When All is Lost

Chapter 24

I don't want to... I didn't want to.

"Paula? Can you help Ray check for more?" I asked, not allowing my inner turmoil to leak into my tone.

Paula seemed a little taken aback to have been called out, but she moved to join Ray without any hesitation. "Sure."

The two of them left and began scouring behind all of the different counters. We all waited in silence even as they moved on to go search the different theaters.

"This would be a lot easier if you just told us," I said to the couple after enough time had passed. My arms had started to ache from holding my gun up and aimed.

"Go to hell." The woman's defiance, even as she faced down the same gun that killed her loved one, was both impressive and frightening. I admired her for it and tried my best to ignore the sharp edges of shame that were poking at my insides.

After checking that Carlos still had his gun trained on them, I lowered mine, squatting to be at the pair's level. "We are only going to take half." The pair looked skeptical, so I continued, "But... if we do find more than this bag and you don't tell us about it first, we'll take two-thirds."

For a moment, I could have sworn that they looked conflicted, however, it was evident that their fury was too raw. They might have been too scared to resist, but they had no intention of easing my burden. I could only hope that if I were in their situation, I'd have the courage to do the same.

I stood back up and repositioned my gun to be aimed between the pair. By the time Ray and Paula rejoined us, it was nearly pitch black in the entrance. We had the grace of the large windows casting light from the starry night sky, but nothing else. Luckily, our eyes had long since adjusted. It helped me see the three bottles of water Paula carried in.

When my eyes drifted back to the couple, I could see their genuine distress. I lowered my gun and put it in my waistband, then took my backpack off my shoulders. "Keep your gun on them," I warned Carlos.

I knelt down next to the trash bag and dumped its contents on the floor. Mixed emotions filled me as I was greeted with what looked like a loot most kids would have dreamed of for Halloween. All the people had in the bag was candy – and seven more bottles of water. It was hardly what we'd hoped for, but it was far better than nothing.

"We're taking half," I told the room. I wouldn't take more, not even after what I'd said.

With some effort, I sorted through it all, careful to be as fair in my selections as I could. Once I'd gotten all of our half in my backpack, I stood up and retook my place in front of the pair.

"We'll leave you now, but if you follow us for any reason – we'll shoot you. Do you understand?" I asked, focusing more on the woman whose glare had never lessened.

"I hope you burn." The woman's answer wasn't unexpected, but I still internally flinched.

I probably will.

"Let's go," I said to my group, taking the lead by exiting out the door.

It was freezing and a shiver crept through me as the nighttime breeze rustled the end of my ponytail. I could see my breath fogging in front of me as the others joined me outside.

"We need to find a place to stay for the night." I sounded exhausted even to my own ears. My cough had entirely cleared up and I felt a tickle in my chest from the slight drop in temperature. "Any ideas? Did anyone see any good places to stay on the way here?"

"There's a shoe store just down the road," Carlos answered. "It seemed pretty secure."

It had to be good enough. We still had to get better gear and, until then, we couldn't risk getting any colder than we already were. "Can you guide us there?"