A New World: Untold Stories by John O'Brien Page B

all that he could handle.
    To the side, Bill saw Dave gain his feet and rub at his arm. Wrestling the invader furiously, Bill felt trickles of blood flow down from where the man was cut when he came through the front window. With the attacker’s back to him, and with his strong arms wrapped firmly around the man, Bill expected Dave come to his aid. He was a little peeved that Dave seemed to be taking his time.
    “Dave!” Bill shouted, “Do something, man.”
    There was no reply. Bill’s leverage was weak and the strength of the man on top was starting to break through his hold. With all of the force he could muster, he rolled and tossed the intruder to the side. Continuing his momentum, Bill moved to his knees and quickly gained his feet. With a snarl, the attacker also sprang upward.
    Could this dude be on something?
    Amazed at the speed of the man, Bill took a few steps backward and bumped against the chair where he had been relaxing with a beverage only moments ago. Looking for Dave, he saw him standing near the open front door. His eyes were wide with fear, and something else. An apologetic look?
    Bill continued backing away from the snarling man. Blood from cuts on the man’s head streamed down his pale face but he acted as if he wasn’t injured. The bleeding man looked from Bill, to Dave by the front door, and back to Bill as if measuring which one of them to attack. Rounding the chair, Bill looked to Dave, pleading for help. Dave gazed at Bill, meeting his eyes momentarily, then at the intruder. He then fled out of the door, leaving Bill alone with the blood-covered man.
    A memory surfaced. Dave had done something very similar back when Bill had been in the tenth grade and his brother in the ninth. Cornered after school by several high school bullies, Dave had fled, leaving Bill to deal with the beating. Bill had limped home sometime after, bleeding and bruised. His anger at his brother for leaving him had quickly faded and he had understood his brother wanting to flee. Bill wanted to do the same but the boys would have caught and beat them both. So, Bill stayed behind. However, this wasn’t the tenth grade and there was only one attacker.
    Letting go of the memory and with a rising sickness and fear, Bill grabbed for the small, wooden end table. The man, seeing Dave flee into the darkness, rounded on Bill. With a jump that not many could perform, he leapt over the chairs, arms outstretched toward Bill. Startled by the method of the attack, Bill threw the table at the leaping intruder. Although the man slapped it away while still in mid-air, it gave Bill an opportunity to slide to the side, evading the attack.
    The pale man landed where Bill had been standing, seeming surprised by him not being there. Backing up a step and reaching behind, Bill felt the cool metal of a fireplace implement. Not knowing which one it was, but obviously needing some weapon against the crazed man, Bill wrapped his hand around it.
    With only a few feet separating them, the man charged as Bill was bringing the tool around, hoping it wasn’t the whisk broom.He and the attacking man would probably die laughing if it was.
    That would just be my fucking luck , he had thought, barely able to get the instrument in front of him due to the speed of the attack.
    He felt his arms jar as the invader crashed into whatever he had brought around just in time. Bill stumbled backward from the collision, the force of which caused him to lose his grip on the tool. The man faltered, his momentum caused him to slam into Bill. Falling backward, Bill felt the heavy weight of the intruder fall with him. He hit the floor hard, knocking the wind out of him.
    The man screamed in his ear and began clawing at him. Bill felt fingernails rake across his cheek and did his best to keep the attacker at bay. He was pinned under the attacker and couldn’t do much to defend himself. The pale face was inches from him. Blood flowed from the cuts on the man’s face and