This is just a quick scene being written off the top of my head for that idea I mentioned last Thursday. I’ll probably change it and flush it out when I get to the actual writing. Basically, the United States has been blockaded and the federal government has been toppled. Life is still unstable even 10-15 (not sure yet) years later when the state governments and other factions have taken over. None of that really matters because our heroes couldn’t care less. We join one of them on Long Island soon after he gets out of where he’s been since before the upheaval.
Hitgirl from Kick-Ass
Lloyd lets his hand run along the merchant’s table, the gangly salesman glaring at the blatant disregard for the ‘No Touching’ sign. With a happy smile, the brown-haired man lets his fingers stop on a closed butterfly knife. Running his thumb along the side, he grins at the merchant and turns to ask his companion for help. Seeing that Cassidy is busy arguing over what to trade for a sewing kit, Lloyd decides it is the perfect time to reacquaint himself with human interaction.
“So I’ve been in Riker’s for a long time and had some questions,” he says, refusing to take his hand off the blade. His brow creases with displeasure when he sees that the merchant is not scared of his presence. “I get that the country has gone down the commode and people are acting like animals. At least I hope they are because I really want to kill a cannibal. It’s on my post-apocalyptic bucket list along with zombie and seeing Mount Rushmore. You don’t seem interested in that. Anyway, I had a question. Are all the States accounted for? I mean, any of them combined into one or wiped out or something particularly nasty?”
“Alaska and Hawaii haven’t been heard from since the blockade,” the merchant replies, his voice struggling to remain calm. “We get people who claim to be from those areas, but nothing ever pans out. Wifi den users keep spreading rumors about them too. No way to know since the rest of the world could be feeding us the wrong information. Too bad since I’d enjoy going to Hawaii.”
“It’s pronounced Hawaii.”
“That’s what I said.”
“No you said Hawaii when it’s actually Hawaii. Common mistake.”
“You just said it the same way twice.”
“This joke really doesn’t work in print,” Lloyd claims, earning himself a strange look from the merchant. Drumming his fingers on the butterfly knife, he shrugs and takes a quick peek at his distracted companion. “Never mind. You’re not important enough to understand. So can I have the knife? I’m just a newborn babe in this big scary world and really want to have such a shiny form of protection. Please?”
“You have to trade for it,” the merchant replies, reaching out to take the weapon. He freezes when the other man yanks the knife away and flips it open. “There are rules on Long Island. No killing to get what you want is a big one. Everything is done through trade, so either give me something I want or go away.”
“Thank you for explaining the rules,” Lloyd says before swiftly lashing out with the butterfly knife. He slices off the merchant’s pinky at its middle knuckle and catches the severed digit to hand back to the man. “There you go. I give you back your finger and I get my new knife. A very good deal since this item has been used and is now covered in blood, which is a bad way to do business. You really should take better care of your merchandise if you want to retain such a stellar reputation. Also you might want to put that pinky on ice and stop the bleeding. I suggest gauze.”
“What are you doing, Lloyd!?” Cassidy shouts when she reaches the table. Reaching into her bag, she hands the injured merchant a roll of gauze and some tape. “I needed to keep those supplies, so now I have to trade for more. You can’t go around hurting people to get what you want. At least not here. Save it for the wilder parts. How did you cut through the bone with a butterfly knife anyway?”
“Dramatic effect and the guy writing this story got lazy with his research,” the serial killer answers with a shrug. Receiving a wide-eyed stare, he sighs and cleans his new weapon on his pants. “Never mind.”
I just want to let you all know that the entire Cassa Series Trilogy is now available! If you click on the individual titles above, you can read each of my reviews. 🙂
