by Lee, Raymond
Cruz shrugged. “No clue but that guy is trouble. I’m going to watch over Raven, make sure he doesn’t lay a finger on her.”
Damian picked up the medication and slapped the boxes against Cruz’s chest. “Take them. Do it for Raven.”
Cruz took the boxes and walked off, making no promises.
“I like you two,” Damian said, turning toward Carlos and Elijah. “We got no beef, but that redheaded sonofabitch is a bomb that needs to be destroyed.”
“We do not kill here,” Carlos said firmly. “He’s a racist jackass. I know. But he’s a human. These days it is humans against zombies. We don’t kill our own. That’s the rule here. Abide by it or good luck out there.”
“It’s not so bad,” Elijah said as his father left them. “Once you get past Kurt this place is pretty great. Power, food, water, and you have to have a membership to shop here so zombies can’t get in.”
Damian groaned. “I hope you got better jokes than that, kid. How’d y’all end up here anyway?”
“My dad worked here. When the outbreak happened he figured this was the safest place for us. Apparently Kurt thought the same. He was an overnight stocker.”
“It’s just you and your dad?”
“My mom didn’t make it.” Elijah’s face fell and his eyes grew haunted.
“I’m sorry, man. That’s rough.”
Elijah nodded and took a deep breath. “So what’s it like hanging out with Cruz Thomas? Is he as tough as in the movies?”
Damian rolled his eyes.
“What happened to Greg?” Janjai asked, now that she and Pimjai were settled on a sofa in the furniture section, clean and dressed in fresh clothes.
“We were on our way to the military camp when he was bitten.” Pimjai’s eyes watered. “He shot himself in the head while I was sleeping. It was his way of protecting me from what he would become. He knew I would not be able to kill him, even if he was one of those things.”
“I am so sorry, Pim.” Janjai took her sister’s hand in hers. “He was good to you?”
“Very much. He was an honorable man. And your Hank?”
“He was not a good man.”
“I am sorry.” Pimjai studied her. “Did he turn into them?”
“No.” Janjai shook her head. “The young girl with us. She shot him.”
Pimjai’s eyes widened. “Why?”
“He was a bad man, a bad husband. Still, he did not need to be shot. The girl is dangerous.”
“And the man? Hal?”
“I do not know. He is good but dark.”
“Why are you with them?”
“Protection. And they helped me to find you. You are all I have here now.”
“We must protect each other.”
“Can your people be trusted?”
Pimjai bit her lip. “I do not know. The woman is good, but broken. We lost another and it hurt her very bad. She is lost now. I do not know if she will come back to us. Damian is rough, but he has a good heart. Cruz …”
“What?”
“He is sick.” Pimjai pointed to her head. “He hears the dead.”
Janjai absorbed this information. “Angela is dangerous. She kills easy and without remorse. Hal is strong, a protector. He is very religious but strange.”
“Strange how?”
“I can not say. Something about him just does not feel right.”
“Do you feel safe with him?”
“More than I did with Hank.”
“And these people? The red-haired man.”
“He is bad. He will be trouble.”
“I agree. The other two?”
“I do not know. We need to learn more.”
“Does your group know you speak English?”
“Yes. Yours?”
Pimjai nodded. “Will they tell?”
“They will want information too. They will be glad for our help if the men talk openly around us and we learn their secrets.”
“Mine will too. They can be ruthless.” She squeezed Janjai’s hand. “We left a baby. It had died in its mother’s womb and turned into one of those monsters. I did not have the heart to kill her. I left her there.” Tears rolled down Pimjai’s face.
“That is horrible.”
“Did I do wrong? We just left her.”
“What other choice did you have?”
“We could have killed her.” Pimjai wiped her eyes. “We could have ended her hunger. Sent her to a better place. She will haunt my dreams now.”
“She would if you had killed her.” Janjai gripped her shoulder. “All choices are hard now. All will haunt us.”
“How do we know which decisions to make? Who to trust?”
“We trust only each other,” Janjai said, looking toward the front of the store as the redheaded man walked past, several aisles ahead of them, muttering and cursing. “Most decisions make themselves. We live with the consequences. Some may be painful but the important thing, sister, is we live.”
Raven sat on the bed, her katana in her lap. She tried to remember the past, long before she’d ever held a sword. A past when she would have never thought she would have need for a weapon. Those memories made her sadder. They were full of Sky and her sweet face.
“I’m sorry, Sky,” she whispered, wondering if her sister could hear her from Heaven. Would she forgive her? “I understand if you don’t. I don’t deserve it.”
She wiped away her tears and wished for nothingness. No memories, no feelings, just a void. Late now, most of the lights had been turned off. She no longer heard the television or the soft murmurs of Janjai and her sister as they talked on the couch. They’d found a place to sleep for the night, as had the little blonde girl.
Cruz hadn’t returned since she’d ordered him to leave. Damian had checked on her. She didn’t talk much. She told him she wanted to be alone and he didn’t argue with her like Cruz had. He knew she needed her space and respected her request.
Kurt kept his distance. For now. That one would be trouble. She almost welcomed it. Using her sword against him would release her rage. She didn’t want to lose anyone else, but he was not one of her people and never would be. The fact that a creep like him had been living unharmed in this huge store while Jeremy and Sky had been torn apart by those monsters made her seethe.
She turned the blade over in her hands. Maybe she’d rid the world of him and even the score before she left. She lined the blade up with her wrist. Sharp as the katana was, it would slice through her skin with little effort. So easy.
She trembled thinking about it. Where would she go? She couldn’t see herself entering Heaven after allowing two innocent angels to die. She couldn’t imagine them ever forgiving her. Especially Jeremy, who already thought she was against her.
Would they be waiting for her? Waiting to shred her like those monsters had done to them? Would the shredding be quick or would it last for eternity?
Something shuffled. She looked up, seeing nothing. The sound came again from her left. She looked over and saw a form approaching. A young girl. Sky.
Her sister had come back for her.
Raven held her breath as her little sister approached, shuffling her feet across the cold floor. Her brown hair hung loose, her head lowered.
“Sky?”
The girl looked up, eyes so white they shone in the dark.
Raven gasped. “I’m so sorry, Sky. I’m sorry I let them do that to you.”
Sky growled as she stepped closer, arms reaching out. Arms in a Kansas State University Wildcats sweatshirt.
Raven frowned. Sky didn’t have a sweatshirt like that and Sky wasn’t this tall. She peered closer and realized this was not Sky, or Jeremy. It was the girl who’d come to the store with Pimjai’s sister. She, too, was dead. Another young girl had died and she hadn’t done anything to prevent it. At least this girl would get the revenge the others hadn’t.
Raven moved the katana from her lap to the bed and held out her arms. “I’m sorry.”
The girl didn’t say anything as she lunged, jumping on the bed to rip out Raven’s throat and make her pay for not protecting any of the girls.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Raymond Lee is the horror/thriller pen name of romance novelist, Crystal-Rain Love. She lives in the south with her children and a variety of pets. She loves music, reading, writing, hiking, Supernatural, David Cook, The Walking Dead, and sleeping, even though she’s not very good at it.
Learn more at http://facebook.com/RaymondLeeAuthor
