"That was weird though, right?" I said while digging through the boxes in the store. My backpack was almost full and I began to zip it up. Harry was on the opposite side, his hands diving through his own assortment of boxes.
"Very," he responded from a distance. I could tell he wasn't completely paying attention. He was too busy focusing on his findings.
We both must of looked like little kids in a candy shop considering how much we were able to find still in good condition. I didn't think either one of us were expecting it. We were so accustomed to disappointment recently.
We were only taking what we needed in case anyone else stopped for supplies. Harry wasn't totally on board with the idea at first. He insisted on emptying out the store as much as we could, just to be prepared, but I wasn't budging. It wasn't like the store was jam packed with supplies; it was just fuller than past stores. We had plenty of stops on the way to find Alayna anyway. There wasn't any point in being greedy if we didn't have to be.
Plus, all I could think about was any other people, who would be potentially hungry and desperate, finding nothing left. I knew how that felt and it wasn't something I wanted to feel again. So I wasn't going to be responsible for causing others to feel that same way, too.
I had yet to look back over to the front of the store where the lifeless body laid. Beforehand, Harry actually had to coax me to go back in and he eventually offered to let me hop on his back and close my eyes.
But no matter how much I squeezed them shut or buried my face into his shoulder, it didn't stop the fact I could hear the squeaking noises that came from his shoes after walking through the blood. It repeatedly rang in my ears, accompanied by the sound of the gun firing.
My attention drew to his side again when I heard him zipping up his bag. He was crouching down completely unaware of my stares. He continued to disregard my presence when he stood up and walked towards the front.
I examined him, studying his demeanor. Everything he did always seemed so casual, so easy, for him. He never seemed to second guess what he was doing. He was always so sure of himself. Was it confidence or arrogance? I really wasn't sure, but whatever it was, it was working.
My breathing wavered when I noticed him getting closer to the body. His hands planted onto his hips and he crooked his head in thought. It was interesting watching him ponder in real-time. I didn't think he ever realized I was watching him so intently.
He hoisted the man up underneath his armpits and began dragging the body. His peripherals must have caught me wide-eye glaring because his head quickly shot over to my direction. He nearly dropped the body when he noticed—as if I caught him in the act.
"Just...just go back to packing up your bag right now. I'll let you know when I'm done, okay? Just don't pay attention to this." His head nodded towards what was in front of him, "I'm getting him out of the way so you can walk by."
"Wow, chivalry isn't dead," I lightly joked under my breath. He smirked back at me, but our smiles faded promptly. It felt weird to be joking around right then with a dead body slumped over Harry's arms. Even if the man was delusional and willing to kill us.
My eyes regretfully lowered down to the folded over man. His head was dripping with blood from the bullet hole, almost completely obscuring his face. Dried blood saturated his shirt, causing it to cake onto various parts of his body. I hardly recognized the person that I had just seen angry, but unscathed, earlier.
I shot my eyes back up and nodded even though I was already done packing my bag. I aimlessly looked through the boxes, pretending I hadn't already done this. Keeping my hands, mind, and eyes busy was most important.
Flashes of my mom, lifeless in bed, kept attempting to run through my mind due to the sight I had just witnessed behind me. I wondered if she looked as rough as this guy did. Or if she looked the same when Harry had to carry her out, too. I wondered if he also had a family that cared about him as much as I cared for her.
I shook my head, rinsing it of the thoughts. Now wasn't the time. Harry's grunts caused by the body being dragged was now at the forefront of my mind. I was grateful he was going through all of this just for my own peace of mind. It didn't make a huge difference, but knowing that I wouldn't have to walk over the body did subtly calm my nerves. Out of sight, out of mind, as they say.
Another loud grunt, following the noise of the doors being thrown open, caused my head to jerk towards the bell jingle. I never noticed the bell attached to the door until now. Sudden noises were never really my cup of tea; my mind always seemed to assume the worst. Sometimes those assumptions were beneficial, but other times it was just a pain in the ass to be so on edge all the time.
The first thing I saw was a large smear of blood trailing outside the entrance doors, vanishing as it turned the corner. My stomach tossed and I had to shift back around, trying my best to distract myself again. I made a promise with myself that I wouldn't turn around anymore unless it was Harry at the door.
I shifted uncomfortably. He sure was taking awhile. I wasn't aware which direction he went either. I didn't exactly care to ask his plan with the body. He knew I wouldn't want to know anyway. Regardless, I just wished he would hurry and come back.
The doors finally swung open one more time with its loud chime, revealing a huffing Harry. A new shirt covered his torso as my gaze met him in the doorway. He detected my fixation on him and shot a thumb in the air with a smile. A soft smile placed on my own lips, giving him a reciprocated thumbs up back.
"So," he clasped his hands together. My smile drifted slightly seeing the dried blood along his fingernails. I pinched the inside of my palm, shifting my focus back.
"What's the plan now?" I asked, swinging the backpack over my shoulder. I had no idea what time it was or how much daylight we had left. Everything seemed to blend together these past few days. I could never quite keep track of time or the passage of it anymore.
He twirled his watch around on his wrist, squinting his eyes to read it. "Uhh, I would say we should probably get going to find us a spot. Best to get there with plenty of time to set up camp before the sun starts to set."
I nodded in agreement and started to head towards the door. Harry had already begun walking and I had to quicken my steps to catch up more.
"Gas is already taken care of. Filled her up and have some extra jugs in the back," he proudly boasted over his shoulder.
I patted him on the back in excitement. It felt beyond good. We had plenty of food, water, and gas. Hell, I felt on top of the world. Nothing could have broken me from the high that coursed through my body. I could tell Harry was just as proud with himself, his smile was stretching from ear to ear.
I ran past him, allowing my body to slam through the doors. I was practically skipping through the parking lot. My body stopped mid-twirl to see Harry coming through the doors. He was shaking his head, laughter spilling from his mouth.
"Will you stop pretending you're annoyed by me," I sarcastically teased, giving him another twirl.
"As if I have to pretend."
When he said it I could tell he was actively pushing away a smile. He was trying so hard to sound believable, but I knew better. He knew better, too.
A smile was still across my face as I watched the remainder of his drop suddenly. His eyes immediately widened, slowly bringing his hand behind his back. My eyebrows furrowed as I looked over to him halfway across the parking lot.
He motioned his head to something behind me, but he didn't have to say anything. I knew what that look meant. Through the reflection of the store window I spot exactly what he was gesturing towards.
There it was, sniffing around only about 30 feet behind me. It had its ears in the air, pointing towards the door. My eyes widened, realizing the door chimes must have been what alarmed it.
None of this made sense, though. The sun was still out. It was still daytime. We did everything the way we were supposed to.
"What do we do?" I mouthed to him in a panic.
A finger pressed tightly against his lips whilst his eyes flickered with fear. This wasn't a look I saw on him often. It wasn't a look I wanted to see because it meant we were one wrong move away from dying.
He pointed towards the truck which was behind me to my right. It seemed like it was a whole marathon's distance away. How were we supposed to get that far without making a single noise? It still had eyes and could see us, right?
One wrong move.
I nodded my head even with my doubts. It wasn't like I had any better ideas. We just had to be careful and everything would end up fine.
Everything will be fine. Just get into the car.
The gun withdrew from my waistband and my fingers tightly grasped it at my side. I closed my eyes to blow out a deep breath through my mouth, surveyed my surroundings behind me, and took the first step.
Think back to what you know, Brinley. Think.
We knew their hearing was their strongest ability, yes. They also seemed to be most drawn to certain noises, which I learned from Harry. His noise boxes rang with an assortment of jingles and clangs. This coincided with why the door chime must have brought the Crawler here now.
I hadn't turned around to face the Crawler yet. I didn't want to make any unnecessary movements, so I was relying on Harry to guide me on which direction to go and when.
He pointed to the right and gave a thumbs up. His eyes darted back and forth between the creature and myself. My feet slowly moved, waiting for permission before placing my foot for each step. Harry moved with me and we both began to slowly inch closer to the truck.
In the reflection I could see the creature sniffing around the ground still. It was preoccupied for the moment, but that was another thing about these Crawlers. They could be easily distracted, and this time it would be a disadvantage.
I was already halfway there with Harry not far behind. He had the car keys in his pocket and I tried not to think about the noises they could potentially make when digging them out. I needed to focus on one thing at a time. Getting overwhelmed would result in cloudy judgment and that was the last thing either of us needed.
My head turned towards the car. I was so close. The Crawler was now where I was originally standing in the parking lot. Now that it was in my direct eye line, I could see it fully. It had the same typical physique, but it was slightly bigger in stature.
Its head shot towards me and orange beady eyes glared back. All the others ones I had seen had brown eyes, but this one's seemed to glow. Is that why it was out at this time of day? Did Harry know they could come out when it wasn't dark?
I stopped dead in my tracks, glancing at Harry from the corner of my eye. The Crawler crooked its head and raised its ear up into the air again. My heart hammered so hard inside my chest I swore it could have broken a bone.
It was staring directly at me, but it wasn't moving. My hands were shaking at my side, causing the gun to twitch against my leg. Did it not see me? Why wasn't it running to kill me? I glanced at Harry and he had the same, confused look on his face.
The Crawler broke its attention from me and brought its ear back up to the other direction.
Wait—was it blind? It would explain why it was ignoring me even when it could've easily spotted me.
It looked like it was relying solely on its hearing. This could also help explain why it was able to go out during the daytime. How could it hurt its eyes if its eyes didn't work to begin with?
I waved at Harry to get his attention, mouthing "It's blind!" I gestured around my eyes, "The eyes!"
The wheels started to turn in Harry's mind and it clicked. A flicker of light shone through his eyes.
"You keep going to the truck," he dramatically mouthed and pointed towards the car. "I'm going to throw," he gestured a throwing motion as he spoke, "The basement keys away from it."
I gave a thumbs up, "Watch my back."
We both fanned over to the Crawler, its head crooking towards the door. I used that as my chance to start walking backwards again.
Crack.
My head darted to my feet, fragments of glass now underneath my sole.
Oh shit.
I darted my eyes to the Crawler whose attention was back on me, quickly moving in my direction. Its nostrils flared with its ears pointed directly up. I quickly looked at Harry. I felt frozen and unsure what I should do.
He frantically looked around before directly turning to face me and shouted, "Run!"
I didn't think twice. Before I knew it I was darting past and I regretfully looked over my shoulder. This one was much quicker than the other Crawler I had to run from before. It was only about 10 feet away from me, but I could make it to the truck before it reached me. I was sure of it.
Pow.
The sound of a gun discharging echoed behind me. The quickening steps of the creature dissipated and I could hear it running in the opposite direction. Spinning around I saw Harry, gun pointed up into the air.
I raced to get my gun aimed and pointed.
Remember what he had taught you.
My feet placed firmly onto the asphalt and I held a breath. Quickly, I pressed the trigger. Another pow escaped and it caused my ears to ring. It shot directly through its back, causing it to stumble. Harry used this as his advantage and picked up speed towards my direction.
He waved for me to keep running and I didn't question it. I spun back around and reached for the passenger door handle. I peered over the hood, watching Harry continue to run closer and closer.
I could see the Crawler start to stand back up, drool dripping from its sharp teeth that were twitching into a snarl. I felt frantic. I had to help him.
Just as I was about to run to the side to aim my gun, I heard a loud thud on top of the car. Another Crawler with bright orange eyes was staring back at me. Its breath huffed against my face and a singular tear ran down my cheek. My breath was held, scared if I took another it would be my last.
My gun was still resting at my side. It was my only chance. In one swift motion, I raised it and shot multiple rounds directly into its open mouth. Blood splattered all over my face matched with the sound of its teeth cracking. I coughed and gagged, tasting it on my tongue.
I quickly wiped my face with my shirt as best I could and regained my composure. The Crawler had fallen off the car with a loud thud.
It was dead.
I only enjoyed my success for a brief moment, remembering that Harry was still in his own predicament. I hurriedly ran to the side and steadied myself. The injured Crawler was moving slowly, but this wasn't the issue. The issue was another orange-eyed Crawler from a small distance now running towards the scene. It was nearing Harry closer by the second.
"Oh, fuck!"
Against better judgment for my own safety, I ran away from the car and towards Harry.
"Toss me the basement keys! Get the car ready!" I yelled at him.
We were now running in opposite directions towards one another. Once he got close enough, the keys went flying in the air. I watched them as they fell, trying to center myself enough to catch them. They landed in my hand, a small jingle as my fingers closed around them.
The Crawlers had stopped chasing Harry and were now coming towards me. I cursed under my breath and ran. This might have been the stupidest idea I had so far, but it was the only one I had, too.
I continued sprinting, jingling the keys as I did. I wanted to make as much noise as I could. The dead body of the man was inching closer, I just needed to make a few more steps.
I almost tripped over the body from the speed I was going. I frantically twirled the keys above the lifeless man's head. The Crawlers picked up speed. I had to hold it until they were close enough.
Closer. Closer. Closer...
They were within a few feet now and I loudly threw the keys right onto the body. The uninjured Crawler took a leap, causing me to throw my body off to the side to get out of its way. I immediately heard the sound of ripping and crunching.
Swiftly, I got up from the ground and raced back towards Harry who already had the car running. I didn't know I could move so fast until this moment. My hand caught against the hood of the car, halting my speed and spinning me to the passenger door. I swung it open and before I could even close the door, the gas was punched.
He whipped around the side and we drove through a field of long, dead grass. I used both hands to slam my door shut and then held onto the grab handles as the truck threw us around. We couldn't see the ground, so we were hitting every rock, hole, and stick in the way.
Harry spun the wheel, drifting the car's tires. The road was up ahead and he punched the gas harder. I looked through the rear view mirror, it looked like we lost them. That or they were too busy tearing apart that man's body. I didn't care either way.
The truck jolted when it hit the road again. I had no idea how fast we were going, but it didn't lessen for another good 5 or so miles.
Eventually I looked over to Harry. His jaw was clenched and his knuckles were white against the wheel. He looked angry, but I knew it was his way of expressing his fear.
I extended out a hand, upturning my palm on the center console. My eyes were looking up at him as a silent gesture for him to hold it.
He glanced at me and then to my hand. His speed had slowed to a more comfortable rate now, but my body was still shaking from the adrenaline and anxiety. His eyebrows furrowed like he was actively considering his options. His eyes darted back to the road and for a moment I thought he was ignoring my offer, but then his hand slowly dropped into mine. His fingers intertwined with my own and he tightly squeezed.
A content smile peaked across my face and I took a breath of relief.
Somehow we made it. I had no idea how, but we made it.
We made it together.
a.n.
hi everyone! i just wanted to say thank you as always if you're reading
i've been really busy with work and i've also started co-writing another story with a friend, so updates may teeter more towards 1-2 weeks each. the good news is work stuff should level out after this month and i should** have more free time. i don't think it'll reach up to 2 weeks but this update was a struggle to get out on time so ty for your patience ❤️
can't wait to share about the new story though!