Savage: The End

by Snow, Jenika

  He was falling harder for her each day, becoming even more possessive of her, more territorial. The very thought of her being taken from him hurt; anything that made it so she wasn’t his, had Malachi feeling a blind rage.

  He rested his head back against the wall and stared straight ahead. Lucy handed him the can of green beans and he smiled at her, taking a few out and popping them in his mouth. They’d need more than just canned shit to eat. They’d have to get meat, protein. He’d have to hunt for them.

  What Malachi needed to do was make a home for them, one where he could protect both of them and where Sasha could be his, where she’d see how he could take care of her, of them both.

  He looked outside and knew this storm was going to be fierce, just like the world they now lived in.

  Chapter Twenty-Six

  They didn’t need any help

  Sasha wanted to hate Malachi, but with each passing day, she found it harder to keep that resolve. She’d been doing a good job taking care of her and Lucy, but it would seem her sister preferred the help of a man they didn’t know. She shouldn’t be pissed off but she couldn’t help it. How could she not be angry?

  He came out of nowhere and already he was taking over, trying to tell them what to do.

  And even if she knew it was for the best, that without him they’d be dead, or worse, Sasha hated giving up her control. She hated being weak, or seen that way by him.

  Lucy stopped eating as the thunder rumbled outside. Sasha moved closer to her sister, giving her the comfort she needed.

  “Just think of the sky having a hissy fit,” Malachi said.

  Lucy burst out laughing and Malachi winked.

  It was so strange to see a man so big and strong, so dangerous, acting so gentle with Lucy. It had Sasha softening toward him, that was for sure.

  “See, it’s not so scary now.”

  The windows couldn’t hide the flash of lightning, though.

  “I’ll never let anything happen to you, remember that.” Malachi gave her a smile, and it was a genuine one, a smile that told them things would be okay because he’d make it so.

  Sasha held her sister, resting her head against Lucy’s. “It’ll be fine.”

  “You promise?”

  “Yes.”

  Sasha pulled a peach out from inside the can. Their food was running perilously low, but she didn’t want Lucy knowing that, didn’t want her sister worrying about that stuff.

  The moment she finished the can of peaches, Lucy handed her the empty bag of nachos, and started to yawn.

  Sasha found an old throw in the supply closet and placed it over her sister, giving her as much comfort as she could.

  The old movie theater had a lot of cushions and they’d been able to make themselves some makeshift beds in the main reception area.

  She hummed to Lucy until she fell asleep before silently slipping away and going to the window to see the rain pouring down.

  “It’s bad,” she whispered so she wouldn’t wake Lucy.

  “It’ll get worse before it gets better.” Malachi’s voice was low, deep.

  Sasha reached for the band at the back of her hair, releasing her locks. She tilted her head from side to side, trying to loosen up the knots that had formed in her shoulders and neck. “When do you think it’ll let up?”

  He came up and stood beside her, looking out the window. “I don’t know. It could be a couple of hours, a few days.”

  A few days? “Do you think a lot of towns are like this? Deserted and looted?”

  “That’s the only problem with the virus. People tried to make a run for it, and got as many resources as possible,” he said. “Our best chance is to look for filled cars, abandoned by the sick.”

  “You think we’re safe from the virus?” It had been so long now, that surely if they were going to get it they would have by now.

  “If we were going to be hit by the virus, we would have been.”

  She glanced at him and stared at his profile. “Did you know people who had it?” she asked.

  “I did.” He looked at her. “You?”

  She stared into his dark eyes and nodded. “My parents,” she said. “We were all supposed to go out to the cabin, but … they didn’t make it. I took Lucy. They begged me to.” She sighed. “It has just been one battle after another. We were able to spend a lot of time at the cabin though.”

  “That’s good. You missed a lot of the destruction.”

  “It got bad?”

  “Yeah. It got really fucking bad, especially in the city. There was no order on the streets. Everyone ran wild.”

  “You got out safely, though,” she said.

  “I did, but then I’ve got no problems killing people. Some people are not so … resilient. They aren’t made for this world.” He looked at her once more. “I am.”

  She thought about the men she’d killed. “It’s amazing what you’ll do to survive.” She never thought she had it in her to kill, but she had and would do so again for Lucy.

  A chill filled the air and she rubbed at her arms, not liking how the storm was going. This was another thing she missed from her old life; the Weather Channel and finding out what they were in for and how long they would need to stay protected.

  “We’ll stay here until it blows over.”

  “You think we’re safe enough here?” she asked and glanced at him.

  “Yeah. It’s better here than out there, especially with how the weather is turning. No one is going to be going anywhere in this shit. It’s safe. We’re safe. Promise.”

  She grabbed the handle of her gun and looked around the room. Lucy was sound asleep and she would be out for the count for a couple of hours at least.

  Sasha found the best location that meant she didn’t have to keep moving but could see the whole of the room, especially the entrance, and therefore could protect Lucy. She felt Malachi watching her and looked at him. He had a hard set to his face.

  “I wish you’d realize that I won’t let anything happen to the two of you.”

  She swallowed the lump in her throat. “I know.” He lifted a brow as if he didn’t believe her. “I really do, but it’s hard for me to let this control go. It’s ingrained in me to keep her safe.”

  He ran a hand over his beard and nodded. “Fair enough.”

  Her stomach was cramping from the tension. Being in the middle of nowhere was not doing well for her sense of self.

  “You should get some sleep,” he said and settled down a few feet from her.

  “I don’t think I’ve slept properly since all of this started.” She just couldn’t bring herself to fall fully asleep, not at a time like this.

  “Then sleep now. I’ll watch you two. I’ll protect you both. Have faith.”

  “I have faith,” she said. “In me and in my sister.”

  He chuckled. “You know, you’re not going to get far in this world if you don’t trust the ones here to help.”

  “Trust doesn’t come easily anymore. It’s a commodity that needs to be earned. We’re on our own and there’s nothing you or I can do to change it.”

  The silence stretched out.

  “You miss the old world?” he asked.

  She looked at him but didn’t say anything.

  “I can see you do. I can even understand that. You’re so young. I bet you had a pretty perfect life, didn’t you?”

  She thought about her life before all of this.

  “I was happy. I haven’t been that way since all of this happened.” She heard the sadness in her voice.

  “I’m sorry,” he said and she was surprised by the sincerity in his voice. She glanced at him. “I’m sorry you lost everything.”

  She swallowed the emotions that rose up. “I’m sorry too.”

  He shook his head. “I didn’t have shit to lose, not anything of value … not happiness.”

  She watched as he removed the guns and blades before he loosened up his belt. She had no choice but to look away, a little
embarrassed by the way he was easily undressing himself. “Don’t worry about a thing, princess.”

  “I’m not worried.” She kicked off her sneakers and placed her weapons close and within easy reach. Pulling her thighs up to her chest, she watched Lucy.

  “You know, she’s stronger than you think.”

  Yeah, she knew that, but it didn’t stop her from worrying about Lucy. “I really don’t want to deal with this right now.”

  “You got to learn to relax, sweetheart. Even when the world has ended life goes on.”

  “What is with all of the terms of endearment all of a sudden?”

  He laughed. “Get some sleep, honey.”

  She laid back, staring up at the ceiling, just as another wave of thunder and lightning hit.

  Lucy woke up but didn’t go very far, as she snuggled up against her. She held her sister close, very much aware of the man at her back, watching her.

  He was like a wild animal waiting to pounce, and she was the prey he had his eyes on.

  Chapter Twenty-Seven

  Go away, rain

  For four days it had rained nonstop and they had no choice but to find higher ground within the movie theater. During one of the nights, the rain had gotten so heavy it had found its way in through the doors and the whole main floor was soaked.

  Sasha stared out at the path below.

  There would be no emergency services coming to rescue them. Just as fast as it appeared, it could also go.

  “It’s not as deep downstairs,” Malachi said, coming up into the office.

  Lucy was sitting in the corner playing with her dolls. They had limited food, as most of their supplies were back at the car.

  The longer they stayed here, there was a chance they’d starve.

  Pushing some of her hair off her face, she looked up and down the street.

  “There’s no way you can leave,” he said.

  “We shouldn’t have stayed. This is the problem.”

  “I know what the problem is. You can keep arguing all you want but it’s not going to change the fact we’re stuck here. What you should be doing is praying this rain stops. When it does, we don’t fucking linger. We get out of here before someone finds us.” He held his gun, checking it over. They had already cleaned their guns in case of the water getting inside them.

  “Can we go and swim?” Lucy asked, coming to stand beside her. “It looks like a giant puddle. We could go and splash in it and it would be a whole lot of fun. Please, please, please.”

  Malachi stood up. “You can’t jump in that.”

  “Why not? I want to go and jump in it and Sasha will let me, won’t you?”

  “Think about the chances of certain things rotting. The diseases they carry.”

  Sasha stared up at him and it was hard for her not to feel a little sick from the visual she’d just gotten. People didn’t just go and die in their homes. There were bodies in the street. It’s why she always made sure to walk ahead of Lucy so her sister never got the chance to see the dead.

  “No, it’s dangerous and it’s dirty. There’s dog poo and all kinds of nasty things. Daddy always said to not go splashing in floods, remember.” There was also a big explanation but Sasha couldn’t remember it as she had zoned out at the time and had been playing some game she was addicted to on her phone.

  It always helped to pass the time.

  “Oh, okay. I remember. Daddy always said that you have to get out of the water because it brings up dirt and filth from the sewers. I remember.” Lucy smiled and went back to playing with her dolls.

  “Your dad sounds like a good man,” Malachi said, taking a seat beside her.

  “He was a good man. A strong man.” She looked away from Lucy, feeling the tears begin to well up.

  “Are you okay?”

  “I’m fine. Okay? I’m fine.”

  “You don’t have to bite my head off. I’m just wanting to make sure you’re okay.”

  “I am okay. It’s just another fucked-up day in this fucked-up world, and I’m trying to keep everything together so my sister doesn’t realize how fucked-up it all really is.” She got to her feet, moving toward the window. “It’s no big deal.” She stared out at the water. It had stopped raining but the flood was still in place. She saw the debris it carried as it kept on moving. The sight of the moving water helped to calm her nerves.

  She rubbed her arms again, feeling a slight chill in the air. The temperature kept on plummeting, and it was messing with her head. One moment she was hot, the next she was cold.

  “It’ll be all right,” he said.

  “Yeah, says the man who wants something from me when we get somewhere safe.” She glanced at him, refusing to admire his muscular arms that were so close as he leaned against the wall.

  She looked over to see Lucy still playing. That was a good thing. At least her sister always did as she was told without any fuss.

  “What makes you think that by the time we’re safe, you won’t want me?”

  “You’re a killer.”

  He laughed. “So are you, sweetheart.”

  “That was self-defense.”

  “So was mine. You think you’re the only one in danger in this real world? Look around you. It’s all a bunch of lies and fucked up. I’m just making the most of it. You’ve gotten lucky being alone. I hope you realize that.”

  She sighed. “I know we’ve been lucky. I’ll do whatever it takes for Lucy, to keep her safe. My parents asked me to do that job for them. I will do it.”

  “You miss them.”

  “Of course. They were my parents. They didn’t deserve to die.”

  “I’d say most of the dead population would agree with you.”

  His bluntness hurt at times.

  “Can we not talk about this, please?”

  “What would you like to talk about?” he asked.

  Looking out the window, she gripped the bridge of her nose. “Maybe about how we’re going to get out of here. The water has risen enough that the cars are not going to be safe. This town has just become a total waste. How will we make it out of here? Our food supply is down.”

  “We’ll make it out. Not everyone stores their cars in the street, and besides, there is always something to find. I can hunt.”

  “Hunt?” she asked, frowning.

  “Don’t go dumb on me right now. You know what I mean.”

  “You want to hunt what?”

  “The usual, rabbit, deer, that kind of thing.”

  She shook her head. “Hell no. We can’t eat that stuff.”

  “Why not?”

  “Because, I can’t feed my sister a rabbit. It’ll scar her for life.”

  “What about starvation? That will kill her.”

  “Oh, stop it. We’ll find something.”

  She stepped away from the window and moved toward the stairs. They were high enough up that the water hadn’t touched them, but she still saw the edge of the water down below. It was like something out of a shark movie, where she could imagine the deadly creature lurking beneath the water, waiting to pick them off one by one.

  Her head was seriously not in this game and she had to get her shit together soon. This was too fucking much.

  “How about we make a raft?” she asked. Moving from the stairway, she looked at the doors. “We could float out of here.”

  “That sounds like fun,” Lucy said.

  “No.”

  Sasha looked to Malachi. “Why the hell not? Do you just want to stay here? Wait it out until we starve?”

  “I want our chances of survival to work here, Sasha. What you’re suggesting is dangerous.” He walked to the window, slamming his hand against it with such force she was surprised the glass didn’t break. “We will be at the mercy of the water and debris. It’s too high right now. You want to try and fight that? Banging into shit that could risk us plunging into dirty water? Our medical kit only has so much stuff. I know you’re hating being locked up here, and I’m not exactly liking
it either, but what you’re suggesting is stupid.”

  “Stupid.”

  “I meant no offense, but we have to use common sense right now.”

  She walked toward the window, hating that he was right once again.

  “You want to get out of here, and I get it, I do. And we will. Now, I’ve promised your sister I’ll take care of you. If that means pissing you off by dumping all over your precious idea, I’ll do it. No questions asked. I’m protecting the both of you.”

  And she supposed that’s all she could do. Give Malachi that control and let him lead the way.

  What other choice did she have if she wanted her and Lucy to survive?

  Chapter Twenty-Eight

  There’s always tomorrow

  Although the water had flooded the entire bottom of the theater, over the next two days it had diminished quickly as the rain had stopped fully and the sun had come out.

  Malachi stood and walked toward the stairs, looking down. The water would be up to their knees now instead of their waists, hell, maybe even their chests at its worst. So this was definitely an improvement.

  But it was now or never. This was the best it would get with the time and supplies they had to work with.

  They had to get out of here. The food was gone, their clean water nearly finished off. They had to get back to the car, if it was even still there, if their supplies were intact. They had to keep moving, had to find more food and clean water.

  Malachi needed to get some fresh meat. Rabbits and squirrels were starting to sound pretty fucking incredible right about now. And even if hunting wasn’t something Sasha particularly wanted, she was smart and hungry enough to know it was how they’d survive.

  She was still so young and hadn’t seen the world he had before it dropped into hell.

  Yeah, she’d been living through this fucked up scenario all alone for some time, but the degradation he’d seen while running the underground, the bastard things he’d done to survive ...it almost made all of this look like an amusement park ride.