Dead Man Walks Again

I thought he was dead, but there he was, right there in front of me, smiling through the window. Shivering, I quickly close the curtains, move away from the window, and shove my hand in my pocket. Just as I pull my cell phone out to call 911, it rings. The name reads Lil’ Bro. I pick it up, grateful that it’s a family member. 

“Zaid! Help! He’s-” A scornful, arrogant laugh cuts me off. That’s not Zaid’s laugh. I stand in silence for a second, trying to figure out who it is and I realize just as I hear a crow cawing, both through the phone and from the outside of the walls of my home.

“He who? Me?” The male voice asks. I freeze, mortified.

“What did you do to him…” I whisper.

“You know what I did. And now I’m here for you...again. Open the door.” I hit the end button and throw the phone on the armchair closeby. I look towards the door; locked. I quickly push the armchair in front of the door, grab my phone, and dial 911 as I scramble to the kitchen. Opening the bottom cupboard, I hear the front doorknob turning. The operator picks up. 

‘911 what’s your emergency?”

“122 Ruby dr, Fall River, MA. There’s a dangerous man outside..he’s trying to come in…” I say as loudly as I can while moving the food items out of the way. 

“Does he have a weapon?” I grab the silver pistol that I bought after the incident last year. 

“I don’t know but I assume so. He tried to kill me before.” As I get up from my knees I see the knife holder. As an afterthought, I snatch the knife I hadn’t used in ten months. I did it before, I can do it again.

“Maam, can you please tell me where he is now” The front door opens. The sound of the armchair being pushed back by the door. I inch towards the backdoor in the kitchen. 

“He just entered the house,” I whisper.

“What was that? Can you please speak a little louder if you can?” 

“He just entered the house,” I whisper again, slightly louder.

I hear loud footsteps coming nearer and nearer. The sound of men’s size eleven shoes hitting the floor. 

“Can you see him from where you are?”

“No.” I turn the doorknob. The door is jammed. Fuck. The footsteps are in the adjacent room. The backdoor won’t budge.

“Maam? Are you still there?” The operator asks. Another footstep less than ten feet away. I end the call, not wanting him to hear anything. I have to stay alive until the police arrive.

“Zainab? Where are you?  I just want to see you,” he snickers. Psycho. I step behind a cupboard into a kitchen corner. The pistol in my hand and the knife on the counter right next to me. He steps into the kitchen. I hope he can’t see me. He stops walking. 

“There you are.” Shit. Fuck. Oh my fucking god. What the hell do I do? I stick to the corner like glue.

 He starts walking over. When he’s around the corner I step forward. 

“Stop right there or I’ll shoot.” I aim the gun at his chest.

“Woah woah woah. Calm down, sweetheart.”

“DON’T call me that.” I shift the gun to aim at his face. Where are the police??? Please hurry up! He sees the knife on the counter. Fuck, that was a bad idea to leave it there. He starts to try to grab it, I shoot the pistol slightly to the side of him, aiming at the wall beyond him. He jumps back. I swat the knife off the counter and it falls to the ground beside me. I aim the pistol back at him swiftly.

“Put the gun down.”

“No.”

“I know you don’t want to kill anyone.”

“I thought I killed you last time.” He looks at the knife on the ground.

“Is that the one you used to stab me before?”

“Stop talking.”

“Wouldn’t be poetic if I used the same one to kill you?”

“Shut up.” Where the fuck are the police? I’m trying to stall as much as I can but something’s bound to happen soon. He starts to step towards me. 

“Stay back!!” I yell. He takes another step forward. “I’m warning you!” I step back. Fuck, I’ll be cornered if I keep moving back. I step to the right, along the counter. 

“Do it. I know you won’t.” Another step towards me. The kitchen isn’t that big. He’s about five feet away now. I shoot again behind him, trying to prove the point. The bullet hits the backdoor. He jerks to the left. 

“I’m serious.”

“Shouldn’t you be aiming at me?” He says mockingly. I can hear the police sirens from afar now. He steps closer. My body shakes in fear. 

“One of us is going to die today.”

“It doesn’t have to be that way. If you stay away from me, we’ll both live and you can to jail for murdering Zaid.”

“Oh, I forgot about him. Well, I’d rather kill you both then go to jail. Or maybe I’ll kill myself after. All I know is that I need to kill you.”

“Why?”

“Because you and your stupid brother ruined my life.” I keep slowly shifting backward, along the counter inching towards the doorway so I can make a run for it. The police sirens seem to be coming from right outside the house.

“You should’ve died last time. I should have stabbed you more just to make sure you actually died.”

“Too late bitch!” He jumps forward, his arms out ready to strangle me. I close my eyes, wincing, and pull the trigger. Aimed straight ahead. The bullet pierces his skin, I move back, and he hits the ground in front of me. Maroon blood oozes onto the floor, flowing into the grout lines of the kitchen tiles. 

“Police!’ The police say as they enter the building. 

“In the kitchen!” I yell out! The pistol aimed down at the man struggling to move. The body on the ground speaks.

“I always fucking hated you and your brother.” The police come into the kitchen. I step back behind them, finally safe.

“I know, Dad.”