Page 25 of When the Living Fall

“We’ve still got about a quarter tank. The last station was swarming with rotters. We may have to siphon or switch cars soon, but there’s a rest stop ahead. It’s worth checking out.” William steers the car down an exit ramp toward a small, worn building with a parking lot that looks empty aside from a few vehicles. “From out here, it doesn’t look too bad.”

“So why not just pull over on the highway or keep going until we find a better car instead of wasting time?” Griffin presses, his tone skeptical.

“Because pet deserves an actual toilet when the opportunity arises,” I say from the backseat, my voice cold while Icontinue threading my fingers absently through Emily’s hair.

Griffin glares over his shoulder, and I match him glare for glare. “Welcome back, Max. Guess you’ve moved on from all that stuff?”

I narrow my eyes at him, but Emily’s stirring breaks the tension before I can picture what his face would look like with my fist attached. She blinks, looking around disoriented, then glances up at me, her eyes widening when it registers with her where she is. “Oh, uh, sorry…I don’t remember how I got here.”

She tries to sit up, but the seatbelt keeps her restrained. I slide my hand across her hip and unbuckle her before helping her sit upright. “Yeah, funny how you ended up in my lap with a different seatbelt on.” I smirk, though she only gives me a long, unreadable look before slipping out of the car.

Griffin’s voice follows us as we get out. “Everyone stay close. Let’s not wander too far.”

“You think the bathrooms are open?” Emily asks, squinting at the building in front of us. Her long, wild hair tumbles over her shoulders now that it’s free from the hair tie. The same one she gave me without hesitation when she should have ignored me. I still struggle to wrap my head around how she can be so selfless to others yet runs away without a second thought.

My hand reaches up and touches my hair, but I stop myself before I can grab a handful and yank. Instead, I run a finger along the small black hand that holds my hair in place before dropping my hand back to my side.

“Only one way to find out.” I slip off toward a nearby tree to hurry and relieve myself. Then I make my way into the building after seeing Emily’s brown hair disappearing through the door. Irritation prickles at the idea of her going in there alone. I can’t believe both these guys let her wanderin there without checking it out first. Here I thought Willie-boy was the chivalrous one.

When I hear a crash from inside, I dash up the walkway and bolt through the doors to find her taking down a rotter, her movements fast and precise. Metal glints in her hand, and I recognize the knife I gave her. I beam with pride. She kept it.

Another rotter emerges from the shadows, which I dispatch with a single movement of my knife.

Emily gives me a look, breath catching, but her expression calm. “Thanks, but I had it handled.”

I nod. “Of course you did, but you don’t always have to.”

Her gaze linkers on me, but then she turns and heads toward the women’s restroom. Before she can go inside, I catch her arm. She looks down at the broken skin around my knuckles, and I pull her back behind me. “Hang on a sec.”

I let my hand fall from her arm before stepping into the bathroom first. It reeks in here, and the damp, stale air engulfs me. Not as bad as I expected, but fuck. Still not good enough for pet. It looks and smells like someone died in here. A groan from the second stall tells me my hunch is right. I love being right.

The rotter slides a decayed foot across the floor, but I hurry over and shove it back into the open stall before slamming Debbie against its skull. I repeat the motion a few times before its head falls off its neck and into the toilet with a splash. After closing the stall door behind me, I slide the lock into place—because there’s no way in hell I’m going to let Emily look inside and see this horror—before heaving myself over the top of the stall door to drop to the other side. I check the rest of the stalls and then the sinks.

Deeming the bathroom suitable for Emily, I step back out. She’s still there, waiting, but the second woman’s voice tells me she’s not alone.

I waste no time positioning myself by Emily’s side andstare down at the wide-eyed purple-haired woman in front of us. “Who the fuck are you?”

Emily’s fingers wrap around my hand. I drop my gaze to make sure I’m not imagining it. The feeling is almost foreign, but so familiar at the same time. My hand opens to hers and I squeeze. “It’s okay. She’s alone out here.”

Remembering the strange woman—and wondering who the fuck colors their hair purple during an apocalypse—I glance back up. “Yeah? What makes us think we can trust you?”

Her green eyes widen and then dim. She turns her head as though she’s listening to something I can’t hear. Then panic crosses her face. “I’m sorry. I have to go.” She turns around and then looks over her shoulder at Emily. “Be careful out there.”

Then she takes off running and disappears from sight.

Emily tugs her hand free from mine. “Why did you have to go and scare her away?”

“If all it takes to scare her away is one reasonable question, then she shouldn’t be around us, anyway. Now. About the bathroom.”

Her brows lift with that same unreadable expression from before. “It’s clear. Second stall’s got a dead rotter, fourth’s the only one with toilet paper, and sinks one, three, and four have soap and hand sanitizer. No running water though, so I’d go with the sanitizer.”

She studies me with her lingering gaze again, like she’s seeing something new and trying to figure me out. Joke’s on her, though. Not even I can figure myself out.

After a moment, she disappears into the restroom. I stand guard and scan the area for any other threats.

Nearby, I spot two vending machines still packed with snacks and drinks. Can’t believe they’re untouched. “Score.”

After a few good kicks to loosen the door, I grab Debbie from her strap and bring her down with a satisfying crunch,busting through the hard plastic. I repeat the process with the second machine and stuff my pockets with as many goodies as I can. Straightening up to shove more snacks into my pockets, I glance out the window to see the purple-haired girl disappearing into the trees. There’s something curious about her, but when it comes to Emily’s safety, it’s better to be safe than sorry. Besides, she already has one friend causing her trouble. She doesn’t need any more. I’m already enough of a handful for her as it is.

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