Heart Rack

A humanoid silhouette patiently steps around debris and garbage in the dim gray world of the city. The light of the late afternoon sun barely filters through the small holes of the thick dark clouds above. The hooded figure pauses and turns to check the road behind, watching the thin rays of light play across the broken bases of structures that had once towered out of sight. The figure makes little sound as it changes it's course, moving down an alley. The darkness envelopes the figure entirely and there are only quiet footsteps. No sound of stumbling.

A flickering gentle yellow glow appears after a number of turns. The figure's form slowly becomes apparent as it approaches. Thick layers of cloth creating the illusion of a bulky hunchbacked beast. The source of the light is near the ground, showing the human face under the hood. A face given lines from the hardships of life, but also a face that smiles as it gets closer to the light. The person in the heavily layered cloak enters the doorway to their pocket of light. A warm place protected by the cold darkness surrounding it.

The smile withers as they examine their home. The small shelf they use for their books has been emptied and left face down. The books are scattered around underneath it. The supply of food and water has been taken, along with everything else of value that could be carried easily. The figure pulls their arm through the sleeves of their cloak to drop the durable bag of canned foods that they were carrying to the ground.

After dropping the bag, the person reaches under into the front of their outfit and frees a heart-shaped locket. They open it and stare for a moment, then close it with a gentle click. They slide their bulky cloak off and crawl under the bed in the corner, finding the indentation they searched for. Balling their hand into a fist, they struck down hard and there came a pop and a hearty click as a compartment hatch unlocked.

The figure felt around without looking and opened the hatch, bringing out it's contents. A mechanical weapon and a small plastic box of ammunition. They took a deep breath, listening to their own heartbeat as they loaded the weapon. When it was ready, they closed the box of bullets and slid it into an inside pocket of their cloak before putting it back on. They opened their locket to look inside again before tucking it behind their undershirt, next to their skin. From within their cloak, they unsheathed a machete and laid it next to the pistol before buttoning their cloak back up. The look of grim determination on their face vanished under their hood.

The hunchbacked figure carefully retrieved the machete in one hand and the pistol in the other, then stepped quickly from the warmth into the pitch black corridors leading outside. The remaining light of day bled out of the cracks in the clouds, reminiscent of stained glass. The sky rumbled with thunder above. The figure materialized from the dark alley without hesitation, silently advancing down the street like a hungry spectre.

With eyes adjusted to the dark, the figure hurried but did not run. The streets of the city were full of dangers, and a stumble might be all it would take to provoke an attack. As the light dwindled, the distant sound of wild dogs howling gave extra menace to nightfall.

The figure halted at a chittering that was close at hand, spinning around to face the threat with their machete prepared to strike. A spider the size of a basketball leapt at the figure only to be sliced in two by the machete. After taking a moment to ensure there were no more, the figure pocketed the pistol and unbuttoned the top of their cloak to get out the locket again and look into it for a few seconds. A faint green glow lit the worried face under the hood as they glanced up from it to the crossroad ahead and then back into the locket.

After they put the locket away, they turned and crossed the street just short of a run. A sliver of the full moon's light found it's way through a break in the clouds as the figure passed under the unlit traffic lights of the intersection. The figure felt something watching them, but heard nothing near.

To the hunchbacked figure, the torches blocks away were as bright as spotlights. There were seven of them, and two of them held a captive tied to a pole between them. The figure kept off the street and stayed low as they caught up to the group of raiders. One had a rifle. The figure removed the pistol and stopped moving to aim.

Four loud pops, and the man with the rifle cried out and then fell forward. The raiders immediately dropped the captive and started shouting and waving their torches around to see where the attack came from. One of them went to either check their comrade or take the rifle, and the figure fired three more times. One shot missed this time, but the raider jerked and fell to the ground, rolling around and clutching their stomach as they screamed obscenities. Now all but one of the raiders ran away. This one had a hatchet and ignored the injured man's yells.

As the raider with the scarred face stood there brandishing his hatchet, he called out to the unseen attacker. His voice had a chilling and intimidating quality to it. "Come on out."

The raider seemed to notice the figure just before three more shots echoed down the street. Although he jerked and sucked in a breath at the pain, the raider gritted his teeth and started stalking toward the figure's position. The hunchbacked figure stood up straight, pocketing the pistol and getting ready to deliver a killing blow to the especially resilient raider.

Then it began to rain. The raider barked a curse, then broke off his advance and covered his face with his arms, sprinting for cover. The figure ran to the captive and stood over them to keep the worst of the rain off as the ropes were cut. The figure opened the heavy cloak so that the person they freed could shelter under it with them. There was a noise under the sound of the rain. Sizzling.

Thunder and acrid vapors filled the air as the two made their way back to their home. The rain kept their path clear. In the dark alley, they embraced, their matching heart lockets pressed close between their chests.