Savage (The End 1)

He pulled out the map he carried in his coat pocket, stared at the small town that was only a few hours walk north, and knew that’s where he’d hit tomorrow.

He sat back down, picked up the can of pears he’d set down, and started eating them again. And once again the only company he had was that of the crackling fire and the corpse lying a few feet from him.

Chapter Eighteen

There’s no one

After Sasha got her sister back to the house, she was so tired. Exhaustion was eating away at her and it wasn’t a good look, not even close. In fact, her entire life was really starting to suck big time and she didn’t know what to do about it.

Brushing her hair out of her eyes, she blew out a breath and stared up at the ceiling.

Compared to the rest of the world, the ceiling looked in pristine order. It was kind of crazy to be thinking this, especially with everything going on in her life.

Lucy lay beside her, fast asleep.

The world was no longer harming her sweet sister.

Turning her head, she looked at her, and wished she could protect her better. The time in the cabin had been good for her at least. She had that. But for how long?

Being in a town sounded great but this was quite a large place compared to the cabin, and they would encounter other people.

Tears filled her eyes as she tried not to panic.

She didn’t know how much she could take.

Not now.

This wasn’t her job.

She had been in her final year of high school, or would have been if the entire world hadn’t been plunged into this shithole.

Sasha couldn’t believe she even missed school.

What kind of kid missed going to school? Missed being in classes with smartass teachers who knew all the answers?

“You’re crying,” Lucy said, startling her.

“You should be asleep.” She quickly brushed the tears away.

“I was but now I’m not. What’s wrong, Sasha?”

“Nothing.”

“Is it because I wanted to find people?”

“No, of course not. But we’ve got to be careful.”

“I hope we can find you a prince.”

Sasha chuckled. She turned on her side, giving her sister her full attention. “A prince?”

“Yes, and then we could all live happily ever after. A prince will protect you.”

Sasha thought about the men she’d killed already. “I don’t need a man to protect me.”

“I know. Do you remember Dad always telling us that we had to learn to do things our way and not expect a guy to do it for us?”

This made Sasha smile. Their father had believed that even though they were women growing up in a male dominant world, females could still be the stronger sex.

Now in the world where craziness ensued, what was she supposed to do?

Could she match men in a fight?

So far, she’d been able to get lucky, and that was because of a weapon. Would she be able to fight them off in any other circumstance?

“You’ve gone sad again.”

“I’m sorry.”

“Do you miss the cabin?”

“Not so much.” The men who’d invaded the cabin had pretty much confirmed for her it was time to move on.

She only wished they’d gotten out sooner for Lucy’s safety.

“It had some good memories for us though, right?” she asked.

“Yes. So what’s the plan?”

“You’re sounding all grown up and in charge, young lady.”

“I want to help. I know you’re worried and I don’t want to worry you.”

She reached out, tucking a strand of hair behind her sister’s ear. “I’ll always worry about you, sweetheart.”

“I’m a big girl. I can take care of myself.”

She thought about the men again.

The blood.

The death.

“I know you can but Dad told me to take care of you. You wouldn’t want him to be upset with me, would you?”

Lucy shook her head. “We’ll stay together. Explore together and survive together.” Lucy held out her pinkie finger and Sasha took it.

“In that case, I think we should stick around this town for a couple of days.” At least while it was deserted, but she didn’t let Lucy know that. “We need to find some way to wash.”

“We both smell,” Lucy said.

“We do. We can’t stay here forever. We’ll have to gather some supplies, and then we’re going to have to leave as well.”

Lucy nodded. “Do you think we’ll ever be in the same place?”

“I don’t know.”

“I hope we find people that are not mean and don’t want to hurt us.”

Sasha quickly wiped her eyes again. “Me too. So much. Believe me, I want you to be able to play again.” She hoped to find a sanctuary of some kind.

“You’re sad again,” Lucy said.

“I’m just thinking about our parents.”

“You miss them?”

Sasha giggled. “Yes. Do you?”

“All the time. I try not to think about them. It makes me sad to know they’re not here and we know they’d love to be.”

She cupped Lucy’s cheek, pressing her head against Lucy’s. “I know. I know.”