Yesterday, when I met that girl, she seemed like the most annoying and inquisitive girl I've ever met. I only helped her because I knew she'd be dead meat if I hadn't. I hate to admit, but I wish I had asked her why she was so interested in my personal life and my problems. I wonder if she even had any friends. Does she? Now I'm making myself feel guilty. I don't like feeling guilty. But it doesn't matter anymore. I probably won't ever see her again.

Cinder stops by my window as I'm laying in my hammock. He meows for my attention. I give him a smile, and I reach over to pet his head. He climbs into my hammock and curls up beside me. I can hear his gentle purring. I don't know why, but my mind wanders to that girl. I picture her in my mind, trying to climb a building, the mutants trying to claw at her feet. Now I picture her reddened face as she demanded an answer out of me. It kind of looked like she was blushing... but she wasn't. She looked kinda cute when she was mad at me. I like girls with a little bit of ferocity.

I instantly block myself from thinking too far, and mentally kick myself for having such a lurid mindset. It's very dangerous when I'm alone with my thoughts. Embarrassed, I groan and turn over in my hammock, burrowing my face in the fabric so Cinder doesn't notice the redness rushing to my face.

The girl reminds me of Cinder in some ways. When she was struggling to climb that building, it kinda reminded me of how I found Cinder. He was a kitten, perched on a fence post, a group of stray dogs were crowding him, barking and growling. I felt bad for him, so I led the dogs away with some half-eaten fish I'd found in a trash can.

I took Cinder home with me, fed him, and then let him go. I couldn't keep him with me. I couldn't afford having a pet... or a friend. Just another mouth to feed, besides myself, and someone to break my neck for trying to save if trouble would ever arise.

Cinder came back the next morning with a mouse, which I cooked and shared with him. He came back the next day with a bird. He kept coming back, sometimes successful in hunting, sometimes not. Cinder was the only one I ever warmed up to, and the only one I ever will warm up to. I prefer to be alone and look after myself. But since he's grown, he can fend for himself most of the time, which cuts me a lot of slack. I'm going to miss him if he ever leaves me.

I open one eye as Cinder rolls over on his back, leaning into me for a belly rub. I scratch his stomach gently, and I hear his purring growing louder. "Calm down, you little furball," I say while turning on my back again. "Don't get too excited."

As if he understood, Cinder rolls back over, stands, and crawls onto my stomach. He circles around three times, and then settles down. I gently stroke the fur on his back, and I see his eyes beginning to close. I feel my eyelids beginning to close as well.

Just as I'm about to doze off, I hear a crashing sound, which startles both me and Cinder. Cinder jumps from the hammock and cowers underneath it. I roll out of my hammock, my hand positioned on the handle of one of my knives. I climb out the window and drop down to the ground. I hide behind the wall of the building next to my condo. I peek out from the side, and I spot a mutant thrashing a damaged car around. Damn, those things are strong.

I slowly make my way towards the mutant, slow enough so it doesn't sense my presence. I grab my knife handle and draw back, ready to throw. The blade of my knife catches the glow from the sun, and reflects it at the mutant. Big mistake. The creature notices me, and lets out a terrifying roar.

I curse under my breath.

The mutant charges at me, and I scamper away. It's way faster than me, so I only have a couple seconds to decide where to go. Quickly. I sidestep into an alley, and retreat out the other end into another street. I hear the mutant shriek as it tries to cut through the alley. Glass flies from the buildings, one sharp piece lacerating my right leg. It cuts through the fabric of my trousers and pierces my flesh. I don't dare stop. Soon enough, the mutant is on my tail again. I turn into another alley, hopefully to stop it. When I first step in, I know I'm doomed. The alleyway is a dead end.

I come to a halt and try to scale the wall, but there's nothing to grab on. I turn to find the mutant approaching me. It stops just a few feet in front of me. It grabs the collar of my sweater and lifts me up. It slams me against the wall, and I hear my back crack. It feels like my chest is being crushed by a bus. I could feel the creature's hot breath hitting my face. I stare it straight in the face. It feels like I'm staring right into the eyes of death itself.

"Hey!" I hear a voice call. I recognize her voice. Before I could pinpoint where the voice came from, a rock falls onto the mutant's head. The ugly thing growls in confusion. When I look up, I can see a figure. My vision is starting to get blurry from the mutant's brute force exerted on my chest.

I know it's the girl coming to save my ass. Damn her.

The mutant releases its grip my sweater, and I fall to the ground, coughing and heaving. Another rock hits the mutant, and in frustration, it growls at the girl. She throws more rocks at it, but it does no good. The mutant only gets angrier.

I lean against the wall, trying to catch my breath and regain my composure. I feel light-headed. I can't stand -- or even move. I look down and I spot a huge gash in my right leg from when the glass cut me. I wince at the overwhelming sight of my own blood. I'd gotten wounds before, just not as bloody as this.

The mutant gives up on the girl and turns its attention back to me. It knows I'm weak, and I'll make an easy meal. Just as it starts to approach me, the girl jumps in front of me. It takes me back at her sudden burst of bravery. Had she always had that?

The girl turns quickly and reaches into my belt. She takes out my knife, and sprints towards the mutant. It swings its arm at her, but she's too quick for it. Right away, she ducks behind it and plunges the knife into it's back. Its knees buckle and it collapses. It's now lifeless body is covered in purple blood that gushes from the wound, forming a small pool that has leaked onto the cement ground. And that blood is on the girl's hands. It looked like an action scene from a movie.

She turns to me and holds a hand out. "Need a hand?"

I hesitate. I barely know her and she just saved my life. like I'd done for her yesterday in the Square. When I do take her hand, I give her a small smile, and I stand. "Thanks."

"You're welcome. Now let's get out of here before another one shows up," she says.

I lean against the wall and let out a shuddering sigh. I place a hand on my aching chest from where the mutant pressed its fist against it. The girl looks back at me and cocks her head.

"You okay?" she asks.

"I'm fine," I lie. It hurts like hell.

The girl approaches me. "That mutant got you good, huh?"

I manage a weak smile. "I've been through worse."

She smiles back. She places a hand on my chest, which startles me. She senses my uneasiness and reassures me. "I won't hurt you." She presses on the middle of my chest, and I grimace. The girl feels along my ribs, checking for any broken bones. She glances up at me and smiles sheepishly. But quickly continues to concentrate on my impromptu physical. I find it awkward that a girl I barely know is taking care of me. I take care of myself.

She nods. "You're fine. No breaks."

An awkward silence creeps over us. It feels empty. I'm waiting for her to say something else, but she doesn't. I don't either. I rub the back of my neck, trying to think of something to say. The girl stares off into the distance, completely in a daze. I can't help but smile at her. She looks cute when she does that.

The girl blinks rapidly and shakes her head. "Can I just say, you made tonight interesting." As a response I let out a painful chuckle, but it sounded distorted and weird. I look down to hide my growing smile. Thank God that it's nighttime so she can't see the redness growing on my cheeks again.

"I seem to be much interest to you."

She plays with her sleeve and exhales hard, as if she's trying to laugh. Her eyes brighten up as if she just got an idea. "Do you want to do something fun? I mean, if you really truly are okay."

"Is it safe? I'm not sure what your definition of fun would be."

She scoffs. "Of course it's safe," she pauses, "...for the most part. Unless you are hurt because you can just go home and I can return to my shelter. If that happened, you would have just wasted my precious time. And I would have tried to find you for absolutely nothing. Right?"

My eyebrows raise in confusion and I find myself grinning. "You tried to find me?"

She pauses for a moment, as if collecting her thoughts to form a coherent sentence, but shakes her head. "Nevermind that. Are you in or out?"

"I'm in."

She smiles, I could see the slightly crooked alignment of her teeth. "Then, follow me."