through clenched teeth. Her breath seeps out from between her lips like a puff of smoke that fades into the night sky.
He laughs. “Because it’s winter. That’s what happens; it gets cold.”
“I know what cold is, but this is different. I feel like I’m freezing on the spot.”
“Oh, yeah, right,” he says as he leaps up and pulls his jacket off, wrapping it around her.
“Please, Stev… I can’t let you do this.”
He places a finger on her lips. “It’s the least I can do. Besides, we wouldn’t be in this mess if it weren’t for my Dad.”
“That doesn’t make it your fault. You can’t bear his sins. I don’t blame you for what he did,” she says, smiling nervously.
“Thanks. You must be the only one,” he says, looking over at the group huddled around a fire.
“They’ll come around once they know the real you. Not the you they have in their minds.”
“How am I supposed to show them that? They won’t even give me the chance to prove I’m not that man.”
“Don’t wait for them. You’ll be here forever if you do. Take it upon yourself and make them see you. Make them see the man who I know lives underneath the face they all hate,” she says, placing a cold hand against his chest.
He smiles. “I know, you’re right, you’re right,” he says, getting to his feet, puffing out his chest proudly before marching over to the group, who go quiet as he approaches them.
“Get away, boy! Unless you want to feel the wrath of my fists against your face?” Maverick, the leader of the small group, says with a wry smile.
“I am not my father! I am not responsible for this world we now live in.” He swiftly pulls a revolver from his jacket and fires a bullet. It rips into the centre of Maverick’s skull, killing him instantly, and he topples to the ground in a sea of blood. “I will not be treated like gutter trash, not when you should all be bowing before me!” The small group shudder and cry. Then he fires another shot into the air. “Bow before me NOW!” he yells. Quickly, they obey, letting out cries of panic and fear. Proudly, he turns to her with a twisted smile upon his face.
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