I nodded. Poor Callie. She fought hard against me, wiggling and scratching in an effort to get away. She hated the harness, but it was for her own good. I couldn’t keep her safe otherwise. I had the leash tied to a chair and she had plenty of room to explore, but she refused to walk around and continually howled at the top of her lungs.
“Looks as good a day as any to be on our way.” He peered off in the distance again. “You ready for this?”
“Yes,” I said, coming to stand near him, but not too close. “I have to be.” I had no idea why everyone had disappeared or why no one had returned, but I did know I had to find out where they had all gone. I had to find my family, because living like this was killing me—existing in the unknown.
Was I strong and capable enough to hike a great distance and climb a mountain? No, definitely not. But what choice did I have? If there was any chance at all that Dad and Toby were waiting for me at Rockport Lodge, then I had to take it. I’d hike the world over if I had to; I would find them.
“Just so you know, we’re probably not going to get very far today. We need supplies, enough to survive the great outdoors, but tomorrow will be better.” He didn’t look at me, and I didn’t blame him. I tried my best to avoid staring at him, too. No way would I gaze into his eyes again.
“I’m kind of tired of always being told tomorrow will be better only to wake up and find out it’s not.” Not that I blamed him. I’d been telling myself that very thing for days. My words were more for me than for him. “But it’s okay. Everything we do will be one step closer, right? How can I be upset by that?”
“Good attitude to have.” He turned from the door but looked past me, over my head, and scanned all his stolen goodies. “I’m really going to miss this place. You have to admit I did a pretty good job here. Home sweet home to its finest.”
Pretty awesome in a this-is-illegal-but-cool kind of way. “Yeah, it’s great. Much better than anything I could have imagined, that’s for sure.”
He grinned, but still didn’t look at me.
I mean, I had to give him props for doing all of this himself. His talent to rig together PVC pipe and electrical bits and pieces had to be admired. He was a much better disaster survivor than I’d ever be. “But if we find people”—I couldn’t believe I’d said if—”I mean, when we find people, what are you going to do? Will you stay or are you planning on coming back here?”
There were people out there somewhere. There had to be. Cole always insisted this kind of life was perfect for him, and perhaps it was. He did have issues relating to people—to me—and he spoke a little more frankly than he probably should. Who knew what kind of life he’d had before all of this? Maybe he’d had a rough go of it before all hell broke loose, but I couldn’t imagine him wanting to live alone, forever. Even weird people needed folks to bounce their craziness off of.
His eyes caught mine for a flicker of a second, somber and forlorn, but he turned away and gazed out the open door again before I could really translate the meaning of his look. “Ahh... society with all its rules and oppression.” He chuckled. “How could a person not want to return to that? Working nine to five, barely getting by? No, when we find your family, I’ll be coming back here. It’s where I belong anyway.”
“What? By yourself? How can you say that?”
He shook his head. “I’ve always been by myself, Tess. Way before any of this ever happened.”
I stepped near him, but didn’t force him to look at me. We didn’t need that mess happening, not now, not ever. I wanted to touch his arm, but didn’t, not daring. “Why? What happened?”
His shoulders rolled forward and his face carried a chiseled seriousness to it—something I hadn’t witnessed before. It took me by surprise.
I swallowed, wondering what had happened to make him believe living alone, away from all civilization was an answer, any answer, to fix his life. “Who are you?”
He shrugged. “You wouldn’t believe me if I told you.”
I took another step, hesitant but curious. “Try me.”
He looked at me for a moment, but when things started to become a little uncomfortable, he walked past me, his shoulder brushing against mine, and said, “We should really get going.”
“Stand back.” He waited for me to take several steps away from the large doors before he wound his arm like a baseball pitcher, even adding the drama of raising his front leg, and launched the rock at the glass pane.
Breaking and entering once again. What was this? My third or fourth break in? I’d lost count. “Couldn’t you have picked the lock instead?” I should have known better, though. He had carried that rock for a good part of our ten mile journey, bouncing it from hand to hand with each step.
He kicked away the remaining shards of glass and knocked the frame clean to make passing through less dangerous. “Yeah, but where would be the fun in that?” He swept his arm to the side. “Ladies first.”
I hesitated, not sure I wanted the benefits of being a lady in this moment. “I... ah... that’s okay. You can go first.”
“Worried about dead bodies, huh?”
Every empty building, every abandoned car, brought the potential for another horrific Mr. Stanger-like experience. “Yeah, sorry. I’m not up for any more dead people or scattered body parts.”
“Understandable.” He shifted the small backpack on his shoulder. “I’ll go first, but stick to me, okay? I don’t feel comfortable leaving you outside alone.”
I agreed with him there.
“Be careful.” He guided me through the broken door by taking my hand. “Watch your step.”
Inside, he could have dropped my hand, but didn’t, and I had no intention of letting go either. He led me farther into the interior of the building, past a toy store, a nail salon, and the specialty popcorn shop. The emptiness of the giant two-story mall became heavy, tangible, when we stepped into the center. My shoulders slumped forward as though my backpack had accumulated an extra hundred pounds.
I turned in a circle, still holding his hand, to take in the dusty Christmas sale signs, the Santa’s village decorated to elicit the fantasies of every child, the dying trees and brown poinsettias in large pots, and all the closed shops. My breath seemed to echo along the tiled corridors; an intense silence.
The beautiful fountain, an attraction people flocked to see with its timed lights and music, held stagnant water after months of no use. Green algae lapped at the cement walls and large tufts of blackened leaves from dying plants littered the thick surface of the water. The silver and copper coins, tossed in to make wishes, had turned brown and slimy. The smell of tainted water wafted over me, and I pinched my nose to keep from breathing it in.
I hadn’t expected people to be there, but it reminded me how alone we were. I’d never seen East End Mall like this before, devoid of everything that had once made it so popular, and it felt almost haunting.
“It’s so sad,” I whispered.
Cole gave a guttural laugh. “First off, why are you whispering? And second, it’s only an empty mall. It’s not sad.” He held his hand up. “Oh, but wait. You’re a teen and teens hang out in malls, so I guess somehow that should make sense. But seriously, think of it this way, all this can be yours. Remember? Just say mine and claim it. Except for Hot Topic, I kind of have a fondness for their shirts.”
“I don’t need all this stuff.” I stared at the ceiling above us, taking in the vast loneliness of the mall. A couple of skylights were broken and the evening sun came pouring through. Dust particles danced in the rays of light, increasing the creepiness factor, and a slight breeze swirled some scattered leaves.
“Really? You’ve never shopped at Pacsun or Hot Topic then, because they’ve got some nice things. You don’t make claim to them, I will.” He released my hand, and the sense of safety I’d felt before seemed to leave with that simple disconnection.
“I’m only taking what I need to get me to Rockport.” A free-for-all shopping spree did have its appeal
, and would have been even more alluring if it weren’t for the fact that it would be illegal. “If you want to carry several shopping bags of useless stuff up a mountain, go for it.”
Callie wiggled in my arms, wanting down, so I released her, but held onto the leash as she explored. I followed her with tentative steps, eyeing everything. When she tried to walk too far away from Cole, I wrangled her back in. She might be brave, but I sure as heck wasn’t. “I think there’s a sporting goods store upstairs and another on the far end on the bottom floor.”
“Good. You’re staying focused. That’s important.” He took the lead and headed toward the stationary escalators, and even though we’d spent most of the day walking from the hanger back toward the city, he took the steps two at a time. Criminy.
I took my time, raising each foot to the next step to ease the muscle-burning sensation in my calves. A couple of blisters bulged on my toes and rubbed against my worn boots. Yeah, hiking the canyon road of a mountain would be so much fun. The ten miles spent walking to get here had almost done me in. I should have taken P.E. more seriously.
Callie toddled along beside me as the three of us walked by various clothing, jewelry, and electronic stores. Cole scanned each one and then smiled as he gave me a thumbs up.
Maybe I was being a bit foolish, but only a couple of days had passed since the whole medical center incident. The smells, the feel, were still quite clear. Not enough time had gone by yet to put those images from my mind, and I didn’t know if I could handle any more.
Cole peered through the metal gate that locked the sporting goods store. “Yeah, this should do it.” He glanced at me. “You camp a lot?”
“Umm... you mean in a tent and stuff?”
He cast me a look that read “Duh?”
“No, not really. We mostly stayed in cabins and lodges. You?”
He knelt and removed his lock-picking kit. “I’ve spent some time with nature, but probably nothing like what we’re about to take on. How hard can it be, really?” He smiled as he slipped the small tools into the locking mechanism.
I didn’t say anything. If it were easy, more people would be doing it. I didn’t think any of my friends went camping in tents—RV’s and trailers, sure, but would that really be considered camping? Especially when all the comforts of home were brought along?
He slid the large gate all the way open, like it would have been on a normal day, ready for business. He passed a mini Coke fridge near the checkout, opened it and removed a sports drink. “Here,” he said as he tossed it to me. “You need to keep hydrated.” He took out another, uncapped it, and guzzled half the blue liquid before I’d even lifted mine to my lips.
Warm artificial blueberry slid down my throat, but I kept drinking, not realizing how thirsty I’d been. “So... where do we begin?”
He tossed his empty bottle in a trash receptacle and took a moment to look around the store that sold everything from shotguns, fishing gear, and yoga mats to dart boards, athletic cups, and sport shoes. “That would be a very good question.”
During the small amount of time it took me to loop Callie’s leash around a clothing rack, Cole managed to get distracted. A familiar dribbling and bouncing came from the back of the store, and I sighed in frustration. He was supposed to check out the sleeping bags, not play basketball.
“I need one of these!” he said when he spotted me watching him shoot hoops. He dribbled the ball to the painted free-throw line, turned, and made a fast break to the basket. One long stride into his run, he leapt into the air and slammed the ball through the hoop. The glass backboard trembled.
“Seriously, this is coming back with me to the hanger.” He grabbed the ball and spun it around on his finger. “You ever play?”
“I’ve played a little.” I knew more about basketball than I did camping. Having a dad and an older brother who were into sports gave me an advantage over other girls my age.
“Show me.” He tossed the ball in my direction.
I barely had time to catch it—thank heavens for quick reflexes—or it would’ve hit me square in the chest. “It’s been awhile. I might be rusty.” A lie. I positioned my hands on the ball, just as Dad taught me, and arched it from my angled position near some golf clubs. With a whoosh, it went straight through without hitting the rim. All net, baby!
“Nice!” Cole ran after the ball before it knocked over a table stacked with discounted Nikes and water bottles. He tucked it under his arm and approached me. “You have officially earned my respect with that shot.” He patted the top of my head.
I narrowed my eyes and moved away to get him to stop touching me like a pet. “You didn’t respect me before?”
He shrugged. “No, not really.”
“Wow, I had no idea. That’s kind of hurtful.”
“Hey, I didn’t say I didn’t like you, because I do, sort of, but respect has to be earned. Now, you’ve sunk a basketball. You have my respect.”
“That’s all it takes, huh?” I smiled, batted the ball out of his hands, and dribbled it past him. I went for a layup and he jumped to block it, but I curved my body and made the basket easy enough.
“You’re good. I can honestly say I didn’t expect that.” He winked and placed the basketball back in the bin with the others. “Should we check out the tents? Start there?”
He could be so exasperating but I nodded. We needed to start somewhere, do something. “We’ll need a light one, easy to carry, but also heavy duty in case of bad weather.”
“True.” He unzipped one of the large tents on display, getting distracted again before climbing inside. “So I guess this one is out of the question?” He poked his head out the door. “I like the built-in awning.”
He had to be joking, but the look on his face kept me guessing. “It’s nice.” I treaded slowly in case he was actually serious. “But it’s a lot bigger than we need and it will be way too heavy to carry.” A three-room tent on a hiking trip? And I was hoping Cole would help me to get to Rockport Lodge alive? What was I thinking?
“I’m not an idiot, Tess. I was messing with you. It sure is nice though, isn’t it?” He grabbed my hand before I could protest, and jerked me inside. The plastic bottom caught one of my boots and I tumbled forward. He reached out to catch me, but we fell over and ended up in a pile of tangled limbs.
There really wasn’t anything too funny about the whole thing, just a stupid mishap, yet I started laughing, a little at first, but then it grew into something I couldn’t stop, something that began to scare me. The look on Cole’s face didn’t help, and the more I tried to curb it, the worse my laughter became.
“You’re really weird.” He shifted out from under me, scooted a little ways off, and stared at me as though I’d lost my damn mind.
Maybe I had.
My laughter became maniacal and I rolled to my side, so he couldn’t look at me while I tried to get myself under control. What is going on? Another panic attack? Really? But I was doing okay. Everything was fine! I was fine. We were making plans, moving forward, which was a good thing. So why this now?
My second panic attack in less than a week, two since meeting Cole—but only one of many since Mom died.
“Are you... okay?”
I couldn’t talk and my attempt to nod looked like a seizure. I had never laughed so hard—and over nothing. Nothing. My stomach hurt so bad! My chest burned. My eyes blurred.
“You’re kind of freaking me out here.”
Yeah, well, I was kind of freaking myself out.
Another round of uncontrollable giggles took over my body, shaking my shoulders and squeezing my belly to the point I thought I might pee or throw-up. I pinched my inner thigh, trying to trick my mind into focusing on the pain, but it didn’t seem to make a difference. I didn’t understand what was happening or even why it was happening now. Nothing had triggered it. I pinched harder. Stop it! Stop it!
“Jeez, you’re not okay, are you?” He placed his hand over mine, stopping me from inflicting
more pain to myself. “It’s okay. I’ve got you.” He lifted my convulsing body into his arms and pressed my head against his shoulder. “It’s been a rough couple of days, I get that.”
A rough couple of days? It had been a rough couple of... years.
Yes, I had survived a catastrophic meteor shower and two months living underground. Yes, I had outlived a deathly tornado and bowling ball-sized hail that ripped everything apart in its path. And yes, I was planning to climb a freakin’ huge mountain and live in a tent! A tent! But all of that, as crazy and huge as each of those things was, none of them compared to everything else I had survived to this point. All those memories came rushing over me, hitting me one right after another, unexpected.
The crazy apocalyptic disaster may have only been a few months old, but my life had been spiraling out of control long before the first meteor struck—ever since the police came to the door and told us they had found Mom’s body.
There was nothing funny about remembering her death, or the fact that Dad took a shovel that same night and started digging a hole in the backyard, or Toby punching several holes in the walls, breaking multiple bones in his hand. Nothing at all, but I couldn’t freakin’ stop laughing! Only it wasn’t laughter, not really.
“Tess”—he cupped my face and forced me to look at him—”we’re gonna be fine. Yeah, we might have to eat bugs and wade through poison oak, but we can handle it. We can. We’ll be together, slapping mosquitoes off each other’s backs and hunting rabbit and picking wild berries.”
Hunting rabbit?
“And we have all this awesome stuff to make it a whole lot easier.” He waved his arm around to indicate the store, but cupped my face again as if my head might explode if he didn’t. “Sure, it won’t be like staying in a five-star hotel, but we’ll make it work. They have thermal socks that keep feet dry. We’ll have dry feet!” His eyes widened, showing his excitement. “Won’t that be great?”
Was I supposed to stop my hysterical laughter over socks? His attempt to calm me had the opposite effect and I blubbered and chuckled until hiccups gripped my body. I had no idea what to make of myself, so how in the world was he supposed to understand that my laughter, my tears, my craziness, only had a small part to do with tackling a mountain and everything that went with it?
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