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“Shit! This is really getting out of hand.”
Tam squeezed me as if he wanted our bodies to physically meld into one another. I tried to lift my head marginally, if only to glimpse the town over his shoulder, but his hold restrained me.
“Trust me. You don’t want to see this.”
And I trusted him. There were only so many things I could endure, so many things I could witness, before I completely fell to shreds. Despite his shoulder obscuring my vision, I had a good idea of what I would find in the once quiet town.
Ragers.
Survivors.
Dead bodies.
Blood.
So much blood.
My mind mentally depicted images of what could be happening behind my closed eyelids, each one more vivid than the last. I didn’t know if I would be able to handle any more death.
God, I was so stupid. Why did I believe I would be capable of handling this by myself? Why did I think myself to be strong when I wanted nothing more than to be weak? I wasn’t a fighter, and I didn’t think I would ever be. Trembling in Tam’s sturdy arms, I felt young and forlorn. Nothing more than a vulnerable child kicked out of the house and forced to face the world on her own.
It could’ve been hours. It could’ve been minutes. Time seemed to drag. I felt as if I was teetering on a pinnacle of discovery. All I had to do was open my eyes. Look…
Tam’s warning flashed through my head.
No.
Don’t look.
I couldn’t decide if that made me weak or smart.
Finally, Tam’s unrelenting grip on me loosened. He reached for my baseball cap lying on the car seat beside me.
“We’re here,” he said softly. And, surprising me even further, he pressed his lips to my forehead. The chaste gesture caused my body to shiver instinctively. I couldn’t help but lean further into his embrace even as he pulled away.
Reluctantly, I removed myself from his lap and faced the unremarkable building before us. It appeared to be a Super Store, though I didn’t recognize the name. There were a few cars in the parking lot, but overall, the place looked deserted. A few white painted signs indicated that there was a grocery section, a technology section, a pharmacy, and even an area specifically designed to sell top-notched camping gear.
“I thought we were going to the mall,” I said to no one in particular. I twisted my hair around my wrist before shoving it all into the cap. One of the girls from the front - I really should remember her name - spun around to face me. Unlike the others, she did not regard me with distaste, merely curiosity.
“This is a hidden gem,” she explained. “Everyone knows about the mall. It will be too crowded...too dangerous. Only the locals know about this beauty.”
I frowned, resisting the urge to interrogate her further. Honestly, I was confused, though that wasn’t necessarily a surprise. I tended to get confused a lot. Did it make me a masochist if I admitted I was a too-stupid-to-live type of heroine?
Why would it be dangerous if there were other people? Wouldn’t we all want to band together?
I supposed it stemmed down to human nature - and inherently whether humans were good or bad. My knowledge of the subject matter was extremely biased. Experience after experience had led me to the conclusion that humans were evil, diabolical beings.
On second thought, I totally understood why they didn’t want to involve themselves with others.
“Pointy end,” Tamson muttered under his breath. He reached across the leather seat to squeeze my hand. Butterflies fluttered in my stomach for two entirely different reasons.
Fear.
And something else.
“Pointy end,” I agreed.
With a shaky breath, I exited the car.
