“It wasn’t a bear, was it?”
Sasha stared at her sister, nibbling her lip. For such a young girl, she was smart and intuitive.
“No, it wasn’t a bear.” Silence stretched between them and Sasha could see the truth in her sister’s eyes. She knew.
“It was a person?”
Sasha nodded.
“They were going to hurt us?”
Sasha nodded once more.
“I love you, Sasha.”
“I love you too, honey.” She smiled and forced the tears away. “Let’s not be sad, okay? We’ll eat something and then I can play dolls with you. How about that?” She saw Lucy’s eyes brighten and she laughed along with her little sister, wanting her to be so happy.
“Do you think if they found a cure Mom and Dad could be saved?”
“A cure?”
“It’s a virus. I heard you listening on the television. The news. All viruses have a cure, right? When I was sick, Mommy gave me medicine that tasted bad. But I felt better. Can’t we find a cure?”
“I hope so.” She didn’t know if that would do any good. The virus had wiped out a lot of people before they even left, and now … it was probably so much worse. So, unless, by some miracle scientists and doctors survived, it would take a long time before any medicine was discovered.
That nightmare was for another day to think about.
“The soup is bubbling. I’m starving. What about you?”
“Yes.”
She gave Lucy a spoon and made sure she didn’t burn herself before eating her own soup.
It seemed impossible to be happy right now.
They’d lost their parents.
She’d killed a man.
And she was so fucking scared she couldn’t think straight.
They were going to be okay.
She had to trust that.
Maybe if she kept repeating it to herself, she’d believe it.
Chapter Nine
Let the blood flow
Several weeks later
Malachi exhaled slowly and walked over to the window, one he’d boarded up when he’d first come back to his apartment. He peered out between the slats. A car in the distance was on fire, the smoke billowing up into the dusky sky, darkening it further. Garbage littered the streets, cars haphazardly parked on the sidewalks, in the middle of the street, and even one through the front window of the store just across the way.
He held his gun tightly, his fingers digging into the handle, a steady reassurance. He could see a few bodies face down on the asphalt, either from the virus taking them, or the anarchy that had ensued.
He needed to get out of the city, because although he could handle himself just fine, was used to the depraved and gritty underworld he’d survived in, if he wanted to continue to survive the fallout, the city was not where that was going to happen.
Malachi was running out of food and water, and scavenging was the only thing he could do until he decided where to go. He also needed to find a car that worked, one that would take his ass out of the city, somewhere far where he could find other people, find out what the hell was going on.
The news had cut out weeks ago, no more emergency broadcasts updating people on what the fuck was happening in the world.
The fact there was no communication, no more sounds of helicopters overheard or military on the streets, led Malachi to believe the world was good and gone.
He turned away from the window and walked over to his backpack. A few weeks had passed since the first outbreak of the virus. The world had gone to hell, literally. He hadn’t spoken to any of his contacts since he’d let Robbie walk away at the warehouse.
That had been over a week ago.
Cell service was down, and electricity and power were no longer working. It was the Apocalypse, plain and simple.
He grabbed his duffel and unzipped it, seeing the guns and ammo he’d packed just to be safe. He grabbed the backpack and put the rest of his non-perishable food and the water bottles he had left inside before zipping it up. He couldn’t stay in his apartment, couldn’t stay in the city. He had to scavenge for more supplies before trying to find a vehicle to hot-wire and get out of here.
He had no idea where he was going to go, but he’d figure that out on the road.
Malachi put the backpack on and swung the duffel over his shoulder. He kept the gun in his hand as he made his way out of the apartment building. He stopped right before he got to the street, making sure there were no surprises. Although he could handle himself just fine, he wasn’t an idiot.
He’d been living in darkness for so long that the world was just now matching how he felt inside and how he lived on the outside.
He kept the gun in his hand as he made his way down the street. Malachi kept close to the buildings, knowing that these were desperate times. He was savage in nature, would take anyone down who crossed his path, but he wasn’t a maniac. He didn’t kill indiscriminately. And he hoped his size and stature would keep people away, had their flight or fight instinct rising up so they took off in the other direction.