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Ever since the virus started everything had been going downhill, spiraling out of control. Riots were breaking out, the police unable to get a handle on the shit that was happening. No one knew what the fuck was going on, or if they did, they weren’t telling the public everything.
And so it caused anarchy.
He slid the rusted, massive warehouse door to the side even more and stepped into a nightmare. The wind picked up, the scent of something on fire filling his nose. The heavy weight of his Glock was a reassurance.
Although this world was going to hell, with everyone in it being taken in the most brutal ways, Malachi embraced it.
Chapter Seven
All the wild things
The days were bearable. The one bonus to being stuck in a cabin was that Sasha and Lucy were used to walking all over the place. This was where their parents always took them when they wanted to spend some time together away from all the chaos and problems of the world.
Sasha recalled many times feeling angry with her parents for pulling her away from her friends. Now she wished she hadn’t wasted any time bitching and moaning while she’d been here with them.
Their days now were spent either at the lake, cleaning the cabin, or walking around the perimeter to gather supplies and food. Berries were plentiful right now, so Sasha was collecting as many as she could. But that would only sustain them for so long, even if she canned them, which her mother had done a few times and shown her.
She also walked around to see if she came across any signs of life.
Nothing yet and she didn’t know if that bothered her more.
There were no people around and she couldn’t hear anything for miles.
The loneliness weighed down on her.
Each time Lucy was asleep, she’d remember covering her parents’ bodies with blankets, their lifeless forms together on the bed … the last time she’d see them.
She’d been worried that because she’d been so close, sickness would claim her.
Nothing.
No virus.
No cough.
She was in the clear, which only made her angrier.
Staring at Lucy, Sasha knew she had to be strong no matter what. Her sister depended on her.
So Sasha pretended to be happy. To be enjoying their time at the cabin.
The truth was, she hated her life.
The nights, though … they were the worst.
Coming to the cabin, following her parents’ instructions, had seemed right at the time. They knew what they were doing. They were adults and had life experience.
She was so young in the grand scheme of things, or at least she had been. This new world made her grow up pretty damn fast.
Lying down on the bed, near the door, she heard a floorboard creak. Gripping the blanket tight to her chest, she kept her eyes open. The moon was up and it cast shadows against the window.
Earlier today, while Lucy had been coloring in one of the books they’d left behind last time, Sasha had been scouring the cabin. She knew there were weapons here. Her father had hunted with her uncle. She’d seen guns. Her father even took her shooting a couple of times.
She’d hated holding a gun.
As the reality of their situation began to sink in, though, she realized she had to find something to protect her and Lucy.
The safe in the back of the wardrobe had taken her four hours to open up. She didn’t know the code, then tried prying it open, then took her anger and frustration out on it. Finally, she’d seen a yellowed slip of paper taped to the back, a small sliver of off white that caught her eye.
The combination was written on it in her aunt’s handwriting.
Sasha didn’t even wonder why it had been there. It made no difference because it was what she needed.
Inside the safe were a couple of handguns and shotguns and the bullets that went along with them. A book each. She’d made sure Lucy didn’t see what she was doing but she’d taken her time to put the guns, fully loaded, within reach in case of an emergency.
She wasn’t stupid or about to take any risks with their lives.
The world had gone to shit and for all she knew, rules no longer applied. It’s why she saw fear in her father’s eyes the last time they spoke. When you went savage, there was no going back. Rules of the land no longer applied.
Lucy was young and so was she.
She wasn’t a fool.
Men with ruthless natures were not something she wanted to encounter. But it might be inevitable. She couldn’t even believe that she was concerned about this. That her life had become one long day of panic.
Tensing up, her stomach twisted in knots as she heard scuffling. There was no shadow outside but she’d heard it.
The cabin was far into the woods so no one should be able to see it, but if they set out to get away, then she had no doubt they’d be found.
