Mira bared her teeth and was about to growl when I clamped her snout shut with my hands.

My thoughts were racing faster than the speed of light, and the adrenaline in my veins was overpowering.

What creature in the world could have just casually walked in the same store I was in?!

Then my body stiffened with shock as a particular thought started running with the others.

What if it wasn't an animal... but an actual person?

Mira sensed my fear and started to lick my hand sympathetically. I glanced at her and closed my eyes in concentration.

Okay, I have two options. Option A, I face whatever is out there and hope it doesn't kill me. Option B, I stalk it and hope really hard that it doesn't know I'm here.

Considering that the first choice in my list included the word 'kill', I decided to go with Option B.

I slowly took off my winter jacket and crammed it into my full backpack, making it look heavier than it really was. The rustle of its cushioned fabric could give me away fairly easily. Goosebumps spread across my back and made me shiver at the cold. I just had to pick a short-sleeved shirt didn't I?

Stupid bombs, stupid cold, stupid-

The clanking sound of metal against metal resonated across the store once again.

This time Mira stayed silent and my body froze in fear once again.

We had to move, because I had a feeling that the sound was now closer.

Slowly, I walked into the next aisle of the tiny supermarket, each step taking me closer to whatever was out there.

The metal sound rang for the third time, and my heart beat so fast in my chest that I thought it would fly out.

It had come from the opposite side of my aisle.

I was scared. No, scratch that. I was flipping terrified.

Mira was obviously nervous too. It seemed as she wanted to whine but knew better, and her tail was tucked between her legs.

I tried to breathe in, but I couldn't. My mind was frozen in fear. I closed my eyes and took slow deep breaths, they kind of helped.

It was just, terrifying. The situation, I mean. In three years, I hadn't encountered anyone else. The one time I did, I barely escaped the ugly men that wanted to, do really bad things to me...

So yeah, right now, I'm playing the part of a girl who is so scared she wants cry.

Mira started to lick my hand again, and I looked down at her with teary eyes.

Cause hello, I could die right now.

My hand found its way to my back pocket where I kept my grandpa's pocket knife. I grabbed it and held it close to my chest, for it was my only weapon.

The metal sound that I came to associate with my death came again, but this time, I held my composure and readied myself.

Whatever was making that sound was just mere feet away from me, now all I had to do was take a turn and I could face my death.

So much for stalking. The creature had obviously not planned in staying on one spot for long.

Each step I took felt like I had run a mile, and the adrenaline from before was still rushing in my system.

Mira walked next to me, her body was tense, ready to attack at a moment's notice.

Just one more step Ashlyn, you can do it. I really hope it's not a step towards my death.

I held the pocket knife high in the air next to my head, blade out, and took the step that would change my life forever.

There, stuffing her mouth full of chocolates, was a girl.

I don't know why I did what I did, all I know is that it seemed to be the reasonable but stupid thing to do at the time.

I screamed.

Oh, and it's wasn't just a tiny, terrified scream, hell no.

It was loud scream. The kind you hear when a victim is murdered in those movies my family loved to watch back then.

The girl also screamed when she saw me.

So there we were, screaming our heads off at each other, not caring that anyone else would see us.

Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Mira whine and lie down on the floor. Her eyes were closed and her paws were, well, no pun intended, but her paws were pawing her ears in desperation.

That's what kind of snapped me out of it.

Slowly, my scream toned down from that of a murder scene to a squeak that could perfectly mimic a kitten.

The girl had dropped the bag of chocolates and also stared at me, analyzing me.

Just like I was.

She seemed to be a couple years younger than me, maybe seventeen-ish. She was definitely shorter than me though, about 5'5 would be my guess.

She was wearing what seemed to be about three jackets, making her look bulkier than what she probably was. Her purple tennis-shoes were very worn out, and her light brown face had dirt all over.

I gulped and realized that I still had my pocket knife in the air, ready to strike. Hesitantly, I lowered it, but I kept the blade out just in case.

In the world I live in, you really can't trust anyone. No matter how innocent they seemed to be.

An awkward silence settled over the both of us, so I tried to pick up a conversation to see what this was all about.

"I-uh, hi," I cringed when my voice cracked at the end.

Her hazel eyes darted around the aisle. She was so attentive, one second she could be glaring at my knife and the other gawking over Mira.

Finally, she said something.

"H-hello," she said.

Her voice was dry and coarse, as if she never had water.

"What's your name?"

Gosh, I was so stupid.

What's your name? Seriously, Ashlyn?She could be your killer and you ask 'what's your name?' Amazing.

The girl seemed unsure of it, but eventually she replied to me.

"Rosa," she said.

I nodded in acknowledgment and gave her my name.

"I'm Ashlyn." I extended out my hand for a handshake but she narrowed her eyes at me.

I sighed. "Okay, fine. I get it, you don't trust me. Point taken."

My hand came back to my side and I hesitantly put the pocket knife back in my pocket.

Rosa crouched down to the floor and kept her eyes on me as she grabbed the bag of chocolates.

I glanced to my side for a second and noticed that Mira was gone.

My heart started to speed up, but I calmed it by telling myself that she probably went to check out the store. Maybe she went to see if there were any other people.

I grabbed the black straps of my backpack and rocked on my heels back and forth like a shy schoolgirl. I was also cold, and I hoped the movement heated me up a bit.

"So, what brings you here?" I tried.

She shrugged and her eyes drifted to somewhere behind her.

"Stuff," she mumbled so low that I could barely understand what she said.

Out of nowhere, a man's voice boomed from the front of the store.

"Rosa! You won't believe what I found. Look, it's a-" his voice was cut short when he reached the aisle we were awkwardly trying to introduce ourselves in.

At his heels was Mira, wagging her tail and tongue sticking out of her snout.

The man froze when he saw me in front of Rosa; his hand reached for a strap on his back and pulled out a machete.

Oh goodness, no... please not today.

Now it was my turn to freeze, I let out an unintentional squeak when he took a step closer.

Mira barked at him and returned to my side, at the same time I finally got the nerves to pull out the pocket knife.

Rosa looked at us back and forth with wide eyes, not having a clue what to do.

I backed up and tried to save my life with a few words.

"Please, I d-don't mean harm, I swear," I said shakily.

Mira continued barking at the strange man, and he lowered the machete just a bit.

"Diego, I don't think she can hurt us. Look, she seems well-fed and clean, maybe, maybe she can help Tia," Rosa added to my pleading.

I sent her a thankful look, before realizing that after they get whatever they want, they could kill me.

The man, whose name now I knew was Diego, narrowed his eyes at me.

"Maybe you're right. Talk to her, and I'll be waiting for both of you at the front," he looked at me when he said the last part and put the machete back in his back strap before leaving us alone.