by Snow, Jenika
Chapter Fourteen
Hell can be pretty cold
The promise of fall would be here before Malachi knew it.
Malachi could smell it in the air, taste it in the way the wind bit at him.
He’d left the city and headed north, toward the mountains, away from what was left of civilization.
He’d been camping out in the woods for the last week, having pitched a small tent he’d found on this journey, scavenging supplies here and there on the way.
He’d been able to bathe in a creek just the other day, the frigid water a blessing in an otherwise shitty situation. But hell, he’d experienced more than this in his lifetime, lived through a hell of a lot worse.
The small town he was about to enter looked like it was part of some Wild West re-creation, with the wooden storefronts, the squared-in town center, and even the red, white, and blue banners hanging intermittently on the building posts.
Malachi moved his gaze back and forth along the deserted, eerily silent town. The wind picked up and had a few shutters on the mom-and-pop stores banging against the storefronts. He had his gun at the ready, as always, and stopped, listening, seeing if he was truly alone.
He sure as fuck felt like it.
He’d been alone for so long now that actually seeing someone else would be weird as hell.
Malachi moved past a hardware store, a video rental place, and even a pharmacy. He needed to check out the latter, seeing if there were any meds still there. Although he wasn’t sick, antibiotics and other first aid shit would come in handy.
Malachi headed there first. He kept to the building, listening, scanning. The store was empty aside from a rat he saw scurrying around.
The pharmacy was small, with only a few rows of shelving, and the main med counter in the back of the store. There were a few motivational sayings on the wall, framed, some broken, others hanging on a lone nail.
He moved down each aisle, picking up a few items that he found, a couple candy bars, one bottle of cough syrup, some gauze. He made his way toward the back, where the medicine was. Or where he hoped it was. Malachi wasn’t expecting anything, not with how trashed the store was.
Scaling the counter, his shoes came in contact with broken glass. Malachi started scanning the shelves.
The bottles he did find, he had no fucking clue what they were, but he shoved them in his backpack. He’d see if this place had some kind of med book, or maybe there was a library in town that would have something he could use.
Shit, he missed the Internet.
Malachi was versed in the illegal shit. It’s what he’d sold back when he’d ruled the underground.
Vicodin.
Percocet.
Oxy.
All of that shit had been cash to him.
He did find some Tylenol, two bottles that had rolled under the counter, dust and dirt covering them.
“Bingo,” he said low as he saw alcohol pads, peroxide, and a few more boxes of gauze. He stood and headed toward the backroom he’d spotted, saw it was used as an employee breakroom, with a first aid kit tucked on the top of a shelf.
For the town being so small, and this store looking ransacked he’d made out pretty fucking well.
As he was about to head out and hit up another store, he saw a tipped-over vending machine and a surge of hope filled him that there would be something of use in it. He walked closer, rounded the corner of it, saw nothing but busted glass and emptiness, and growled low.
“Fuck,” he said and kicked the motherfucking machine. He was pissed, frustrated, but those emotions spurred him, fueled him on. It was what he lived for, how he grew stronger. He took a pile of shit and turned it into gold. That’s how he’d built an empire.
He did one more sweep of the store. After he found what he could, and took what he needed, Malachi headed out, instantly wanting to go back inside to stave off the cold. But he had to keep moving, and with hours before the sun set, he needed to scout for more supplies before calling it a night.
He clenched his teeth together, knowing he’d have to find something more stable and solid than the fucking tent he’d been sleeping in. It wouldn’t protect him well enough once winter hit.
Chapter Fifteen
Run
Time was running out. Sasha didn’t know why she felt that way, only that there was no way they could stay at the cabin. Too much time had passed and their food was getting low. She’d tried to hunt in the forest around them. Rabbits ran too fast. There was no way to get a squirrel. Unless she started testing mushrooms, which was a bad no-no. There was no way she could deal with what the hell was happening.
Not once during school did they take them out to go hunting or to do anything like that.
Life … sucked.
Lying next to Lucy, her sister had a smile on her lips as she did most of the time she was asleep.
Holding onto the pillow, she tried to think of a good reason to stay at the cabin. They were relatively safe, no doubt about that. Other than the one guy she’d killed, no one else had attacked them.
The days were blending together.
What mattered was staying safe.
Climbing out of bed, she kept hold of the handgun she took with her everywhere. She knew danger was all around them and since she’d had to kill someone, she hadn’t allowed herself to get caught out again.
Heading into the kitchen area of the cabin, she stared out of the window. It was dark outside and the only light came from the moon, filtering in between the trees. She would give anything to have wings right now just to go and see what the hell the rest of the world was doing.
If she didn’t have to worry about Lucy, she’d have been long gone.
Her baby sister needed to be protected.
Just as she was about to turn her head, movement caught her attention.
Leaning back against the wall, away from any window, she chanced another peek outside and sure enough, she saw a flash of light.
Her heart started to race. Her mouth went dry.
Then she heard the sounds of cheering.
Men.
She didn’t know how many but she heard three men all talking at once.
There was no way she’d be able to hold them off.
Keeping low, she crawled back to the bedroom and shook Lucy awake. Her sister went to talk but she covered her mouth.
“Don’t make a sound,” she whispered.
Lucy nodded and she helped her sister out of bed. Without waiting or hearing to see what the men were doing, she grabbed the backpacks she’d prepared days ago. Sliding one onto Lucy’s shoulders, she did the same with hers. Keeping Lucy behind her, they slowly began to exit the cabin. She could tell the men were close and as the front door slammed open, she moved into the spare bathroom and slowly closed the door. Going to the window, she took her time working it up. The men were in the house and she heard them getting closer as she helped Lucy out of the window. Following her, she jumped down just as the door slammed open. Pressing her back against the wall, she felt panic fill her.
Run.
She had to run.
Pointing, she grabbed Lucy’s shoulders and urged her forward. They rounded the house, and she quickly pulled Lucy back. One of them was there taking a piss. Covering Lucy’s mouth, she pulled the gun she still had out of the back of her pants.
Stepping back from the wall, she crouched down to Lucy. “Stay behind me.” Stepping out from the wall, she kept her gun at her side and slowly began to step out from behind the house.
Slowly, she pulled Lucy with her, using her own body for protection. Breaking for the trees, she pushed Lucy behind the tree just as she was tackled to the ground. She didn’t even think about it this time. She pointed the gun and started to shoot.
Three shots and she dropped the gun, pushing the body off her. She didn’t think as she got back up, putting Lucy in front of her and starting to run. She heard the men closing in on her and she didn’t stop.
“Sasha,” Lucy said. “It hurts
.”
Automatically, she picked up her sister, and Lucy wrapped her legs around her. The added weight didn’t help her and she grew tired quickly but she didn’t stop. Not for a second.
Only when she couldn’t take any more, she leaned against a tree holding her sister.
“I think they’re gone,” Lucy said. “They stopped following us. They looked drunk.”
Slowly, Sasha eased her sister down to the ground and collapsed in a heap beside her. With the darkness surrounding them, she didn’t look down at her body, too afraid of what she would see. Lucy huddled against her side and she tried not to think.
Not to even look ahead.
Eyes closed, she felt sick to her stomach.
“I got you,” Lucy said.
Her sister didn’t have her.
She was the one that was supposed to have her sister.
Her hands shook and she held on to Lucy.
It’s okay.
It’s fine.
She’d killed two men now.
This was her new norm and she fucking hated it.
“Go to sleep, Lucy.”
It was still so dark. There was no way she’d be sleeping for some time.
“We can keep moving.”
“No. Go to sleep. We’ll move in the morning. If they find us, I’ll take care of it.” She released the bag from her shoulders and grabbed the gun she’d used previously. Once she had the safety off and prepared, she leaned back against the tree with Lucy by her side.
It was cold out but she threw the blanket from her bag over her sister. After a few minutes her sister started to shake.
“I love you, Sasha.”
“Love you too, Lucy.”
If she didn’t love her sister, she’d have left her long ago.
Sasha stayed quiet, waiting for her baby sister to finally fall asleep. With tears running down her cheeks, she rested her head against the tree.
In the back of her mind, the flash of the man on top of her kept repeating. She hadn’t even waited.
All of her life, she hadn’t been a violent person. She’d avoided conflict or fights. High school hadn’t been spent panicking in the halls. She simply hadn’t gotten onto anyone’s bad side.
Fighting always made her feel sick and it would seem, even after all this time, that hadn’t changed. She didn’t know why the men had decided to finally come to her house, nor did she care about the how. If they had found her, it wasn’t going to be long until more people did.
The time for being away from whatever had happened to the world was over. She had to face reality and somehow keep her sister safe.
Chapter Sixteen
Where is everybody?
Sasha opened her eyes and quickly jerked awake when she realized she must have fallen asleep. Hand going to the gun, she raised it up and quickly looked around.
“Good, you’re awake,” Lucy said.
She turned to see her sister holding a dolly that had been packed into her backpack.
“What’s going on?” Sasha ran a hand down her face and quickly pulled her hand away when she realized it was covered in blood.
“I woke up early. You were falling asleep and it’s really, really cold.” Lucy put her doll back into the backpack. “You look … bloody.”
“I know. Come on, we’ve got to start heading out.” Getting to her feet, she wrapped up the blanket, stuffing it into her backpack.
“I’m hungry.”
“I know. That’s why we’ve got to start moving.” They had to go and find some food. The supplies they had back at the cabin had dwindled so much. Not to mention the car they’d used to get up here wouldn’t start—presumably because they’d coasted up here on fumes toward the end—and gas cans that had been in the back from when their dad packed the car, were empty. Sasha knew nothing about vehicles, but the empty gas gauge was confirmation on what the issue was. So, they had to do this on foot.
With her bag on her back, she grabbed Lucy’s hand, held the gun in her other, and started to trek through the forest.
She was careful as they went just in case some people had set some bear traps. Their parents used to talk about people stepping into them and it would create a whole nightmare of trouble.
If bear traps were around, it meant they weren’t far from a house, a cabin, or a trailer.
“If you could be anywhere but here, where would you be?” Lucy asked.
Sasha laughed. “Seriously? You want to play that game?”
“Why not? I’m bored and you don’t look happy. We can do it,” Lucy said.
“Okay, fine. I’m happy to play. I’d be on a beach with a huge plate of steak and potatoes that was constantly warm so that I could eat and enjoy at my leisure.” Her stomach growled.
“I’d love a big pile of pancakes with all the maple syrup from the bottle. Bacon. Lots of bacon. Oh, and eggs.”
Sasha laughed. “That sounds good.”
“I love food. I miss food.” Lucy rubbed her stomach and that one simple action made Sasha feel like the world’s worst sister.
Lucy shouldn’t be going hungry because of her.
“Me too. I miss food.”
“Do you think we’ll ever be able to have steak again?”
“I hope so.”
“What about waffles?”
Sasha chuckled. “The moment I can make them for you, consider it a done deal.”
Lucy clapped her hands before throwing them around her waist. “Before you cook though, you’ve got to wash. You look … scary.”
She didn’t even have a clue what she looked like but she couldn’t imagine it wasn’t good.
They walked out of the forest and she found the main round. She didn’t know how much time had passed.
The sickness that usually came with hunger had passed as well. Her entire body was tired.
They continued to walk for some time. The sun was high up in the sky and it had gotten warmer.
Lucy removed her jacket, putting it back into the bag.
“Where is everyone?” Lucy asked.
No one had driven down the long road.
It was completely empty.
Abandoned.
When they did pass a car, just a carcass was left, burnt and charred, clearly having been set on fire in a previous life … one before all of this.
As the sun started to set, Sasha tried to contain her panic. Just as she was about to completely lose it, they came to a stop at the end of a dirty road, and up ahead was a house.
She looked toward the house. With the gun in her hand, and her sister holding the other, she made a decision. The silence in the air was deafening to her.
Biting her lip, Sasha led the way to the house, listening to see if there was life inside. She thought about knocking, something that seemed “normal” in an otherwise abnormal situation.
Lucy released her hand and went to the windows.
“No one’s there,” Lucy said.
Tapping the gun beside her leg, Sasha blew out a breath. “No one?”
Lucy shook her head.
“Stay here,” Sasha said. She tried the door handle and sure enough, it opened up.
“Why is it so quiet?”
Not a single noise was there. No airplanes, no cars, no buzzing from garages.
Nothing.
It was like the entire world was dead.
Lucy moved up behind her. She closed the door, and then went to every single room she could find. It was completely clear and looked like it hadn’t been lived in for a long time.
As soon as she realized how empty it was, the next stop was the kitchen. Everything in the fridge was spoiled or moldy. The stench was so disgusting.
Going to the cupboards, she found several cans of food. Lots of it. Grabbing down three whole cans and a saucepan, she quickly opened them up, poured everything inside, and began heating it up.
The gas was working and she wasn’t about to question how it was. Lucy stood by her side.
Rather than
wait for bowls, Lucy found two spoons and they stood at the kitchen counter, eating.
“This is so good,” Lucy said.
Sasha didn’t say a word. It had been too long since she’d eaten anything. She took her time, though, recalling a starvation topic from her health class in school. If she rushed after being away from a lot of food, she would throw up. It wouldn’t be good. So she took her time and watched as Lucy devoured the rest.
“Sasha?” Lucy asked.
“What is it?”
“Where is everybody?”
“I don’t know.”
“It’s so quiet. Dad always said that the world could never go quiet unless people were dead.”
“Or they’re just really busy,” Sasha said.
“I’m not a child.”
She didn’t want to fight with her baby sister. All she wanted to do was to take care of her.
Glancing around the house, she saw a nice-looking sofa, and there were a few locks on the door.
“I think we should stay here for tonight.”
“It’s still light out,” Lucy said. “Let’s go and see if we can find some nice people.”
“Nice people?”
“Yes. Those men were bad people. We need to find nice people so they know they’re not alone.”
Before Sasha could stop her, Lucy was already out of the house.
“Shit!”
Grabbing the gun she’d left on the table, she took off outside of the house.
Lucy was already at the end of the dirt road. Gritting her teeth, she ran, trying to keep up.
Just as Lucy made another break into the main town, Sasha paused. There were cars parked down the main street of the town.
Lights were still on, but she saw by looking in shops that no one was around.
Lucy started to bang on doors.
“We’re here. You’re not alone,” Lucy called.
Was her sister being struck by the virus?
She couldn’t recall her parents going through that. They’d been sick, not demanding attention.
“Hello?” Lucy said.
When no one answered, she pushed her way into a house.