weapons, something to fend off the Skin Eaters.”
Her response should have triggered an awareness in us that something wasn’t right about WillMart, but hers was such a broad answer we collectively overlooked it. I mean, who wouldn’t need weapons to defend themselves? It just didn’t occur to me that they needed them immediately.
“So that’s why the lock was broken?” Mei asked.
“You’ve been here before, haven’t you?” Harrison added.
“Yes.”
“You broke the lock?”
“Lou did. I just carried stuff, but we didn’t have time to get everything so I came back.”
“For what?” Harrison pressed.
“The knives,” she said tipping her head at Doc, looking to where he’d reinserted the blades around his waist. “I came back for the knives.”
Simultaneously, we fell silent, understanding that scarce resources created conflicts before we even knew they were conflicts.
“Why did you come alone?” Harrison asked, sensing something wasn’t quite right.
“They couldn’t…,” she sighed in frustration. “I snuck out.” She looked guilty, although I didn’t find out until later it was for a different reason.
Christina settled and maintained a dazed stare on the lantern. “This is my home, I know everyone, everyone who became Skin Eaters, everyone who’s at WillMart.”
I considered this, realizing that her entire world had been this provincial town and her perception of it had just gotten even smaller, with the remainder of her neighbors holed up in a place that was designed to be nothing more than a transient stop to buy supplies. Something like that could make you feel insignificant, but she hadn’t let it. Her personality was too strong. This was clear when she spoke again, describing the survivors in detail. By the time she was done, it was obvious why she had risked her life to save them. She loved them. That came through in the way she talked about her neighbors, dramatically and with ever-changing facial expressions. She knew their quirks and grievances with each other, their weaknesses and strengths, and everything she mentioned helped prepare us for what we could expect when we arrived in the morning. So we thought.
Harrison was the only one with the foresight to not entirely trust Christina’s behavior. After the others fell asleep, he took the opportunity to ask me something he knew I would decline. But he had to try.
Shifting to face me, he kept his voice low. “Tomorrow, there’s no need for you to go.”
My head jerked back. “Go?”
“To meet the person to talk about the cure.”
“You don’t want me there?” I was stunned.
“You’ll be safe here with Doc, Mei, and Beverly. I’ll go with Christina and come back for you. Shouldn’t take more than a few hours.”
“You’re joking, right?” Before he could answer, I made my decision. “No.”
“I’m not joking, Kennedy.”
We fell into a heated stare.
“Why do you want me to stay?”
“I don’t see…,” he said, his eyes drifting to Christina. “I don’t see the reason to risk your safety-”
“We are a team, Harrison. You said it yourself, no one person is greater than the other. We go in together, we leave together.”
“Did your dad teach you that?”
“Yes,” I replied flatly.
I could see in his face that he agreed with me. He knew my logic was sound, but he wouldn’t let it rest.
Piercing me with those striking eyes, making me forget my thoughts and concentrate solely on my feelings, he uttered something I wasn’t entirely prepared to hear from him at the moment, going right to the heart of why I wouldn’t allow him to leave me behind.
“I love you too, Kennedy.” He delivered this promise in a deep, guttural whisper. It was equally seductive and disarming, and he knew it.
His hand rose to my face, where his fingers slid tenderly along my cheek. The touch made me tremble, but he showed no reaction to it, seemingly lost in his own thoughts.
“You refuse to see it,” he
Her response should have triggered an awareness in us that something wasn’t right about WillMart, but hers was such a broad answer we collectively overlooked it. I mean, who wouldn’t need weapons to defend themselves? It just didn’t occur to me that they needed them immediately.
“So that’s why the lock was broken?” Mei asked.
“You’ve been here before, haven’t you?” Harrison added.
“Yes.”
“You broke the lock?”
“Lou did. I just carried stuff, but we didn’t have time to get everything so I came back.”
“For what?” Harrison pressed.
“The knives,” she said tipping her head at Doc, looking to where he’d reinserted the blades around his waist. “I came back for the knives.”
Simultaneously, we fell silent, understanding that scarce resources created conflicts before we even knew they were conflicts.
“Why did you come alone?” Harrison asked, sensing something wasn’t quite right.
“They couldn’t…,” she sighed in frustration. “I snuck out.” She looked guilty, although I didn’t find out until later it was for a different reason.
Christina settled and maintained a dazed stare on the lantern. “This is my home, I know everyone, everyone who became Skin Eaters, everyone who’s at WillMart.”
I considered this, realizing that her entire world had been this provincial town and her perception of it had just gotten even smaller, with the remainder of her neighbors holed up in a place that was designed to be nothing more than a transient stop to buy supplies. Something like that could make you feel insignificant, but she hadn’t let it. Her personality was too strong. This was clear when she spoke again, describing the survivors in detail. By the time she was done, it was obvious why she had risked her life to save them. She loved them. That came through in the way she talked about her neighbors, dramatically and with ever-changing facial expressions. She knew their quirks and grievances with each other, their weaknesses and strengths, and everything she mentioned helped prepare us for what we could expect when we arrived in the morning. So we thought.
Harrison was the only one with the foresight to not entirely trust Christina’s behavior. After the others fell asleep, he took the opportunity to ask me something he knew I would decline. But he had to try.
Shifting to face me, he kept his voice low. “Tomorrow, there’s no need for you to go.”
My head jerked back. “Go?”
“To meet the person to talk about the cure.”
“You don’t want me there?” I was stunned.
“You’ll be safe here with Doc, Mei, and Beverly. I’ll go with Christina and come back for you. Shouldn’t take more than a few hours.”
“You’re joking, right?” Before he could answer, I made my decision. “No.”
“I’m not joking, Kennedy.”
We fell into a heated stare.
“Why do you want me to stay?”
“I don’t see…,” he said, his eyes drifting to Christina. “I don’t see the reason to risk your safety-”
“We are a team, Harrison. You said it yourself, no one person is greater than the other. We go in together, we leave together.”
“Did your dad teach you that?”
“Yes,” I replied flatly.
I could see in his face that he agreed with me. He knew my logic was sound, but he wouldn’t let it rest.
Piercing me with those striking eyes, making me forget my thoughts and concentrate solely on my feelings, he uttered something I wasn’t entirely prepared to hear from him at the moment, going right to the heart of why I wouldn’t allow him to leave me behind.
“I love you too, Kennedy.” He delivered this promise in a deep, guttural whisper. It was equally seductive and disarming, and he knew it.
His hand rose to my face, where his fingers slid tenderly along my cheek. The touch made me tremble, but he showed no reaction to it, seemingly lost in his own thoughts.
“You refuse to see it,” he
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