Saturn County

Four | Breakfast at Macy's

"We can go talk," she said, though Clara sent her a worried glance.

"Do we have time?" She spoke faster than normal, desperately looking for her words to provide them with some exit plan. All the time they'd spent creating their inventory they never got close with newcomers. They always stayed ten feet a thousand minds apart. "Lucas was gonna go out for water, we might still catch him—"

"It's okay," Emma nodded. "We can talk."

In the center of the store amongst the circular cases that once held perfume and makeup products, there was a round table with a few chairs that hadn't sold in their final desperate "everything-must-go" sale. They used to do consulting of some sort there, or at least that was what she figured. The table was blocked by a wooden gate that an employee would have to unlock, but Emma knew where the key was.

Emma placed her palms onto the wooden bar between two of the glass counters and easily hoisted herself across into the center. She did it with ease, comfort, the way she might sit on the kitchen counter when her parents left the room. For someone as quiet as her, Clara was always surprised by the distinct way she made any small corner of the mall appear her own personal territory. Clara didn't know that Emma had not begun to walk before she knew all their eyes were trained on her.

She reached for the key which she'd left on the ground beneath one chair and unlocked the gate. There was no real reason to use the table now but it made it feel all the more official, like this store and this mall belonged to her. She may have lost the advantage of secrecy but she sure as hell wouldn't let them take advantage of her.

"What brings you to the mall?" she asked, taking a seat at the table. There were five chairs and seven of them. She watched to see who would get seats. Clara beside her. Tyler, Marko, and Carmen facing them. Benji stood behind Tyler, leaning forward into his hands against the back of the chair, and Danna leaned backwards against the cases, arms crossed and clearly disinterested. How could someone be disinterested in the apocalypse?

"Been drifting," said Tyler, clearly the leader of the group. "Had been at this Citgo station on Condor Street for a couple days but I guess some gang had claimed it, even though it was empty."

"That's dumb," Clara said. "If they weren't there then you had every right."

"We weren't gonna put up a fight," he shrugged. "I'd stay away from there if I were you guys, one of them had a gun."

"Which is precisely why we need one too," Carmen muttered—it was the first time Emma had her speak.

"Don't say that," Danna snapped, to which Carmen rolled her eyes.

"I love you, but it's the goddamn end of the world, Dee, we need a gun."

Emma turned her attention back to Tyler. "Do you think they followed you?"

"Nah," he shook his head. "We were watching out for them all day yesterday and didn't see anyone tracking us or much commotion outside the mall last night. I think we're in the clear as long as we don't come close again."

"Good," Emma said. If this gang were to come near the mall she wouldn't hesitate to rat them out though. As the thought rolled through her mind, however, her stomach dropped. She could never do that—Marko had been her friend. She would have to tell Daisy, and Daisy would know what to do. Daisy could make the hard calls.

"So what's the deal here?" Marko asked, "Who's in charge?"

"All vagabonds," she said. "People float here. Vending machines are all empty by now so it's not much in the way of resources, but a good shelter." She and Sebastian and Aria had broken into enough of the vending machines that they still carried probably half of whatever was left, but she wouldn't share that with anyone new, not even Clara.