The Consequence of Us

Chapter 1 Part 2

They knelt in the dirt beside a set of deer tracks.

"These tracks are old."

Kit examined the tracks, a frown curving her lips downward.

"No meat today then." Her disappointment was audible.

"No, probably not."

"I'd kill for a hamburger." She sighed, her gaze going unfocused. "A hamburger and milkshake."

Jack groaned. "With french fries."

"A large coke with extra ice."

"A Kit Kat bar."

"You had to go there." She scowled at him, gave his shoulder a push, and grinned when he fell back on his butt.

"It's not my fault my Kit Kat likes Kit Kat bars." He scuttled away from her when she swiped at him, his grin mischievous. From the moment she was four years old to the day she died, she'd always be Kit Kat.

It drove her crazy and he loved seeing her riled.

She eyed him innocently as she inched closer to him. For every step she advanced, he retreated, until she lost all pretense of innocence and raced after him.

Kit was fast, he felt her fingers skim his collar before he sidestepped her and took off in the opposite direction.

Her frustrated growl only fueled his glee. It felt good to goof around with her. These moments were rare, and they both needed a little relief from the stress of surviving the apocalypse.

He dodged trees and thick undergrowth in his mad dash to get away from her. Another swipe for his clothes made him spin out of her reach and change directions. This time he was daring enough to jog backwards and stick out his tongue.

Her eyes flashed grey fire at the taunt, her whole body coiled up to strike, and then she lunged for him.

With a laugh, he turned and sprinted away. Up ahead, there was a break in the tree line and he hauled ass towards it. That was as good a place as any to make his stand.

He cleared the trees and had enough time to glimpse a road and people before he spun and grabbed Kit right off her feet. He skidded behind a thick tree, one hand over Kit's mouth and the other around her waist.

"Be quiet, there are people." He growled in her ear when she began to grumble. She immediately went silent, her body tensing.

After a couple minutes, when no one entered the woods after them, he relaxed and pulled away slightly.

Huge slate eyes looked up at him, her worry and anxiety obvious.

"I don't think they saw us." He whispered into her ear. "Stay here. Don't move."

He crouched and slowly moved forward, careful to stay within the shadow of the trees. A bulky, blonde man and an older woman hovered around a blue blazer with its hood open.

The tall, blonde man shook his head, pushed away from the car's hood, and turned to say something to the woman. Jack was too far away to make out their words, but their agitation was obvious. That vehicle wasn't going anywhere.

He'd be lying if he said he wasn't interested in that vehicle. Most people had no idea how to fix even the minor issues with their car. If these people abandoned it, there was a chance he and Kit could get it running.

The woman ambled over to the side of the car and peered down the road as if expecting someone to drive by. She wore jean shorts and flip-flops that looked like they'd fly off her feet the moment she started running. There wasn't a single visible weapon on either of them.

The lady's foolish choice in attire and their total lack of weapons was strange. His instincts advised caution, he would only observe.

"We should fix that car if they abandon it." Kit crouched beside him, her approach silent but blatantly disobedient.

"I told you to stay there." He gritted through clenched teeth.

She shrugged, unconcerned with his anger. Jack opened his mouth to reprimand her, but bit back his words. This was not the time to lay into her about following orders.

The woman reached through the open back window, pulled out a water bottle and tipped her head back to drink. She drained the water bottle, and with a careless flick of her wrist, chucked it into the backseat.

Time rolled by, his legs began to ache from crouching, and the stranded strangers showed no signs of leaving their vehicle. In fact, they kept staring down the highway as if expecting help to arrive at any moment.

Maybe it would, these two could be part of a bigger group.

It was time to go, they had wasted enough time waiting.

"Let's go."

Kit nodded, her eyes still fixed on the car. He slipped back into the safety of the trees, disappointment heavy as lead in his gut. A vehicle would have gotten them to Tifton so much faster.

"Damn it," She muttered.

A gunshot and a scream rang out behind them. They both froze in alarm and Kit turned to him, her eyes wide with horror.

"Oh shit." Her lips formed the words, but no sound escaped her lips.

"We can't just leave them."

He knew that look, her eyes narrowed and her face hardened into steely determination. She usually wore it right before she did something stupid.

"Don't...." Was all he got out before she turned and dashed back towards the sounds of gunshots.

"Son of a bitch!" He cursed and sprinted after her. Dread seized him when Kit burst out of the tree line ahead of him, her bow loaded and ready.

With his 9-mil in hand, he broke free of the trees. The two strangers stood in front of their vehicle desperately shooting at a horde of infected shambling from the trees.

Stupid, so damn stupid.