Free The Reaper: No Mercy by Sean Liebling Page A

handle, Janet quickly moved in front of him. The Reaper paused as her small hand reached out to gently touch his chest, then withdrew. He could see she was working through something, but she looked up at him with piercing blue eyes and said, "Thank you again for saving me, but please don't hurt my friends. I'm trusting you, Reaper, and it goes against everything I've learned in the last month and more." She sighed as if considering whether to add to her statement, and then continued. "There is also a man inside, by the name of Bill. Don't be surprised if he's a little protective around me."
    "You have my word," the Reaper solemnly replied, and they exchanged nods. With that, she grasped the handle and turned it, only to have the door fly open and the muzzle of a pistol held tightly in the fist of a wild-looking young man shoved straight at the Reaper’s face. Jason saw his finger tightening on the trigger as the man shouted, "Get down Janet!"
    Instantly the Reaper was moving. The only solution here was direct action as the situation was spiraling rapidly out of control, and Jason did not hesitate. Twisting sideways while rotating his body to the right, he reached up with his left hand, grasping the extended hand and weapon while rotating his grip counter-clockwise and backwards in a sharp movement. This pointed the gun almost straight up as the figure before him yelled out in pain, going to his knees in an attempt to relieve the pressure on stressed joints. A little more pressure and Jason could easily have broken the wrist or dislocated the shoulder, but remembering Janet's words he refrained from such actions and contented himself with pulling the gun free with his right hand. Quickly he set the safety and held it out to Janet butt first. Idly he noticed it was a Ruger LCP .380 and briefly wondered why this man would be carrying a weapon normally reserved for women, then internally shrugged. New world and all that . Now he stilled his body and waited, watched, and listened, once again.
    "Freaking stand down, Bill!" Janet's voice was low and angry as she grabbed the outstretched gun from the Reaper while imposing her body between them; the other man slowly got to his feet, cradling his hand. "He saved my life, jackass. Those savages caught me and he saved me. So just grow up a little and deal with it, and put this damn thing away!" Even more angrily, she shoved him, and the Reaper watched with amusement as he stumbled backwards, obviously dismayed at her anger, and then slowly reached out to take the proffered weapon.
    "Hey baby, calm down. I didn't know. I'm cool," Bill said as he thrust the pistol behind his belt. He was young, younger than Janet, and still had his share of pimples. The Reaper at first wondered what this girl saw in a male, barely a man when she was so much older, then realized the feelings only went one way.
    "Don't call me baby. I already told you that a hundred times." The Reaper saw that Janet was getting angrier by the second as her fist lashed out to punch Bill in the chest. Her shock had worn off, and it was obvious that her adrenaline had kicked into high gear. After what she had told him, the Reaper watched in amusement as Bill continued backing up into the interior. As Jason followed Janet inside, he turned, closing the door behind them, and the room descended into sudden gloom.
    "Man, Janet. It's only an expression. Sorry. Everyone is here. We were just getting ready to go out looking for you." Behind Bill, five other men stood with weapons ready, but none were pointed directly at the Reaper. Behind those five stood an indeterminate number of women. All had weapons and looked determined. The Reaper liked what he saw, but seeing the hunched shoulders of the woman before him, and having an inkling of what she was going through, again reached out to lay a gentle hand on her shoulder. This time she did not shrug it off or shy away from the touch.
    "Well, you would have been too late. Yeah I made a