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Carly tried to blink back tears. “Is he... Is he dead?” She reached over to check him for a pulse.
“Jesus! Don’t touch him!” Biker Guy lunged forward and grabbed her hand before she could make contact. “He’s one of them!”
“I knew him!” Tears spilled down Carly’s cheeks against her will.
Biker Guy glanced down at Merle. “If he’s not dead, he’s going to wake up with one hell of a headache. If he is, I’ve just saved him from a lingering and painful end.”
He used his grip on Carly’s hand to pull her to her feet. She tugged her hand from his and dashed away her tears. “I hate just... leaving him here.”
“Ultimately, it makes no difference,” Biker Guy said.
Carly didn’t want to admit the truth of that statement.
Biker Guy propped the nine iron on his shoulder. “What’s your name again? Harley?”
“Carly,” she said, correcting him automatically. He must have heard her shout it at Merle. “Carly Daniels.”
“I’m Justin Thatcher.”
She stuck her hand out for him to shake, an automatic courtesy. He took it in his own massive paw and gave it a gentle shake. “What were you doing here?”
“Shopping.” Justin gave her a small smile.
“In the middle of the night?”
“Yeah, just like you are. What a coincidence.”
Carly flushed. It was rather obvious she’d been trying to avoid him. “Thank you for helping me.”
He handed her golf club back. “Told you I was a nice guy.”
Carly grabbed her cart. “Yes. Thank you. Bye, now.” She rammed the potato chip rack aside and hurried up the aisle.
“I’ll walk you back,” Justin said.
“No need. Thank you.”
She could hear a smile in his voice. “No trouble. It’s on my way.”
Carly stopped at the register and pulled out her checkbook. She wasn’t going to itemize as she had on her previous visits; one hundred dollars should more than cover it. She clicked her pen and began to write.
“What are you doing?” Justin asked. He leaned on the conveyor belt beside her and grinned.
“Paying,” Carly said shortly. She signed the check with her loopy signature and slipped it through the slot in the cash register’s till. His grin faded when he saw the list Carly had been keeping on the shelf beside it.
She knew what he was going to say, and she didn’t want to hear it. She quickly stuffed the cans into her canvas tote. She put her arms around the bag of dog food and tried to lift it out of the cart, but the position was awkward.
“Let me get that.” He lifted it easily and tucked it under one arm. “You have a dog?” he asked. She knew why he was surprised. There didn’t seem to be many dogs or cats that survived. She hadn’t seen one in weeks.
“Obviously. Why else would I be buying dog food?” Carly pushed her empty cart up to the front and tucked it into the row with the others.
He shrugged. “Because there isn’t much food for people left.”
Carly blinked. “So you think I would eat dog food?”
“It’s food. It’s not like it’s dirty or anything. The FDA monitors it just like food for human consumption.”
“Gross,” Carly muttered.
