Page 47 of Wildflowers

Naomi and I just look at each other.

“Gosh, you two are pretty. But you’re not friendly?” He clutches at his heart like an idiot. “Well, that’s a crying shame. You’re going to hurt my feelings.”

“Given a few billion people died,” I say, “you’re going to have to forgive us if we don’t feel like flirting.”

The man standing over by the car snorts but says nothing. He has shoulder-length dark hair and tattoos on one arm. There’s a stillness to him I don’t trust. It’s like he’s holding himself ready for something. And I would very much not like to get kidnapped or killed today. Dean and Charlie are safe inside for now, at least.

Sadly, my bad attitude doesn’t dissuade creep number one. He doesn’t climb back into his car and fuck off into the sunset. Instead, he steps closer, inspects the contents of the pickups, and asks, “Where’d you girls come from?”

Neither of us answers.

“Must be somewhere local to be wanting this sort of stuff and not just focusing on camping gear.”

“Or the stores near us were picked over, so we decided to go for a drive,” says Naomi.

“Why do I get the feeling you’re lying to me?” The smile fades from his face as he comes closer. “Did you set up near one of the lakes in the west or are you from over by the coast? You can tell me…”

Both of our mouths stay shut. No way do we want these people knowing where we live.

Every woman has a story about a man like this. One who tried to corner and pressure and push her into doing what he wanted. Naomi and I back up a step and the creep follows. I don’t think either of us wanted to get into a gunfight today. However, the odds for it are unfortunately on the rise.

“Maybe you came down from the north,” he continues. “I heard a lot of those towns were burned to the ground. But who knows? How many more people are in your group? I’m guessing it’s mostly women and children, or you’d have someone helping you lift all of this heavy stuff.”

“Are you always this much of a patronizing ass?” asks Naomi. And honestly, it’s a valid question.

He ignores the comment and takes another step closer. “Not going to tell me where you’re from? No matter. We sure would love for you two to come see our place. Meet the man in charge of our community. You’d be a whole lot safer and well cared for with us. Why, we would just spoil you two lovely ladies rotten!”

“I don’t think so,” I say, braving it out.

But he’s so close now. “Come for a visit. I think you’d be surprised how much you’d like it. And I’m not taking no for an answer.”

“You’re going to have to,” says Naomi.

He gives our weapons a wary glance. Then he shakes his head sadly and says, “Such a shame. I was hoping we could come to some sort of agreement without any unpleasantness. But the thing is…I’m afraid you’re going to have to put all of this back. Everything here has already been claimed by Porter.”

“It’s been claimed,” I repeat in a dubious tone.

“That’s right. He’s claimed all of the resources in this area. You’d need to talk to him before we could allow you to take anything,” he says. “I’m sure you understand.”

“You’d be wrong about that.”

This is the moment when everything goes to hell. I take another step back and my foot hits the curb behind us. My balance gets shot to shit and I’m falling.

The creep reaches out and grabs hold of me, keeping me on my feet. But of course he doesn’t let me go. Instead, his hold on my arm tightens and he drags me closer for use as a human shield. Then he draws one of his pistols and points it at my head at point-blank range.

“Get your hands off her.” Naomi reaches for her gun and aims it at him.

So much mutually assured destruction. Given what they want and how they think, I am not sure this was ever going to go any other way.

“You’re not going to shoot me,” says the creep in a condescending tone. “Doubt you could even hit me without hurting your friend. Come for a drive south with us, ladies. You’re going to love your new home, I promise.”

No is obviously not an acceptable answer for him. There’s no way this is going to end well. Given that he doesn’t want to give us an option about joining their community, I can just imagine what our life there would be like. No rights. No say in what happens to us.

When the firearm lessons first started, I wasn’t sure if I could shoot someone. But I am not so worried about it anymore.

“Don’t make me have to shoot you. That’s what happened to those two over there.” The creep nods to a couple of the bodies in the parking lot. “They tried to steal from Porter too. I warned them, but they just wouldn’t listen. Neither of you have to die here today.”

Guess we shouldn’t have assumed they died of the virus. Seeing they’d been shot might have made us more cautious, at least. But if there’s one thing I hate, it’s a bully.

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