I am SO sorry. I know it's been forever…
It was early, too early for whatever day of the week it was. We drove down the highway in silence. The truck rattled as we went along the gravel road. It was clear everyone was exhausted, because it was dead silent.
I sighed, looking away from the window to Reaver, who was driving. It was him, Emmett, Kory, and Jay in this one van. And if Reaver and Kory were within a mile of each other and there was no fighting, something really was the matter.
"Hey," Emmett said in the backseat. "Take the next right." He says looking at his map he picked up at a gas station a few miles back.
"Okay, thanks." Reaver huffed. What was up with these guys?
"Can we stop for food soon?" Kory asks.
"Sure." Reaver says. My jaw dropped.
"Wake me up when we get there." Jay yawned. I turned around to look at them, no one was killing eachother… yet.
One hour later we pulled into the parking lot of the mall. It wasn't huge or anything. But it was something. I could already see what appeared to be a sporting goods store. We could get warm clothes there.
"Hey… Minneapolis?" Fairbanks asked hesitantly, coming out of the front of the store as I was walking in. They had gotten there first.
"Yes?" I ask, axe in hand.
"Uhm… I don't think swimming suits are going to save us from the cold…"
"What?" I ask, pushing past her. The store wasn't as I expected. I was dumb and didn't think about. The store wasn't ready for winter, but just ending summer. Since the stores here must've been shutting down in the middle of September.
"No…" I hissed, scanning the racks for any signs of warm clothes.
"We're so screwed." Kory sighed.
"Shit, man…" Emmett sighed. This mall was our only hope.
"Okay, okay. Normally stores get ready for seasons early, right? I'm sure one of these have winter stuff." Texas reasoned.
"Okay, split up. We'll all take different sides of the mall. Russia, Texas and Kory, go to the East side. Fairbanks, Emmett and Bavaria take the West side. Bipolar and Reaver, come with me We'll take the North and South sides… Hey, where's Jay?" I ask, realizing we were missing one. Everyone shared nervous glances.
"Oh! I know." Kory speaks up. How reassuring. "We forget to wake him up. He's still in the car." Kory has a moment of pride, then realize this is a bad thing. "Oh."
"Okay, you go get Kory." I (reluctantly) toss him the keys.
"Fine." He turns and walks off his own way.
"Bipolar go with Texas and Russia, I think Reaver and I can manage."
"What?" He asks confused.
"Pay attention." I sigh, and start walking toward the South side of the mall.
Somewhere in the middle of the parking lot…
"God, it's cold out here." Kory says to himself. The parking lot is quiet, minus his complaining.
He continues to walk until he reaches the truck. He wipes the frost off the window with his hand and looks inside. Jay was still sleeping, he never even realized the group had left him. Kory unlocked the truck and opened the door.
"Wake up." He shoved Jay off the back seat.
"Hey!" Jay shouted, waking up, mid fall.
"Come on, the others are already inside." Kory pulled Jay out of the car, and the two began their long trek across the parking lot…
Near the southern end of the mall…
"Do you really think there's a store with what we're looking for?" Reaver was the first to break the silence. I sighed. Thinking about that.
"It's worth looking for." Is all I say, tightening my grip around the axe. We walk quietly through the entrance of a clothing store. If anything we could restock on food. I'm wandering around the shoes when Reaver catches up with me again.
"Y'know something?"
"What?" I ask, trying to see if they had any boots.
"I don't think you're as strong as you act sometimes." He picks up a box of hiking boots and shoved them under his arm. I grunted in response.
"I mean it. Not in a bad way, though. Sometimes you just try to be strong for everyone else. Cause obviously you're the leader here, but you try really hard. I don't know. I think you should take a break for a while." He grabs a bag from behind the counter and shoves the box in it.
"What are you getting at, Reaver?" I look up at him, one eyebrow raised.
"Let me take charge. Just for a little bit. Please?"
"Why do you want to be leader? It's a lot of pressure, and a lot of work." I sigh, finally finding a pair of boots with fur on the inside. I grabbed a bag as well and shoved them in it.
"I like to be in control of things." He shrugs. "And to give you a break."
"How do I know I can trust you. I mean, no offense. But I'm letting a lot of lives be trusted in your hands." I start looking for something else, a coat possibly.
"I don' t know. Really, I can't think of anything. But you can. Please?" He asks again. I give up on the whole coat business and grab a relevantly warm looking sweatshirt. I think about what he's saying. I'll finally get to rest and kick back. I could still be in charge of Reaver… It could work that way. What could go wrong?
"Okay." I say. Reaver smiles, and we leave the store.
Back in the parking lot…
A large horde of zombies were chasing Kory and Jay as they made their way to safety inside the mall. They ran and ran. Finally they made it into the doors of a department store connected to the mall. They locked the door and searched for items to defend themselves.
Half an hour later…
Kory and Jay are twelve feet from the door, staring at the crowd of zombies pounding on the glass. Jay was sitting on a plastic tricycle, flame thrower in hand. Kory was armed with a baseball bat and a hockey mask. Remote control cars were lined up with explosives, and Kory had rewired them so they were all controlled by one remote. He held the remote in his hands and took a deep breahe.
"Ready?" He asked.
"Ready." Jay answered.
Kory shot the lock open, and the horde entered.
To be continued…. MUAHAHAHAHA:D