by Snow, Jenika
The only thing giving her any kind of comfort right now was her gun.
They walked down the street and back to the house. Sasha didn’t see anyone but that didn’t mean no one was lurking. Once inside, she locked the doors and stared out the peephole, watching the path. She waited a few more seconds and still there was only silence.
She had to be losing her mind.
Chapter Twenty
And then the world changed with just one glance
Seeing her had been like an electric shock to Malachi’s heart. Her hair had been long, pulled into a haphazard ponytail, the darker strands appearing damp at the ends, as if she’d bathed recently.
He’d kept hidden behind the trees, the thick trunks enough to hide him from their view.
She was with a child, a little girl, holding her hand tightly as if she’d fly away.
The fear coming from both of them was tangible, something he could feel, smell even from the distance.
He found himself following them, keeping to the tree line, the sound of his feet snapping twigs drowned out by the howl of wind.
It sounded like a storm was coming, the smell of impending rain hanging in the air, surrounding him. There were storm clouds in the distance, dark ones that were rolling closer, about to spew forth their anger in wet, fat drops.
And still he found himself keeping up with them. Malachi didn’t know what he was doing, following them, watching them.
The older one couldn’t have been more than twenty, this innocence surrounding her, yet not dimmed by the fierce expression on her face. It was clear she was taking on the world headfirst.
The younger one was small, fragile almost, maybe ten years old. They both looked like they were on the brink of breaking, survival hard on them.
Yet still they walked, still they survived.
Malachi didn’t even know how they’d made it this far, this long. The world had been hard before, but now? Now it was downright fucking evil. The people who were still alive weren’t the best, scraped out of the bottom of the barrel, the evil of the world.
He was a prime example of that degradation.
But these two girls? These two probably went to church on Sundays, painted their toenails on the weekends, and watched movies with their family.
And they’d been thrust into this world that would chew them up and spit them out.
He followed them until he watched them slip into a house. The older one stopped at the entryway and looked around. She had her hand on her hip, the butt of gun evident. Maybe she could feel his presence? Maybe she was stronger and more built for this world than he was giving her credit for?
Malachi felt himself become mesmerized with her, the way strands of her dark hair fell from her ponytail, how they brushed against her cheek.
Where he stood, Malachi could see how full her lips were, how pink they were. Her eyes were big, the color bright blue. Her skin was a gorgeous alabaster color, as if she hadn’t spent much time outside in the sun.
His fingers itched to touch her hair, to see how soft it was between his fingers. He wanted to bury his nose at the base of her neck and inhale, seeing if she smelled as sweet as she looked.
What the fuck was wrong with him? One look at this woman and he felt everything in him change, shift. He felt this possessiveness rise in him.
The world was a dangerous place and he wanted to be the one to watch over her, to make sure she was safe.
He wanted her in the most selfish way possible.
But on the heels of that, he also knew that he was one of those dangers. Malachi was one of those evils, and the last thing he wanted to do was have his ruin consume her.
Chapter Twenty-One
Never trust a quiet town
Sasha found a map hidden in the office. It looked relatively new and as she checked all the co-ordinates, she attempted to plan a new route.
“What is it?” Lucy asked, bringing her a bottle of water.
“It’s a map.”
“You wanting to fly away or something?”
She chuckled. “Not at all. I’m thinking we can plan how best to get out of here and where we can go.” Sasha didn’t add that she hoped to avoid the larger towns and cities for fear of what they’d turned into. She didn’t need to remember watching other disaster movies to know they would be alive with activity and not very good ones either.
“We’re going to have to walk, though, right?” Lucy asked, groaning. “We’re going to die out there.”
Sasha rolled her eyes. “Do not be so dramatic. We’ll be able to find a way out and besides, I saw a couple of cars around. We’ll have to go into the houses and try to find the keys.” The only problem with that? The potential dead bodies and decay they could find. She rubbed at her temples. Either way they did this, it was going to be risky. If they took a car, there was a chance of them being heard down the road.
Pressing her hands to her face, she tried to clear the exhaustion from her brain, only it wasn’t working.
“You’re tired. You’ve got to rest,” Lucy said.
“Why are you sounding so mature all of a sudden?”
Lucy smiled. “I’ve got to take care of you. I know Mom and Dad said you’ve got to take care of me but we’ve only got each other.”
“You’re a good sister, Lucy.” She hugged her sister close and blew out a breath. “There’s so much to consider right now.”
“I think we need to find a car, then load it up with food and after that, we’re out of here.”
“You’re right. We can’t stay too long.” They’d already been here four days and she was starting to find comfort in the silence. Even though there were times she felt someone watching her.
Gripping the back of her neck, she stretched out her muscles before taking a sip of the water from the all but destroyed bottle. Once she’d had her few minutes to relax, she went back to planning out their route. There were not many chances she could take but she’d be able to take a lot of backroads, which meant getting to certain places would take longer. The other problem was gas. If they got to a town and didn’t have enough fuel, then they were done for. No matter which way she looked at it, they were screwed.
“Just my fucking luck,” she murmured softly.
She circled each town and then placed the map back in the bag. Lucy was already sound asleep in the living room. Sasha checked the doors and windows to make sure they were locked.
Only when she felt safe did she take a seat and attempt to think. But exhaustion claimed her and she found herself drifting off to sleep.
Ever since the attack at the cabin, she rarely slept more than a few hours at a time. It was as if the threat of the world, and the danger that surrounded her, were an alarm clock constantly going off.
Opening her eyes, she realized she’d fallen asleep. It was still dark outside and Lucy was still asleep. Getting off the sofa, she headed into the kitchen to triple check their supplies and make sure nothing was missed.
But then she felt something, a feeling that had the hairs on her arms standing on end.
It had her looking around the kitchen, her nerves riding high.
Grabbing the supplies they had left, she went in to wake up Lucy. Whatever made her feel this way, she knew they couldn’t stay. They had to leave. Something was wrong.
“Come on, we’ve got to go.”
“What? Is something wrong?”
“No. But we’ve got to move,” she lied easily. Something was wrong. Sasha just couldn’t place it.
They quickly dressed and were packed and ready to go. The sun had started to rise, giving a clear view across town.
She kept hold of Lucy’s hand as she started toward the first available car. She tried the handle, only to find it locked. Hiding Lucy inside the first house, she started to check for the keys, praying internally that she found them. The stench of decay surrounded her.
But house after house came up empty. And then she found a set of keys.
Once she had L
ucy and their belongings in the car and she’d helped Lucy into the passenger’s side seat, Sasha took her place behind the wheel.
Although she wanted to just get the hell out of here, she also knew that not stopping at the grocery store she’d seen would be foolish. They needed all the supplies they could get, especially with how far they were traveling.
“Where are we going?” Lucy sounded terrified. Sasha reached out and took her hand in hers.
“We need to get enough supplies to last us until we get to the next destination,” she said.
“Why?”
“Because, if it turns out we can’t stop in that town, I don’t want us to starve.”
“Right, good thinking.”
Sasha parked the car in the deserted lot, vehicles with their doors open on either side of her, trash being blown around as if this was a ghost town in a movie.
It is.
It’s dead, like the world.
She wanted to tell Lucy to stay put, to keep the doors locked, but common sense told her they needed to stay together.
“Come on. In and out. Real easy.”
They headed inside the supermarket, Sasha’s heart racing, her gun tucked in her waistband.
“Stay quiet, just in case,” Sasha whispered.
She held on to Lucy’s hand, and together they headed inside. The store looked trashed, with barren shelves and garbage littered around the ground. She grabbed a basket and together they started going up and down the aisles, looking for anything.
A lot had been taken already, the memory of what this place probably used to look like filling Sasha’s had.
They’d found several cans, some missing the labels so the contents were anyone’s guess. There was a crushed bag of chips, some jerky, and even powdered milk. She’d found a few water bottles that had fallen underneath a shelf and shoved everything they found in the basket.
Sasha steered clear of the fresh produce section, the stench of rotting fruits and vegetables almost too much to stomach.
Lucy seemed in a good mood, especially when she found a bag of candy. She didn’t rush Lucy along, because the truth was, Sasha didn’t know how long it would be before they had this kind of freedom again.
Pushing her fingers through her hair, she waited, trying to stay calm even as her body started to sweat. They needed to keep moving. That was more evident than ever.
With their basket loaded up, they headed back out of the door to the car, but it was the sight before her that had Sasha grabbing Lucy’s hand and pushing her behind her.
Less than a few feet from them were three men, all holding weapons, all of them grinning at them.
“Well, well, well, look what we’ve got here,” the big one in front said.
Sasha stared at all of them, and even with a gun at her disposal, there was no way she’d be able to fight all of them. She had to do something though. The way the men looked at her, she didn’t like it. Not for herself and certainly not for Lucy.
Chapter Twenty-Two
Evil sees evil
Malachi had watched them leave the house, going from home to home, searching, scavenging. They’d finally found a car, and panic had seized him at the very thought that he’d lose them. No way could he find a ride in enough time to follow her.
But he’d seen her head toward town, praying to a God he didn’t even believe in to cut him some slack and let her stop. Malachi had no fucking clue why he was acting this way, but the need to keep her close was strong, like a strong drug running through his veins, refusing to ease, making him need more of that high.
He could have played it off like he’d been without a woman for far too long, but that would be a lie. When he’d looked at her that first time it had been like a shot of electricity had slammed into his body, twisting up his organs, refusing to ease up unless he made her his.
Fucking insanity, that’s what this was, that’s how he was acting.
But he could no longer stop himself than cease breathing.
So he’d run through the woods, taking the short way into town, the way he knew would have him cutting his time by half. The very thought she might not be there when he arrived was like cold ice around his gut. But how the fuck would he keep her close? They didn’t know each other, and if she was smart, she’d stay far back from him, her instincts telling her he wasn’t a good man.
He reached town and saw the car she’d been driving parked in front of the small grocery store. He’d ransacked the place when he’d first arrived, and there had hardly been anything then. He stayed back, knowing he had to think of how this would play out. If he went up to her, she’d no doubt be scared. He was a big fucker, and she was so small. She had no reason to believe he wouldn’t hurt her. And he didn’t want her just trusting him. That was stupid in this day and age … in this world.
As he stood there thinking, formulating a plan, the sound of an approaching vehicle had him straightening and going on alert. He snapped his head in the direction the sound came from and saw a beat-up pickup truck approaching. There were two guys in the back, their voices loud and obnoxious, the sound of a bottle breaking echoing.
Malachi’s heart raced as he watched the truck come to a stop in front of the grocery store.
The two assholes jumped out of the truck, and the driver opened the door and reached for something in the cab. When he shut the door, Malachi saw the metal bat he now held.
“Fuck,” he grumbled under his breath. He pulled his gun out, checked how many bullets he had left, and knew that once those assholes figured out the two girls were inside, shit would go down.
They moved into a semi-circle, and all three looked back at the entrance, and it was then Malachi knew they were aware that there were people inside.
“Fuck,” he said again. Looked like it was time to go back to his roots, ones that were deep and dark and pretty fucking twisted.
Two of the fuckers leaned against the side of the rusty brown pickup. They all looked grungy and dirty, what someone would expect a fucking end of the world appearance to be like.
Desperate.
Unclean.
Uncaring.
The other two had weapons, ones he couldn’t quite make out, but small enough that they could be tools of some sort, a wrench maybe, a hammer.
He didn’t stop himself as he made his way toward them. Hi throat tightened when he saw the girls step out of the store, the oldest one’s eyes widening as she kept her arm behind her, protecting the little girl.
The closer Malachi got, the clearer the voices became.
“You sure are pretty,” one of the bastards said.
He had his focus on the one he wanted, the girl with the long fall of hair haphazardly pulled into a ponytail.
“We don’t have anything but a few cans of fruit,” she said, her voice soft but a strength laced in it that made him proud. She was a fighter.
And then he watched as she went for her gun, resting her hand on it.
“How about you girls come with us. We’ll get you something to eat. We have a camp set up. It’ll be nice.”
“No thanks. We have people waiting for us. A group.”
She was smart, making them think she wasn’t alone but he knew they wouldn’t believe her.
“They just let you go out all by yourself?”
She didn’t answer right away. “They’ll be here any minute.” Her voice wavered slightly, giving away her lie.
“That right?”
Malachi was a few feet from them now, and when she noticed him, her eyes widened.
“I was wondering where you two ran off to.”
Her eyes widened but she didn’t say anything to ruin the lie.
Malachi stepped beside her and smiled. “The others are on their way.” The lie came easily to him. He turned and faced the fuckers. His expression was void of emotion; he made sure of it. “Can I help you guys?”
“You?” The leader, he assumed, shook his head. “The girls, though? Yeah, they can help us.”
“These girls?” Malachi lifted an eyebrow. “Nah, they aren’t up for grabs, boys.”
“We got a brave one on our hands, boys.” That had the other men chuckling. “Listen, we found them first. You want some action, find your own.”
Rage built in Malachi so fiercely he actually growled low.
“You look like you can take care of yourself,” the thug said and looked Malachi up and down. “Yeah, you’re a big motherfucker, but you’re outnumbered.” He shrugged. “Maybe you were something big back before this shit went down with the world.” He grinned. “But let me tell you, the world we live in is very different. Eat or be eaten, you feel me?”
Malachi didn’t answer.
His smile vanished. “So how about you step aside and give the girls to us?”
Malachi shook his head slowly. He felt them still behind him, heard the soft sound of the younger one crying.
Malachi gritted his teeth. “I’m not giving you anything. If you want them, you’ll have to get through me first, and I’m going to warn you that the ending will be the three of you fuckers dead.”
The three of them glanced at each other, not speaking, not even moving. The air became thick, suffocating with the aggression swirling between all of them.
The leader with the bat tsked. “Don’t like to share, huh?” The fucker shrugged. “That’s all right, neither do we.” He grinned again. “If you want us to go through you to get to them, so be it.”
“Stay back,” he said to the girls, not looking at them, keeping his focus on these bastards. Malachi took a step forward, the low sound of warning coming from him like a blast of ice and fire. “They aren’t yours and never will be.” Malachi rolled his head around on his neck. If they wanted to go there, then he’d show them exactly the type of man he used to be.
He’d never felt this kind of need for violence before, but the very thought of these girls being taken … used, made him fucking sick to his stomach, and had rage burning deep within him. Malachi wasn’t a good man, but hurting, raping women? He wasn’t that evil.