The Adventures of Ninja Cheerleader

“Run away,” he muttered to himself, sitting up and biting his nails. He had no idea where he was, but he was not concerned with that. Right now, the shadows were his enemies. He had to listen to his voice.           “Run away,” he muttered again. His eyes were fixed on the shadows in front. From the left, from the right, or from behind he could be attacked, but when or how. Footsteps sounded all around, echoing in his ears. He frantically searched for there origin but found nothing. Louder and louder. Closer, no wait, now further away. Now right next to him. He looked down at his thumb, the nail torn to pieces, ravaged by his teeth.           Now the sounds were focusing. No longer did they dance about him. Now they were in front of him. Stomp. Stomp. Splash. The puddle. Where was the puddle? How far away was it? Stomp. Stomp. Crinkle. A paper? The newspaper he had dropped before falling into the light. Stomp. Stomp. Squish. Snow? Was that the sound of the left over snow? How much longer would he endure? When would this nightmare end? Silence.           “Run,” he muttered in a silenced breath. A thin blanket of mist surrounded his small circle of light. It billowed into clouds that danced in shades of white and gray. There in the shadows. A figure.           “Prepare to Die,” A booming voice. How far away was the figure and when would they strike. The mist was shifting; the shadow figure was losing its blur becoming more distinct, sharper. The figure was upon him. It was raising something, long and slender. No, not raising, unsheathing. A dagger? A sword?           “Run,” he whispered again. The figure stopped in front of him. The smoke still hid the figure but he could see it clearly now. The light bounced off the blade. Dear god. That’s a long blade. That’s a sword.           “Now, you shall *cough*” the figure waved a hand. “Damn talk about over filling your smoke bomb. I just can’t believe that happened. Oh well!” the ninja cheerleader raised her katana above her head. He watched as she took a deep breath. His eyes closed, waiting. Waiting. But nothing happened. Coughing? Why was there coughing. One eye opened, then the other. The ninja cheerleader was on her knees, her hands gripped the sword of her hilt, her coughs loud and unhealthy. The pizza man got up; running away, ready to finish his deliver.          “ *Cough* Damn *cough* I was *cough* hungry.”