The Flares

Confession

"You probably shouldn't use a gun for defense. When it sounds you'll basically be calling the entire city to you." I offered helpfully. I had already managed to drag a sofa in front of the main entrance, so if any Infected happened to sniff us out, we'd have just enough time before they burst through to at least say our last goodbyes. Both girls had remained side by side in the furthest corner from the door.

"I don't remember asking for your help." She had pointed out mere moments after I arrived that if I were to come within ten feet of either of them, she'd cut out my tongue and use it to wipe my ass.

Still by far the most delightful person I've been around in a long time.

Also, pardon my pronouns. The older one refused to tell me their names and ordered the younger one not to speak to me, so for now I'll have to stick to what I know.

"How's your cut doing?" The older one whispered after turning her attention away from me. When the younger one didn't answer, it became obvious. "Don't worry. Once daylight breaks I'll be able to find you some medicine." I heard the older one mumble quietly, and I perked up at the prospect of being able to help.

"I could go out and find some for you, if you want?" This was it. My chance to be a hero and prove that I won't be a burden if they stay with me.

"We don't need your help." She spat out venomously.

"Yeah, but I-"

"End of discussion. Got it?"

She cut me off before I could persuade her, and I nodded in acceptance, shutting up entirely.

She's a real bitch, right? Although company is company, and it's the end of the world, so who am I to be picky.

I slumped down against the wall with the golf club in my hands, beginning to feel thirsty. Really thirsty. I'd drink milk right from a cows udder is how thirsty I'm saying I am.

Looking back, I wish I hadn't left my backpack behind. Aside from all the water I'm desperately missing, the end of my unreturned novel will forever remain a mystery.

The older one got up, carrying her gun beside her as she walked away. "I'll be gone a minute. Touch one hair on her head and I'll tear you inside out." She was nonchalant about her threat to gut me, standing up and walking towards the back of the store.

"Sounds pleasant," I said.

"She's not always mean. She just doesn't like other people." The younger one choked out softly, and I turned to face her.

"It's alright. Sticks and stones, you know." I responded with a weak smile.

"I'm Jasper."

The sound of glass shattering came from the older one's direction and interrupted me. I stood to examine it but no Infected appeared.

"I'm Gwen, and she's Stephanie." The little girl offered. She sat with her knees up to her chin, and her hands wrapped around her legs protectively.

"Are you hurt?" The answer was already obvious, but I wanted to know how she had gotten hurt. The room store was mostly a haze of darkness and it was getting hard to see at this point. "It's nothing bad, I just got cut on my side by the zombies."

"You know they're not zombies, right?" I shifted closer and could tell that she shot me a perplexed look, as though I had made no sense at all. I wanted to explain to her that they were people who were mutated by radiation from the intense solar flares of the sun, but that might seem far fetched to a girl who looked about eight years old, so instead I offered her; "zombies eat brains."

"Ohhhhh." That seemed logical to her, and she accepted it. "But they look like zombies."

"Looks can be deceiving." I offered wisely. "I bet Stephanie isn't as tough as she seems." I added and Gwen giggled in response.

"You want me to break your feet backwards and prove you wrong?" Stephanie responded dryly as she stood over me and dropped a few things at my side before moving to Gwen. "I busted open a vending machine. Also, that golf club isn't gonna do you any good, so add that stuff to it. You're welcome."

I thanked her and she scoffed at my response before presumably handing a drink to Gwen. I found two cans of soda at my side, as well as some duct tape and a pair of scissors.

"I'm Jasper." I wanted to make a better impression with Stephanie, so I put on my cheeriest tone. "I know. I heard you, genius." There's that snappy attitude I love so much. The small store didn't offer much privacy, so she presumably heard the entire conversation.

Quietly, I took the scissors and attached it to the end of the gold club, wrapping tape around it to keep it in place. I gave it a few swings once I was done, proud of my efforts.

"If you wanna help, you can start by looking around for bandages or something." Stephanie ordered. I highly doubted that there would be any here, but I did it anyways. I took the two sodas to drink while I searched the abandoned store. It held mostly clothes and electronics, with a sprinkling of second hand furniture and antiques. The display cases were still lined with jewellery, barely visible in the night-sky-lit room. They had no value whatsoever now.

Most of the surfaces of items in the store held a thin layer of dust that invaded my nostrils. The store was dry and humid as I ventured through it. I went into the employees only area, feeling more than entitled to do so. The room was barricaded from the inside, and I had to shove against the door to get enough space to push through. A foul odour wafted through the room and seemed to take over from the dusty smell almost immediately. The smell of death has a really strong punch to it.

I found the almost completely rotted corpse of a person seated on a leather chair, lying over the desk. It was disgusting too look at, and I tried to keep my eyes off of it. On the opposite end of the room was an emergency first aid kit mounted to the wall, concealed by a glass panel. I caved it in with my golf club, watching as the shattered pieces fell to the ground and I removed the first aid kit.

I shut the door once I was out again and propped a chair against the handle, hoping that nobody else ventured into it.

When I got back, Stephanie took the kit silently, which was about as good as a thank you from her. "Thanks, Jasper." Gwen offered softly on behalf of them both, and I smiled her way before resuming my previous seat.

"Are you tired? I could keep a watch out while you sleep." I wanted to be helpful, and this seemed like a good enough task. Stephanie, however, thought differently. "Look, let's get one thing across here. I trust you as much as I trust those creatures outside. We'll be completely fine without you, so you can skip the attempts to get all chummy with us, because we don't need any more weight to carry."

I left it at that. Once she had fallen asleep a few hours later, I knew that on some level deep down in that locked up heart, she needed my help, and her falling asleep was all I needed to prove that I should help.

Something tapped my thigh, and I picked up a granola bar. "Don't tell Steph." Gwen whispered out, and I motioned to locking my mouth. She rested her body against Stephanie, who was propped up against the wall and had eventually fallen to sleep herself.

I got up off the floor a few minutes later and headed back to the employees only area, ignoring the smell and dead corpse, and went to the board mounted on the wall beside the first aid kit that held several keys that I had seen earlier. Presumably car keys belonging to the workers here, though one of them had to be keys to the store. I took all off the board and closed the room again before heading to the entrance. The store windows were intact and the doors still shut, so if I could lock it for a while I doubt the infected would get in.

I found the key that did lock the door, and once I locked it from the outside I slid the key under the door for them. If I could find a supermarket nearby, I could get some supplies which could hopefully smooth things over with Stephanie. I also really needed another pack for my own supplies, but I wonder if I'll be able to find another pink floral print campers backpack to replace the old one. Fingers crossed.