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The inside of the car was even colder than the outside. Windows fogged, leather seats frozen. She brought her knees to her chest, hugging her calves tightly, trying to keep as warm as possible. Negan's jacket wasn't the best source of warmth. It was thin and much too large for her, allowing cold air to enter through the bottoms. She wondered how Negan was humming, unbothered by the frigid weather.
The drive was short, just as Vincent had said it would be. Ten or fifteen minutes and they were at their destination. Just as they did last time, Negan gave orders, and then everybody was on their way, scavenging for whatever they could find. Black bags were laid out, scattered over his truck. She picked one up and threw it over her shoulder. Negan took the bag from her and threw it back into the pile.
"Not today, sweetheart. No heavy lifting. You can help me find things," he threw a bag over his shoulder and sauntered off, expecting the girl to follow him. She did, scowling, hoping he wouldn't turn around and see. She felt just fine, and the fact that he thought she was unable to carry a bag of supplies was absurd.
The new location was much less helpful than the other. It was run down with tattered, dirtied wallpaper. The brick outsides decaying, pieces of cement broken from the steps. It was a mini mall, but it seemed at if most of it had been cleared out. Worst of all, it smelled vile. A revolting scent, enough to make her upchuck in the yellowing grass. But she held it back, not wanting a repeat of the prior day. She put her hand over her mouth, trying to stop the inevitable gagging. Negan, once again, was not affected.
The group she was with had the same reaction. They plugged their noses, put their palms over their mouths. One boy, looking no more than seventeen, even threw up in the corner of the mall. Negan sent daggers in his direction but soon disregarded it.
It was only Negan, Vada, her three friends, and no more than ten other men. Usually, as she picked up, more people went along on the runs, but they knew it was just a small area that wouldn't do much for The Sanctuary. Most of the stores in the mall had been fast food places, restaurants. The rest were clothing stores. So that's where they went. Negan ordered his men to divide into groups of two, and each went to a different location. He pulled on her arm and dragged her to the closest area.
"Take whatever you find, put it in these bags. I don't care if you think you need it. Take it," Negan ordered as they were alone. She nodded and scurried off to the opposite end of the store, Negan working on the other half. Together they began piling the clothes in the duffel bags. They filled up extremely quickly, and soon enough, Negan had to go back for more. She offered to help carry some of the many heavy bags back, but he refused harshly and sauntered off.
She shrugged off the leather jacket and placed it gently on the counter. It wasn't as cold in the mini mall as it was outside. Although it was enough to give her goosebumps along her arms and down her legs. She shivered and picked out a sweater, smaller and heavier than Negan's leather jacket. It was a bright red color, a zipper going down the top half. She zipped it all the way up.
