City of the Fallen - unedited

Chapter Thirty-Two

"You're joking." Once I notice his solid jaw and droopy eyes, I know he's telling the truth. I lean my head back in frustration. "What are we going to do?"

He doesn't answer.

"Colton?" I call out once again, but it's as if the name is foreign to him. Instead, he walks quicker, towards the heart of Taşucu. There are cars on the road. Actual cars. They're moving. People walk around with shopping bags and strollers. It's so normal here, in a place that I never expected I'd ever visit. I knew there would be cars and people, but the long amount of time that I've been dead makes these things seem foreign to me. My new normal is starting to be the Afterworld.

I've never been to Taşucu, but it's the closest place I can get to home. Everything is so familiar yet so unfamiliar. I miss being alive and going on vacations.

Everyone in the Afterworld tells me that it's so much better being dead, but I'm unable to understand their point of view. I was at my happiest when I was alive.

Beyond the several blocks of busy streets that we walk past is a small market full of fruits and vegetables. There are tons of people walking through the mountains of food. A lot of them are workers.

Colton suddenly latches onto my arm and pulls me behind him. "Don't get any further from me. I need you to grab as much as you can and stuff it into my backpack, okay?"

"What? You want me to steal food?" I question, taking a step to the side to see his face.

He pushes me back behind him and holds a finger up to my lips. "Do you want to starve tonight or do you want to eat? Your choice."

With a loud sigh, I trace a few pears with my fingers as we walk. I grab the stem of one and quickly place it in Colton's slightly unzipped backpack. I take two more. I grab a few bananas. I take several. This isn't so hard.

We pass a section full of warm bread and the smell almost puts me in a trance. I snatch a small loaf of bread and place it in there as well, which surprises him.

"Hungry, huh?" He says with a short laugh.

"What?" I put my arms up in defense. "I just did what you said."

"The fruit isn't going to last long, so we're going to have to eat all of that quickly." He instructs, zipping up the open end of the backpack as we leave the market.

"At least we have food. I could've refused to steal it." I cock an eyebrow, but he doesn't look at me.

"Yeah but you didn't. I knew you wouldn't, I could have done that myself if I wasn't too lazy." His head is facing away from me so I can only glance at the back of his head, but I know he's grinning.

It's such a shame that such attractive features are wasted on such an arrogant person. No wonder his only friend is a stage four, I wouldn't want to be around someone so negative.