Savage: The End

by Snow, Jenika

  “We could find an old rundown motel.”

  “No. Haven’t you noticed most people stay to the main roads? Not a lot of people are venturing into the woods. We’ll stay here, eat something, and then in the morning, we carry on traveling.”

  She wanted to argue but what he said made so much sense she didn’t even bother. Lucy had climbed out of the car and was clearing a space for them to lie down.

  “What’s your favorite color, Malachi?” she asked.

  “I don’t have one. What’s yours?”

  “I like yellow. My sister loves pink.”

  Sasha rolled her eyes. She hadn’t liked pink in a long time. Rubbing at her temples, she ignored the two chatting and concentrated on the plan for the future. All she could see for herself was getting her sister to safety. That was all she wanted. Now Malachi wanted her.

  She’d never been wanted by anyone, at least not a man. Her parents didn’t count, because, well, they were her parents.

  Thinking about her parents, about the men she’d killed, she suddenly felt completely overcome.

  “I’ll be back in a minute,” she said.

  “Can I come?” Lucy asked.

  “No, please, just give me a minute.”

  Leaving the two to finish setting up their camp without a camp, she passed several trees and found a fallen log. Perching on it, she pressed her elbows to her knees, sinking her fingers inside her hair as the tears began to fall.

  The stress of everything had finally caught up to her, and she just couldn’t process it all. She’d lost everything and now there was a big strong man offering to take care of the two of them, for his own price.

  Nothing in this world was free and he’d just proven that by throwing down his … demands.

  “Lucy’s worried about you,” he said, startling her.

  “Jesus, can’t I just have a couple of minutes alone?”

  “Yeah, if you tell me why you’re crying.”

  “It’s none of your business,” she said.

  “You don’t like me very much, do you?”

  “I don’t know you and so far, in order to get your help, I’ve got to have sex with you. Forgive me for not being so thrilled by that idea.”

  He chuckled. “When we fuck, you’re going to love it. I’ve got a nice big cock and regardless of what you think, I’ve got a lot of patience. It could be worse.”

  She shook her head, moving away from him as he sat on the fallen tree beside her. He didn’t allow her to go far before his arm was around her, keeping her in place.

  “Stop fussing. I’m not going to rape you.”

  “You will one day.”

  “No, one day I’m going to fuck you as you’re screaming and begging for me to keep on going. There’s a difference.”

  “I don’t want to talk to you.”

  “Fine.”

  “I hate you.”

  “You don’t even know me.”

  She pressed her lips together and decided against even speaking to him. It would just be better if she ignored him. Flat-out pretended he didn’t exist.

  “Why were you crying?”

  “Please, leave me alone,” she said.

  “Is it true you killed someone?”

  She took a deep breath. “Yes, I killed someone. I killed a couple of people, maybe even more now. I don’t know. I’ve stopped counting.”

  “It’s never easy to kill someone.”

  “Yeah, well, I love my sister and I’ll hurt anyone who thinks they can hurt her or take her away from me.”

  “You’re a good sister.”

  She closed her eyes, wanting silence.

  “I hate this world.” She was the one to break it.

  “I know.”

  “I wish we could go back to how it was, where people weren’t raping and killing each other.”

  “I hate to break it to you, sweetheart. There’s always been raping and killing.”

  “Not like this. I can’t … no, it wasn’t like this. I could walk down the street with my sister. I’d still have my parents. I wouldn’t have to be so afraid.”

  Malachi cupped her cheek. The action was so gentle that at first, she couldn’t help but tense up. “You don’t have to be afraid.”

  “You want something from me, Malachi. You don’t just want to help us for free.”

  He laughed. “Nothing in this world is free. I promise you, I won’t take what you’re not willing to give. I’m happy to wait. You’re mine though. I’ll wait for everything else, but you’re mine. No one else can have you. I’ll take care of you and Lucy. Keep you both safe and alive. We’re a family now.”

  “You’re not my family.”

  “Not yet, but I’m offering you a great deal here. I could take what I wanted from you without a care in the world. Think about that. You expect me to be the bad guy and I can be, but I haven’t. Lucy and I, we’re going to eat something. You coming to join us or sulk? I can tell you, sulking is not going to help you out here.”

  Malachi got to his feet and left. She watched him go, hating how close he already was to Lucy.

  Her sister was … adorable.

  No doubt about it. She had a way of drawing people in and making them care. Malachi had to be different from those men.

  He was willing to wait for her.

  For how long?

  Running fingers through her hair, she released a breath and headed back toward the camp they’d set up. Malachi had already started a fire, the crackling sounds and the scent of smoke reminding her of when their father had taken them to the mountains one summer.

  Lucy had a can of peaches opened and was scooping them out with her fingers and shoving them in her mouth. Malachi had a little more grace, and Sasha saw that another can was waiting for her, the lid already open.

  Taking a seat beside her sister, she took a bite of the canned fruit, loving the taste as the sweetness exploded on her tongue. This was the best thing she’d eaten in a long time, and how sad was that?

  One day at a time. That was all she could do. Take it one day at a time. For Lucy, she would do everything, even put up with this new … complication in her life.

  Chapter Twenty-Five

  Sometimes there’s no rainbow after a storm

  “Fuck,” Malachi growled out just as the vehicle sputtered to a stop. He pulled over to the side of the road, the gas gauge showing they were on empty. For a second he just sat there, Hands on the steering wheel, Sasha and Lucy’s gazes strong enough that he felt them. He glanced at Lucy. “Sorry,” he muttered and exhaled.

  “What’s wrong?” Lucy asked in a soft voice.

  “We’re out of gas, which means we need to find some or we’ll be walking to wherever he’s taking us.”

  There was a bitter note in Sasha’s voice, but then again, Malachi knew telling her that he wanted her as his would lead to backlash. Then again, he’d never been one to watch what he said. He called it like it was and fuck the repercussions.

  He didn’t say anything, just got out of the car, grabbed his stuff out of the back, and headed around to the front of the vehicle.

  Sasha and Lucy were making their way out too, their bags slung over their shoulders, the air tense around them.

  The three of them started walking down the long, deserted road. Malachi had his gun at tucked at the small of his back, a knife in his boot, and another one in his hand. Although he didn’t want Lucy to have a firearm, he’d given her a metal pipe, something to keep her safe in case she needed to use it as protection.

  He looked over at Sasha and saw a stoic expression on her face. She was tough, that was for sure. That was one of the reasons he was so attracted to her, why he wanted her so badly.

  She might hate him now, think that she had no choice but to stay with him, and no doubt loath him, but the truth was, she’d come around sooner or later.

  He saw the way she looked at him, the desire in her eyes, the knowledge that he was the only one who could protect them fully.

/>   And he’d do just that, using his last breath if need be. He might have been a piece of shit criminal before the world went to shit, but he could make up for some of that negative karma by doing a little good.

  Of course he was selfish as well, telling Sasha he’d help her but she had to be his.

  He wasn’t a saint. What could he say?

  Time started to pass the longer they walked, and when he checked his watch, he saw it had been an hour already.

  Lucy was starting to grow tired, her movements slowing and her little voice whining. And then he saw the sign for a town ahead, and he stopped them, holding his hand out front and looking around.

  It would also be getting dark soon, and depending on if they found gas, maybe some more supplies, they might have to set up camp in town. That was safer than trying to make it back to the car at night.

  “Why are we stopping?” Sasha asked and he felt her gaze on him.

  “It’s a town, which means there might be people there. We have to be careful.”

  He motioned for them to follow. “Stay close,” he said under his breath. He had pulled the gun out from the small of his back and kept it pressed to his outer thigh. Before long they were entering the town named Butecrest.

  It was small, almost quaint.

  “I’m going to check those two cars up ahead for gas. Keep close and don’t wander.” He said that a little harshly, maybe too harshly. But in the short time he’d been with them, Malachi couldn’t help but admit that keeping them safe was of the utmost importance to him.

  He checked the first car and then the next. Both empty.

  “Let’s keep going.” He saw the pharmacy, tucked that in the back of his mind. They’d need to check there to see if there were any meds. Chances were most of the stores here would have been ransacked and looted. But they still needed to check.

  There weren’t too many vehicles, but then he saw a small pediatric doctor’s office.

  “Let’s see if we can find anything in there.”

  He did the usual listen and watch, and when he deemed it safe enough, they headed inside. The doors had been glass at one point but now were busted out.

  Yeah, this wasn’t looking too good in finding shit.

  There were two waiting areas, one with a “Sick Child” sign above the chairs, and the other with a “Well Child” taped to the wall above the other set.

  A few chairs were knocked over, and they stepped around them. Papers littered the floor, dirt and grime tracked in and out.

  “Let’s check the back. There might be some medicine or first aid supplies,” Sasha said and he was proud she was thinking ahead. Then again, she wouldn’t have made it this far if she wasn’t smart as fuck.

  Lucy stayed close to Sasha, but then changed direction and stood next to him, slipping her hand in his and stopping. Lucy looked up at Malachi, her eyes wide.

  “I’m scared,” she whispered.

  He glanced up and saw Sasha looking between her sister and him, anguish in her eyes. Malachi dropped to his haunches so he was eye level with Lucy.

  “Listen here,” he said softly but hard enough she’d know he was serious. “Nothing will hurt you. I’ll make sure of that. You just think of me as you and your sister’s personal bodyguard, okay?”

  Lucy nodded, seeming visibly relaxed. “You’ll protect us?”

  He nodded instantly. “With my life.” He chucked her under the chin and stood, glancing at Sasha. She mouthed “Thank you” and took Lucy’s hand in hers.

  They made their way deeper into the office, rummaging through each patient room, the storage closet, the med room. They left no space unturned, collecting a decent amount of first aid supplies, and even found acetaminophen and ibuprofen. In this new world that shit was gold.

  They were just about to leave when Lucy ran to the bathroom. “Wait a second.” She darted inside and a second later came back out with three rolls of toilet paper, a huge grin on her face. “Toilet paper, Sasha.”

  Sasha chuckled and helped Lucy shove them into her backpack.

  They made their way back outside and he motioned for them to head to the pharmacy. After looking through there and mostly seeing a ransacked interior, he’d found some antibiotics under a shelf, nasal spray, eye drops, and a few more first aid supplies.

  “Not a bad haul,” he said more to himself. Malachi had hoped to find some ammo or even firearms, but he also wasn’t stupid. That shit would have been snatched up fast as hell when all this had first gone down.

  “I’m going to check out the convenience store,” Sasha said and headed over there before he could stop her.

  “Shit,” he grumbled under his breath. He took Lucy’s hand and led her to the store. He wasn’t about to let Sasha go in there alone.

  They stepped inside but he could tell they wouldn’t find shit. The place was trashed from top to bottom. The scent of rotting fruits and vegetables filled up the small interior.

  He headed toward the back and looked out the window, saw two small gas pumps and motioned for them to follow him out. It took some work, but he was able to get the gas out and filled the can.

  After screwing on the cap, he looked up at the sky and saw the clouds rolling in, darkness that had nothing to do with the sun setting taking over. There was this smell of rain in the air, the feel of electricity racing along his arms.

  “A storm’s coming,” he said and glanced at the girls. Lucy looked scared, clutching at Sasha. But Sasha had that hard mask on her face, that steely reserve that he had fallen for.

  She was so strong, and equal to his own brutality in her own right.

  “We need to take shelter.” He grabbed Sasha’s hand before she could say anything and was pleased when she didn’t pull it back. He led them down the street, picking up his pace when he heard a boom of thunder and saw a crack of lightning.

  There was an old movie theater at the edge of town, the sign hanging on by a few bolts, the door boarded up. He went to work on pulling the pieces of wood off until they could slip through. He had his gun at the ready, had his flashlight in his other hand.

  Malachi held up his gun hand for them to stop, and then listened. Silence surrounded them just as another round of thunder boomed the sky.

  A few seconds later the lightning flashed bright enough that they saw it through the boarded-up windows. The rain started shortly after, the howl of the wind deafening. Debris kicked up against the side of the building like fingernails along a chalkboard.

  He turned and faced the girls. “Looks like this is home for the night, or at least until the storm passes.”

  He shone the light across the interior, saw turned-over chairs, the tables in the same manner. The concession stand had a broken glass counter, and the popcorn machine looked like someone had tried prying it out of the wall.

  “Let’s see if there’s any food back there,” he said more to himself, and headed over there before the girls could say anything.

  After rummaging around all he found was a few bags of unpopped popcorn, a case of liquid movie theater butter, and some paper cups.

  “Hey, what about this?” Lucy said, excitement in her voice. She held up a small box and shook it a little bit, contents rattling around. There was a huge grin on her face as she set the box down and reached inside.

  She started pulling out boxes of candy. Milk Duds and Skittles, Nerds and Goobers. It wasn’t exactly what they needed to survive, but it was something and that was better than nothing.

  Sasha was on the other side of the concession stand looking through some cupboards, and he couldn’t help but stare at her ... watch her.

  Her body was lean, a little bit too thin. She hadn’t been eating enough, but then again, that was the world they lived in. She bent over and her jeans formed along the roundness of her ass. She was perfect, strong and smart, gorgeous and clever.

  “Jackpot,” she said softly and turned to hold up two dusty looking bags of nacho chips. She looked back in under the counter and pulled
out an aluminum can of nacho cheese sauce.

  “Now all we’re missing is the movie,” Lucy said, exhaling as if she were disappointed.

  Damn, how he wished he could give her what she wanted.

  They took their supplies and set up a makeshift camp in the corner, close to the door in case they needed to escape.

  “I need to make some rounds, make sure we’re really alone and that things are secure.” He didn’t wait for them to argue, just handed over his second gun to Sasha, made sure Lucy had her lead pipe, and headed toward the back where the theaters were.

  There were only three, and each one was as deserted as the last. He checked the bathroom, the storage room, and employee break room. All empty, dirty, and looking like they’d been ransacked, or whoever had been here had left in a hurry.

  There was a vending machine in the corner, but Malachi didn’t expect anything in there. It was foolish to not check. And surprising the hell out of him, he saw a few bags of chips and some candy bars. The pop machine beside it, after he pried it open, rewarded him with five cans of soda.

  He brought everything back to where the girls were, saw that Lucy was already digging into the chips and nacho cheese and noticed that Sasha had opened up the aluminum can with her knife. He growled low, not liking that she had done that given the fact she could’ve been seriously hurt.

  But he kept his mouth shut. She was already apprehensive of him and the last thing he wanted to do was drive that wedge between them even deeper.

  “How long do you think the storm will last?” Lucy asked around a mouthful of candy.

  He sat down beside her and had his gun by his thigh, at the ready. “I don’t know.” He glanced at her. “But we’ll be safe in here.” He smiled, and it was a strange sensation. He’d never been one to show pleasantries. His former life didn’t call for it. He’d always had to be rough, brutal and take no shit. That’s how he was feared, how he’d become a drug lord. He supposed things were no different now. In fact, life was even shittier, and people had to be harder.

  “Lucy, you need to eat something real, not just junk,” Sasha said and grabbed a can of peaches and another one of green beans out of her backpack. He watched her expertly open it with her knife, proud as hell that she was so self-reliant.