(1 of 1. Originally posted on December 01, 2023 for the prompt “Fireplace.”)
“Give back what you stole, and the boss will let you live.” The thug’s breath would have knocked Nathan over, if the brute’s meaty fist hadn’t been holding him up by the front of his shirt.
The cabin door swung open in the background. Nathan kept his eyes fixed on the six enforcers standing around him with their backs to the cabin. Keep their attention. “I’ll give back… whatever belongs to him. But he doesn’t own—”
“If the boss claims it, it’s his. You questioning me?” The man shook Nathan, then pulled him in until their noses nearly touched. He waved a hand at the other thugs, without looking at them. “Search the house. If you find what he stole, take it. If not, take everything metal, then burn the place down.”
Nathan kept his face neutral as they searched. He focused on breathing. Mostly through his mouth, to minimize the stench of a body that probably hadn’t been washed since the last time the man’s mother bathed him in the sink.
Minutes later the men stepped out of the house, several of them with full bags over their shoulders. One of the men tossed a lit torch onto the roof, then walked over to the man holding Nathan. “No luck, Chief. We got knives, a spear, and traps. But no goods.”
“Take the axe, too. Toss all the wood into the house.” The big man gestured to the axe leaning on the woodpile nearby. Then he twisted Nathan’s shirt and lifted him several inches. “We’ll see how long you last with no shelter and no tools. You get hungry, come find us. Maybe you got something to trade us to get your stuff back.”
The thugs held Nathan and forced him to watch his cabin burn down to a few charred timbers and a stone fireplace. Then they dropped him in the dirt and walked away.
Nathan sat cross-legged, staring into the glowing remains of his home.
A girl stepped out of the trees nearby. She stood four feet tall, barefoot, and wore a tattered calico dress. She sat next to Nathan and took his hand. Her voice quivered. “Do you have to take me back, now?”
“You don’t belong to anyone, unless you want to.” Nathan reached up to smooth her hair down against her head. “If you want to go back, I’ll take you. If you want to stay with me, I’ll take care of you.”
The girl gripped his arm with all her strength, and pressed her face against his shoulder. “All right, then,” Nathan kissed the top of her head. “We’ll sit here until the ashes cool. I have a knife, an axe head, and a couple traps stashed inside the fireplace. With those things we can start over, far away where they’ll never find us. We’re gonna be okay.”
