3 Days by Krista Madden Page B

strangled grip. Just as I took the gun from him, his body folded onto me, and he held me so tight I could hardly breathe. I had no idea what to say. Besides a fist fight in the ninth grade, Blaine had never hurt anyone before. And he had most certainly never killed a person either. And now, there he sat, in my arms after saving my life and the life of his best friend, resulting in a lifeless body lying only a few feet away from him. All I could do was rub my hand along his back and say, “You had to do it. You had no choice.”
    He just sat there, shaking, breathing heavy, his head buried in my neck. He didn’t cry, although I wouldn’t have blamed him if he did. All he could do was hold me tight as I felt his heartbeat slowdown.
    When Blaine gathered his composure, we met Jared in the camping department, ammunition cart filled. Walking out onto the pavement of the parking area, a strange sensation washed over me. The world was different to me somehow.
    “Race you to the truck!” Jared shouted, cart bouncing around from the gravel-like glass shards on the walk.
    “Oh, you’re on!” replied Blaine as he pushed his cart faster, barreling toward the bright green pickup.
    Watching them play around was calming. I felt better knowing that Blaine was able to smile after all we had been through in the warehouse store.
    My legs were still weak from the event, so I sauntered, rather than ran, toward the guys. By the time I got to the truck, they had loaded half of the supplies into the back. Helping them with the rest, I asked, “So, where to next?”
    Blaine threw some of the camping gear into the bed of the truck and stood up straight, making himself seem taller as he looked down to me and replied, “The woods.”

     

Chapter 29
    As Blaine steered the truck down one dirt road after the next, Jared explained that we were headed to a location they had scoped out before the flare. He described it as the perfect place to camp, making it sound like a luxury spa. This made me laugh because I had never heard Jared talk so passionately about anything in all the time I had known him. Well, except for video games.
    Blaine pulled the truck off of the road, and we disappeared into the tree line. Seeing the confusion on my face, Jared said “This perfect spot is sort of off the beaten path.” I replied with a look of understanding.
    In the distance, the sun began to threaten to touch the horizon. Just as I noticed this fact, we pulled up to the side of a sparkling creek. I was overwhelmed by a feeling of éjà vu but quickly shook it off.
    “Crap!” Blaine hissed as he pulled the truck near a large stump of a dead forest tree.
    As we came to a stop, I saw what he was upset about. Off to the left, about twenty yards, was a campfire. A tent stood a few feet away from it, and there was a man dropping a pile of sticks near the fire. Two medium-sized dogs shuffled around his feet, giving the impression that they thought the sticks were for the longest lasting game of fetch, ever.
    “What the hell?!” cursed Jared, “I thought for sure nobody would come here. It is miles off the road!”
    He quickly jumped out of the truck, slamming the door before I had a chance to slide toward it.
    “Stay here,” Blaine warned, as he opened his door. I watched as the guys approached the man by the fire. From what I could see he was older, probably in his late thirties to early forties. He had blond hair, and his skin was dark, like he had spent most of his life in the sun. They engaged in conversation, seeming harmless enough. I saw the man shake first Jared’s hand, then Blaine’s. He smiled and waved a hand toward the tent, calling out to it. From the tent emerged a woman, around the same age as the man, with fiery red hair, braided all the way down her back. She smiled at the two and shook their hands as well. Finally, Blaine turned his head toward me in the truck and motioned for me to come join them.
    When I met them at the fire, I put on a