“They killed Mom,” he repeated, this time his voice catching and tears glinting in his eyes.
“They deserve to suffer,” she replied and held out a hand for him to take while reaching out to touch Claudia’s shoulder and Quinton reached out to take Claudia’s hand. Linked together in a circle, taking a moment to gather strength from each other.
“Okay, keep your eyes open for anything useful,” Quinton said, letting them go and taking his rifle back in hand. “Let’s get to work.”
Subject File # 744
Administrator - You seem especially happy today. What put that smile on your face?
Subject - Malcolm.
Administrator - It’s always him that does it.
Subject - What can I say, I’m a sucker for the guy.
Everyone had geared up for the run, weapons loaded and holstered. The pickup truck from the highway and the station wagon they had picked up during recon were cleaned out and waiting for their passengers. Now all they had to do was send the group off. Hugs and well wishes were being exchanged but Kim found herself hovering at the edge of it all.
Not that she didn’t want to give them her best but it felt too much like saying goodbye. This run had been the only thing any of them could talk about these last few days but now that it was here, it was hitting her that this would be dangerous. When it had been nothing more than talk, it hadn’t seemed so bad but now, the danger was all too real.
It was possible, even likely, that not all of them would come back. These could be the last words they would speak to them. That possibility was what kept her away when the others moved to send them off.
And if she was honest with herself, there was one person in particular she was scared to see go.
Malcolm had come to mean a lot to her. He had saved her son’s life and her own, twice over as a matter of fact. He had led their group through the chaos of the apocalypse. He had promised to take them to safety. Without him, they would be lost.
So she watched from a distance as he hugged each of the kids and placed a kiss on Janet’s cheek, whispering in her ear what Kim had to assume were reassurances, judging by the smile that ghosted over Janet’s face.
She watched Trey walk over to Malcolm, who held out his hand and her son shook it eagerly. Trey had been happy when they had come back from setting up their traps. For a minute, she could forget about all the bad stuff that had happened when she looked at his smiling face. Malcolm had done that, and it was just another reason to be thankful for his presence.
She knew she couldn’t continue to hover without drawing everyone’s attention and she did want to wish them all luck. She started with the Wakefield men and moved on to Lorraine and Craig, only choking up when she hugged Jose while Ana stood sniffling beside him.
“Now you need to smile,” he said to both her and Ana. “We aren’t going off to war. It’s just a trip to the store, nothing more.”
He was right. They didn’t need to act like they were leaving forever. It would only be a few hours and then they would be back here with them. So she did as he asked and smiled, swallowing the emotions that had been choking her.
The children came running over to hug Jose, excitedly asking him if he would bring them back some chocolate from the store. Their innocence was endearing and her smile grew as Jose told them that they would get one chocolate bar each, no more. The kids were fine with that but Kim had the sneaking suspicion that they had made the same request to everyone who was going in hopes of getting a big haul.
She left the kids to their extortion, knowing that she was running out of time. Malcolm stood by the van, watching her intently with a look of concern on his face. She walked over to join him, arms wrapped around herself as she felt a sudden chill shoot down her spine.
“You okay?” he asked.
“Just worried is all,” she confessed, rubbing her hands over her arms, trying to ward off the chill.
“No need to worry. This run is low risk. We’ll be back in time for dinner.”
“I’m going to hold you to that,” she said. “You have to come back.”
“You don’t need to worry.”
“Promise me you’ll come back,” she blurted out. She had a sudden, crippling need to hear him say the words. “We need you here.
I
need you here. So you have to swear that you will come back here.”
His hand moved up to cup the side of her face, his thumb caressing her cheekbone as he looked her dead in the eye. “I swear that I will come back.”
He leaned down, closing the distance between them to press his mouth to hers. His hand moved to the nape of her neck, fingers clenching there to keep her in place as he deepened the kiss. All her thoughts were forgotten as his tongue danced over the seam of her lips, asking for entrance that she eagerly granted him.
A loud wolf whistle cut through the air and they jumped apart, Kim looking over her shoulder to see Craig giving them the thumbs up. Kim felt her face start to burn, having momentarily forgotten they had an audience. She was relieved to see Trey had his back to them. She was embarrassed enough to have others witness the kiss, she didn’t need to have her son witness it.
“We better get going, it’ll break up the peanut gallery,” Malcolm said with a wink and she chuckled as he called to the others and they loaded up.
The engines roared to life and the station wagon and pickup drove out of the clearing, everyone waving until the taillights disappeared behind the trees.
Kim felt at a loss now. She looked to the others and they seemed to feel the same, everyone just standing there, looking at the now empty trail. It was Ana who gathered herself first, clapping her hands together and smiling at the children.
“Okay
mijos
, we have jerky to wrap up,” she said. “You have to earn the chocolate they’re bringing back. Time to work.”
While Ana ushered the children back to the centre of camp, Jenny went to the remaining van and took one of the rifles out of the back.
“I’m going to take up watch, just in case,” she told them as she slung the rifle over her shoulder.
Malcolm had said that with most of the group gone and the area quiet all these weeks they didn’t need a watch shift while they were gone. They were supposed to focus on boiling and bottling water for the trip north.
“Are you sure?” Janet asked. “Kim or I can do it if you want to sit down, rest a bit. We both know how tiring it can be when you’re pregnant.”
Jenny put a hand on her swollen belly and smiled. “I’d rather be up and moving. The little one shifted so now when I sit down, I get a leg or an arm right in my ribs.”
“Oh I remember that,” Kim said with a fond smile in her son’s direction. “When I was pregnant with this one, he practically lived with his feet jammed in my ribs.”
“Ruthie did the same,” Janet added. “The twins didn’t go for my ribs but I swear, they used my bladder as a trampoline.”
“Well as fun as this conversation is for me, I’m going to go do something that isn’t talking about being pregnant,” Trey said and the other women laughed as he turned to walk away.
“Trey, wait, we need to talk.”
She had dated over the years so Trey wasn’t new to the idea of her being involved with a man but she had always discussed it with him before he had seen any displays of affection.
Trey turned around and grinned at her. “It’s fine Mom. I like Malcolm, he’s cool. Just keep the PDA to a minimum, it’s gross to watch old people make out.”
“Hey, I’m not old,” Kim called out to him but he just waved her off as he went to the ranger station. Well, at least he liked Malcolm, that was something good.
“Forget about talking with him, you should talk to us,” Janet said, pointing to herself and Jenny. “So how long have you and Malcolm had a thing?”
“I guess since now,” Kim replied with a shrug of her shoulder. “We’ve been dancing around it since we kissed at the gas station.”
“Wait, you kissed at the gas station and you’re only now telling us about it?” Jenny said.
“Sorry, I missed fourth period lunch and was planning on passing you a note during fifth period English but if we got caught, we’d get detention and miss the pep rally.”
“Ha ha,” Jenny said with a roll of her eyes. “What I mean is for weeks now, all we’ve had to think or talk about are horrible things. It would be nice to be distracted by something as normal as being into a guy. Isn’t gossiping about boys a hell of a lot better than standing here, worrying about what’s happening to them out there.”
“Girl’s got a point,” Janet said.
“Damn straight I do,” Jenny said. “Now you two are going to walk me up to the road and Kim, you can tell us all the details.”
“Just not too much detail,” Janet said with a grimace. “He’s still my brother.”
Kim laughed, the tension inside her easing. Jenny was right. They needed as many distractions as they could get over the next few hours. It would make the time go by faster and then the group would be back together and they would be okay.
Subject File # 742
Subject - I always felt a little bit sorry for Travis. And then I felt guilty for feeling that way.
Administrator - Why is that?
Subject - Well, I felt sorry for him because it’s gotta be damn difficult to spend your life in love with your brother’s wife. Then I felt guilty for pitying him because the guy didn’t feel sorry for himself one bit. It was like it was enough to just be a part of her life, even if she never loved him back.
The parking lot in front of the strip mall was empty except for the leaves and random bits of garbage strewn around. A sign at the edge of the lot advertised a two for one deal at the pizza place nestled between a dentist’s office and a pharmacy. A travel agency and a manicure shop rounded out the businesses in the strip.
They pulled up to the buildings, coming to a stop in front of the pharmacy. Malcolm studied the place from the passenger seat. The door was shut with no signs of forced entry, the window panes whole and the product displays in the window undisturbed. He looked up and down the strip, seeing that the other businesses were in similar condition. It appeared that no one in this town had been in a looting frame of mind, which made it their lucky day.
“Let’s go,” he said, climbing out of the van and the others followed his lead. Travis, Jose and Alan climbed out of the station wagon, walking over to join them. “We’ll start with the pharmacy and the pizza place. Medicine and food are our first priority, then anything else you think might be useful down the road. Lorraine and Craig, you’ll take the pharmacy, Jose and Alan, you can take the pizza place. Travis and I will take watch out here. If you need help, just holler.”
The others nodded at his instructions, shouldering their packs and doing a last check on their weapons. Malcolm went to the back of the wagon and took out the crowbar from the toolbox they’d stashed there.
Craig had already moved to the pharmacy door, crouching down so he was eye level with the lock. As Malcolm approached, Craig pulled out a small leather case, unzipping it to reveal an array of lock picking tools.
“You been hiding your less than legit skills all this time?” Malcolm asked with a smirk and Craig glanced over his shoulder and grinned. “Not hiding, I just didn’t think to mention it until it became useful. Surprised you don’t know how to pick a lock.”
“Oh I do, I just don’t carry around my own personal set of tools.”
“Well, you’re a pretty shitty spy then. James Bond wouldn’t fuck up like that.”
“Shut up and get to work.”
Malcolm watched Craig pull out the appropriate tools and carefully slip the torsion wrench into the lock. He shifted it, preparing to put in the pick when he started laughing.
“Well, we’re fucking stupid,” he said, pulling out the torsion wrench and standing up to take hold of the door handle. A bell above the door tinkled as he pulled it open. “Guess we should’ve checked if it was actually locked in the first place.”
Alan went over to the pizza place and pulled on the door, swinging it wide open. “Should we be worried that these were left unlocked?”
“Could be the employees were just more worried about getting home to their families than locking up for the night,” Malcolm replied. “Let’s just be real careful clearing these places. We’ll cover you guys from the doorways.”
Travis went to the pizza place, taking his spot in the doorway as Alan and Jose went inside and Malcolm took his place at the pharmacy, watching Craig and Lorraine’s backs. The beams from their flashlights bounced around the store, allowing him to know their positions while he watched for any movement from the shadows. He heard the sound of another door opening and the lights disappeared as Lorraine and Craig went into the back room.
His gaze swept back and forth across the pharmacy, his ears tuned to hear even the slightest movement. If there was anyone hiding in the store, now would be the time for them to get the jump on Craig and Lorraine.
Nothing moved and soon he heard the door opening again and Craig called out that the place was empty.
Malcolm used the crowbar to prop open the door and moved back to the vehicles, his eyes sweeping the lot and street. Still empty and he didn’t feel any set of eyes watching him from a distance. Things seemed secure for now.