Personal Secret

Everyone has a secret; something locked and buried deep in the depths of one’s heart. Never are secrets to be found out, but someone dug mine out and now holds it hostage and at their mercy.

I screwed up! I don’t know since when, but I was followed! 

Everything was fine just moments earlier—even wonderful! How could this have happened?!

I finished my scavenging rounds of the fallen city. The enormous superstore I was currently in proved to be the most bountiful. I even found a whole variety of viable seeds! How exciting! I could not wait to get home! My dirt and cobweb-ridden face showed a rare small grin from the fruitful venture that left my bulging backpack stuffed full. 

Ready to return home, I ensured to take utmost precaution. I swiveled my head left and right, ensuring no person or creature was within sight. I trekked lightly, making no noise while still keeping all my senses on high alert. 

I covertly headed towards the back of the massive ruined building. Like a silent ninja, I partially pushed open a door, creating a small gap as I entered the men’s restroom in the corner of the disheveled superstore. 

Gulping down my fear, I tiptoed over a distance to the stalls and crouched on all fours on the shattered cheap-tiled floor. 

Nothing from here. I thought and confirmed, not seeing any rotting legs or feet on the stalls. 

Pushing off the cracked tiles, I stood up and raised my metal bat. Stall by stall, I used my bat to push open the doors before hurriedly pulling the weapon back over my shoulder to be at the ready. I was ready to swing and smash anything that suddenly moved into a meat paste. However, I confirmed nothing and no one was inside the entire restroom other than me.

After the last door, I sighed out all my anxiety with a deep breath of relief. No zombies, or worse, living humans, were inside the restroom. I hurried over and locked the door before turning around and using my unique ability: Dimensional Door. 

A golden fracture split the air, widening and revealing a plain and cheap wooden door that was painted a generic white. I smiled at the door to my room. I was nearly home! I grabbed the old brass doorknob, twisting and pushing the door open. Stepping inside, I closed the door and also my ability. 

However, the door didn’t fully close! There was a gap! 

My eyes widened as they looked down at a blood and grime-stained military boot that slipped in between my door and stopped it from fully closing. I slowly looked up, noticing parts of a camouflage hunting pants. Now completely alarmed, I jerked my widened eyes upwards, noticing a full ensemble of hunting wear. 

Tilting my head back as I looked even higher, I then saw a dark blue eye—deeply seated on a high-cheek bone of a rugged face—stare piercingly at me. The man’s large stout nose huffed as part of his lips, that I could see, arched up into a smirk. 

My heart dropped. Immediately, I kicked the man’s boot, trying to dislodge it from between my door. I then felt a pressure push on my door as the man tried to break in! 

“No! You can’t come in here! Get out!” I shouted, frantically breathing in terror. 

Suddenly, an immense power pushed the door wide open, launching me flying backward as the door knocked me right in the forehead. I crashed into the ground but hurried to get up and force the intruder to leave. However, the slam on my forehead left me seeing double. 

The giant muscular man and his double image slightly ducked their head—full of messy and untamed brown hair—as they invaded my room. His broad shoulders nearly stretched across the width of the door. As my vision normalized and the two images slowly became one, I was momentarily without words upon seeing his face with better clarity. My eyes glued onto the unworldly chiseled face. 

However, I did not welcome uninvited guests even if they were handsome enough to grace the cover of magazines! Similar to me, the towering fitness model was covered in dirt and grime. But unlike me, the rugged man’s built physique was covered in dried-out blood. 

No, this man was not like me at all. His body, his stature, everything about this man emitted the aura of a predator. He looked around, but more out of curiosity and not of wary. His long confident strides did not hesitate or slowly enter with precaution. Unlike me, who tiptoed while scavenging and ran from danger to survive, he himself was one of the dangers I avoided. The guy likely had an attack-type ability, but I was not going to find out.

Stolen from its rightful place, this narrative is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.

The man spoke in a deep voice that made my spine tremble. “Hmmm. What’s this?” 

“Get out! This is my home! You’re not allowed here!”

The man ignored me, more interested in the door behind him that closed. He went back and opened it, but my ability was already cut off. He pulled open the door but was only greeted by my packed living room and the kitchen full of all the supplies I scavenged.

The man froze from shock. The door did not lead back to the restroom in the superstore. However, he relaxed at the sight before him and whistled excitedly. “It’s a gold mine in here! I could live off this for years!”

The words I never wanted to hear came out of the man’s mouth. Only I was supposed to live off the items I found. But now the man was in the heart of my fortress! My secret holdout! My secret stash! The results from all my efforts from a year of hard work after the day the world ended—every day narrowingly dodging a gruesome chomping death. And this bastard was going to just take it all from me!? I would not stand still and allow this to happen!

“I worked hard for this! Not you! Dimensional Door!”

Another golden crack fractured underneath the burly man, opening a portal to a preset destination I had previously saved. He suddenly dropped as his weight pushed open the door below, but the tenacious guy desperately clung to the edge of the floor. 

I needed to get this intruder out of my home! Sprinting over, I kicked hard at the man’s hands. 

“Don’t you dare! AHH!!!” He bellowed in anger as I stomped down. 

But I limited my force. Even if he had bad intentions, I chose to live by my own standards. I was not going to handicap him by breaking any bones—that would be a death sentence. My foot landed on the tips of his long and thick fingers, and I quickly kicked his grip off the floor’s edge.

However, I was foolish. 

My eyes widened, and I abruptly tried to leap back. However, in a last desperate act, the bastard somehow launched himself up–using his little grip on the edge of the floor–lifting him slightly up in the air while his massive hands gripped around my ankles and pulled me with him as he fell back down through the door. I fell flat on my bottom with a thud from the weight of my backpack before my body slid and was pulled away. I clawed the wood floor—kicking and shouting from being dragged out of my room.

“Let go of me! No! No! NOOO!!!”

Falling through the open door in the air, we splashed into a shallow pool of water before my ability stopped and the door vanished. I jumped up and frantically tried to dash away. However, the staunch grip around my ankles yanked me back. I slammed face-first into the water but tried to kick free from my kidnapper. 

My kick hit his firm chest. It must have hurt as he gasped and grunted. However, I merely poked an angry tiger. A forceful yank pulled me skidding across the water’s surface before I was violently flipped over. The next thing I knew, a huge clenched fist came slamming into my face, and I blacked out. 

An uncomfortable feeling awoke me from my slumber. I lay on my side beside the clear natural spring, deep in the mountains, with my clothes dripping with water. I tried to move my limbs but could not. I was restrained; sturdy ropes bound my arms behind my back and wrapped around my legs. I knew they were sturdy because I stashed them away from the superstore! And I unsuccessfully tried many times to loosen them and break free. 

However, I suddenly struggled no more. A push from a heavy kick on my shoulder flipped me over onto my back and onto the dirt. I flinched and shut my eyes. 

Suddenly, something heavy sat with a wet slap on the soaked jeans of my thighs. I shuddered at something cold and sharp pressed against my belly. I reopened my eyes and froze. I was in deep trouble. 

Is this it? Is this how I die? I knew the living was more fearsome than the dead.

The heavy weight of my kidnapper sat pressing down on my thighs; his long legs folded in a kneel, one on each of my sides. He cornered me under him with no escape, locking me in place, and threatened my exposed stomach from the lifted part of my wet shirt.

“Stop your useless actions. Any funny magic tricks and you die with a stabbing. Got it?” 

My face paled. I did not dare to test the man and hurriedly responded. “Yes, yes, please don’t hurt me.”

I flinched and jerked my head away as the man pressed the knife into my skin. “Lie and you get stabbed. What was that golden door? What did you do?”

I immediately responded, feeling the slicing of my skin. “I’ll tell you! Please, just don’t kill me.”

The man lifted the knife but kept it ready to stab down. “Then you better make it quick. How does your ability work? What does it do? I’ll know if you lie”

I didn’t dare to lie. “I can open portals and connect spaces.”

“Is that it?”

“You saw! I just opened the portal back to my apartment and this mountain!”

“I’m asking if you can do more with your ability. Can you attack or defend with your ability? Create black holes or something?”

The man’s words made me wonder. I wish I could do that and use it on you! 

Suddenly, he jerked the knife back against my stomach–as if he heard what I thought!

“Please! I can only connect spaces! That’s all I can do! I might possibly be able to do more, but so far that’s all I can do!” I pleaded, and it seemed to work as the man lifted the knife away once more. 

“Then how did you get so much stuff without it getting stolen? Your apartment doesn’t look secure like a military establishment. Raids happen frequently. Everyone is constantly searching for places like yours to take from.”

This was my biggest secret; the reason why I was able to live more comfortably than others in the apocalypse. And I did not want to share it with this stranger.

Should I lie? He can’t know the uses of my ability, or God knows what he will do. What can I say to throw him—

My thoughts were stopped once again by the cold blade pressing against my skin.

“Talk. No lies or you get stabbed. I’m warning you now that I will know.”

Cold sweat dripped from my face. It was too much of a coincidence. Superpowers were plenty and unique abilities were strange. This man awakened some sort of psychic ability. He was reading my thoughts! If it was so, I could not lie! I looked away, searching for a way to escape. But the man pressed his knife into my skin.

I gritted my teeth but told the bastard my secret. “I can keep a number of portals constantly open. All of the entrance doors and windows to my apartment are connected to another apartment. If they enter through regular means then they’ll never find my place.”

The man’s eyes widened at my ingenious use of my ability. I grinned and gloated at my discovery. It actually took much time to come up with, but it created a small personal haven in the wake of death and destruction. However, I sighed. It mattered no more. I could die at this moment. I could only try to bargain with the man who sat on top of me.

“I promise to give you half if you let me go.”

The bastard smirked. “Why half when I can have it all?”