Free Awaken by Michelle Bryan

for the intruders back.
My hand is surprisingly rock steady.
    “ Mister, if you don’t wanna
hole in the back of your head then you best put down my
slingbag.”
    He quickly stops what he is doing and
stands straight. Well, I think he’s standing but he’s still a good
2 heads shorter then a normal man should be. He turns around, still
holding my slingbag but smiling like he’s just here for a
neighborly visit. It’s a man for sure, he’s got a shock of gray
hair sticking out from under a black bowl shaped hat, a wrinkly
face , and a long skinny gray mustache that hangs nearly to his
chin. But he’s so small! I stare. I ain’t ever seen such a small
man, he’s no taller than Finn.
    “ Well good evening young
lady, this is quite the pleasant surprise I must say!”
    His tone is mild, friendly. I don’t
know what to make of him. I realize my mouth is hanging open and I
shut it with a snap. Wordlessly, I keep staring.
    “ Er…do you mind pointing
that pistol in another direction? They do tend to make me a bit
nervous you see, especially when pointed directly at me,” he says,
with a little laugh.
    His reminding me of the iron shooter
brings my senses back and I wave it at him angrily.
    “ No…you put down my slingbag
first!” I say.
    “ Whatever you say my dear.”
He lays the bag on the ground and holds his hands up in the
air.
    “ There, now will you please
put that offending piece of weaponry away.”
    I sure as hell got no intention of
doing that.
    “ Are you a mutie?” I blurt
out. I need to know ‘cause I cain’t understand why he’s so
tiny.
    He looks back at me kind of offended I
think, and raises one bushy brow.
    “ No I most certainly am not.
Are you?” he asks.
    “ What? No I ain’t a mutie,”
I say. “I’m normal.”
    He laughs then, like I said something
side splitting funny.
    “ Ah, normal. That word is a
conundrum is it not, for surely normal stands in the eye of the
beholder. And since we all have our own unique perspectives....
well then, wouldn’t we all consider ourselves normal?”
    Huh? I hope he ain’t waiting for an
answer to that line of gibberish ‘cause I don’t even know what he’s
asking. Nope, he wasn’t expecting me to answer ‘cause he goes right
on talking.
    “ I have been called many
names in my years my dear…dwarf, half man, imp….even jester at
times, but never a mutant. You are very amusing.” He points to the
iron shooter again. “Truly I mean you no harm.”
    He talks so peculiar I cain’t decide if
he’s a threat or not.
    “ Why were you looking
through my slingbag then if you ain’t aiming to rob us?”
    “ Us? You are not alone?
Where is the rest of your party?” he asks.
    Shizen! I shouldn’t have said that! But
it don’t matter none ‘cause just at the time Finn and Cat come
crashing through the trees, full speed. They must have heard the
stranger’s voice. Finn looks all scared and worried and runs right
to my side but Cat heads straight for what she perceives as the
threat before me or Finn can hold her back. But she don’t hurt the
half man. She don’t even get close enough to lay a paw on him
‘cause he takes one look at the charging beast, lets out this gods
awful shriek and falls right to the ground in a dead faint. Ain’t
never seen a man faint before either…well I’ll be!
     
    “ What is he Tara?” Finn is
whispering….don’t know why. The stranger’s out cold, he ain’t gonna
hear him. I approach the man on the ground slowly, nudge him with
my boot. He groans and stirs a little. I figure if we don’t want
him passing out again when he does wake up we’d best get Cat out of
his eye view so I shoo the beast away from the stranger. She don’t
want to go, she’s sniffing the man, as curious as the rest of us
but Finn calls her over and she listens. She goes and sits calmly
by the boy’s side like she never just scared the little man to
death. I nudge him again, still pointing the iron shooter at him. I
ain’t