AllFreeNovel
Share Us
Saff immediately grabbed her wrist and pulled her hand back up to its previous spot on her arm.
Maddie continued, entirely unbothered. If anything, the more Saff reacted, the more entertained it kept her.
“Or is it for your last name? Saff Murphy? Saff Mitchell?”
Again, no answer.
“Saff is a unique name. Is it short for something?”
“No.”
“Where’d it come from?”
“I don’t know.”
“You don’t know why you were named that?”
Saff exhaled an irritated breath. “My mom picked it—I guess.”
Maddie hummed. “She never told you where it came from?”
“No.”
Maddie shifted her hand, flexing the sore joints in her fingers. Her mind wandered, thinking back to what Saff had said in the pharmacy.
“Were you running from someone? In the city?” she asked, her voice losing its teasing tone.
Saff was quiet for a few moments. “I wasn’t running,” she muttered. “Just—leaving.”
“Leaving in a hurry is the same thing as running,” Maddie replied flatly. “So, why were you running?”
Saff let out an exasperated breath. “I told you I wasn’t running.”
Maddie turned her head to the side, listening to the nearby birds once more. Saff coughed, and Maddie felt her arm tremble slightly.
“You know, the rest of my group has lots of supplies. They probably have medication and stuff that could help you with the—headacheand thecut.”
She’d thought about it as they’d walked. They could help each other if they continued traveling together. It would make sense for both of them. She would get a guide, and Saff would get the help she needed.
Saff remained quiet.
Although Maddie wanted her to say yes, this was one instance where, for some reason, she thought it might be best not to push it. Saff seemed like someone who needed time to think every decision through. And if that’s what she needed in order to be convinced, Maddie could give it to her.
“How much farther now til we’re fully out of the city?” Maddie asked, swallowing down the slight anxiety in her chest at the possible answer.
“We’re almost there.”
Chapter seven
Saff turned, scanning the cracked concrete walls on either side of the bridge.
If she got close enough to the edge, she could see the concrete dip below where water flowed after heavy rain. Now, though, it was barely a trickle, mostly dried up as the season grew hotter, approaching summer.
From where she stood, she could see the end of the bridge. The end where it turned into smaller offshoots and spread throughout the suburbs, eventually leading into the countryside.
When Maddie had originally mentioned Oakridge and that the group might have things she needed, Saff had shut out the idea entirely. But now, as they neared the official end of the dense city area, the brief thought entered her mind that it might be her best bet. It was pretty close to being on the way to the bunker, anyway.
No.
