Mercy

Chapter 12

Loneliness is a fickle beast. There were times when Clementine was satisfied with the company Bradley provided and she was wholly content with his presence. Moments like these she asked herself how she got so lucky in finding a partner. Now was not one of those times.

    Losing Lucy and Evelyn was the emotional equivalent of getting a limb ripped off. The wound had finally clotted and began scabbing, but now it was raw and bleeding again.

    Even though Bradley was in the passenger seat beside her, making meaningless conversation, Clementine could not recall a time when she felt more alone. She felt like she was sitting in a desert, sand was in her clothes and hair, the sun was beating down on her, and there was nothing for miles. Wholly alone without shelter from the elements, forced to endure every moment of discomfort. She wanted a new voice inside her head, she wanted warm arms to wrap around and say "I understand" and truly mean it. She wanted her friends back, so bad. Words could not describe the ache she had for them. They had been through so much together, some she could never vocalize to Bradley.

    The weight on her lungs seemed to grow heavier and suddenly she found it hard to inhale.

    "We should probably stop for the night," Clementine commented. She hoped she didn't sound as winded as she felt.

    Bradley was quiet for a second. "You didn't hear a word I said, did you?"
    Clementine felt exposed and she wasn't sure why. "What makes you say that?"

    "I just said we should drive through the night."

    Panic struck her like a bolt of lightning. "What?"

    "Yeah, now that we have the cover of a car I don't see why not."

    "Remember when I said 'let's follow the blood'?"

    A pause. "Yeah."

    "And you said that was the dumbest idea you've ever heard."

    "Yup."

    "Well, you're having a 'let's follow the blood' moment."

    "No I'm not," he protested. "This is a fantastic idea. Makeup for all the time we lost traveling on foot."

    "What's the rush?"

Bradley didn't appear to have an answer, not immediately, because he had to take a moment to think. "I'm just getting impatient. I feel like Brazil will be good for us, a fresh start away from all the madness."

    Us. The word bounced around Clementine's head, echoing in her brain and then her heart. Us. Did he mean it? Two simple letters meant so much yet did little to null the gapping  hole in her chest.

    She had to take a moment to allow herself to breathe. "I still don't think it's a good idea."

    "You can sleep in the back," he wagered, "I'll drive."

    Clementine was still not convinced. "But what if a Fallen Angel finds us?"

    "They won't be able to get to us through the car. Besides, will they really be able to catch up with a car going 100 miles per hour?"

    "I wouldn't bet my life on it."

    Bradley groaned. "Just pull over."

    Clementine shook her head, she gripped the steering wheel tighter in her hand. The area they were driving through was desolate, nothing for miles. An open, lonely patch of Texas.

    "Clem, seriously."

    The irritation in his voice rattled her more than it should have. She had a moment of fear when she wondered if she might drive away the only person she had left, after the moment passed clarity washed over her. She had allowed herself to become too close to him, too comfortable in his presence. For the first time, Clementine forced herself to remember Evelyn and Lucy and what their deaths did to her.