Savage (The End 1)

Malachi stood up. “You can’t jump in that.”

“Why not? I want to go and jump in it and Sasha will let me, won’t you?”

“Think about the chances of certain things rotting. The diseases they carry.”

Sasha stared up at him and it was hard for her not to feel a little sick from the visual she’d just gotten. People didn’t just go and die in their homes. There were bodies in the street. It’s why she always made sure to walk ahead of Lucy so her sister never got the chance to see the dead.

“No, it’s dangerous and it’s dirty. There’s dog poo and all kinds of nasty things. Daddy always said to not go splashing in floods, remember.” There was also a big explanation but Sasha couldn’t remember it as she had zoned out at the time and had been playing some game she was addicted to on her phone.

It always helped to pass the time.

“Oh, okay. I remember. Daddy always said that you have to get out of the water because it brings up dirt and filth from the sewers. I remember.” Lucy smiled and went back to playing with her dolls.

“Your dad sounds like a good man,” Malachi said, taking a seat beside her.

“He was a good man. A strong man.” She looked away from Lucy, feeling the tears begin to well up.

“Are you okay?”

“I’m fine. Okay? I’m fine.”

“You don’t have to bite my head off. I’m just wanting to make sure you’re okay.”

“I am okay. It’s just another fucked-up day in this fucked-up world, and I’m trying to keep everything together so my sister doesn’t realize how fucked-up it all really is.” She got to her feet, moving toward the window. “It’s no big deal.” She stared out at the water. It had stopped raining but the flood was still in place. She saw the debris it carried as it kept on moving. The sight of the moving water helped to calm her nerves.

She rubbed her arms again, feeling a slight chill in the air. The temperature kept on plummeting, and it was messing with her head. One moment she was hot, the next she was cold.

“It’ll be all right,” he said.

“Yeah, says the man who wants something from me when we get somewhere safe.” She glanced at him, refusing to admire his muscular arms that were so close as he leaned against the wall.

She looked over to see Lucy still playing. That was a good thing. At least her sister always did as she was told without any fuss.

“What makes you think that by the time we’re safe, you won’t want me?”

“You’re a killer.”

He laughed. “So are you, sweetheart.”

“That was self-defense.”

“So was mine. You think you’re the only one in danger in this real world? Look around you. It’s all a bunch of lies and fucked up. I’m just making the most of it. You’ve gotten lucky being alone. I hope you realize that.”

She sighed. “I know we’ve been lucky. I’ll do whatever it takes for Lucy, to keep her safe. My parents asked me to do that job for them. I will do it.”

“You miss them.”

“Of course. They were my parents. They didn’t deserve to die.”

“I’d say most of the dead population would agree with you.”

His bluntness hurt at times.

“Can we not talk about this, please?”

“What would you like to talk about?” he asked.

Looking out the window, she gripped the bridge of her nose. “Maybe about how we’re going to get out of here. The water has risen enough that the cars are not going to be safe. This town has just become a total waste. How will we make it out of here? Our food supply is down.”

“We’ll make it out. Not everyone stores their cars in the street, and besides, there is always something to find. I can hunt.”

“Hunt?” she asked, frowning.

“Don’t go dumb on me right now. You know what I mean.”

“You want to hunt what?”

“The usual, rabbit, deer, that kind of thing.”

She shook her head. “Hell no. We can’t eat that stuff.”

“Why not?”

“Because, I can’t feed my sister a rabbit. It’ll scar her for life.”

“What about starvation? That will kill her.”

“Oh, stop it. We’ll find something.”

She stepped away from the window and moved toward the stairs. They were high enough up that the water hadn’t touched them, but she still saw the edge of the water down below. It was like something out of a shark movie, where she could imagine the deadly creature lurking beneath the water, waiting to pick them off one by one.

Her head was seriously not in this game and she had to get her shit together soon. This was too fucking much.

“How about we make a raft?” she asked. Moving from the stairway, she looked at the doors. “We could float out of here.”

“That sounds like fun,” Lucy said.