Along came Reid

5. A Fearless Man

“Get down!” Reid hissed breathily as he yanked Jamie behind the couch just as a deader shuffled into the musty apartment TV room. Thankfully the creature hadn’t spotted them... yet. In high-rise buildings like the one they were scavenging in, it was wise to take out deaders silently. There could be dozens more lurking on the upper and lower floors. Reid leaned close to her and whispered airlessly, “I’ve got this one. Stay put.”

Jamie nodded, eyeing the dented metal bat in Reid’s hand. At her side, Barron pressed the length of his body against her knees, his muscles tense and ready for violence. Reid rushed the deader, not that Jamie watched. Killing deaders wasn’t something she was immune to. The sick cracking of skulls and sloshing of rotting fluids still upset her to a degree. As much as she tried to ignore it, some part of her knew that these...things, were once people.

Reid returned to her side with his bat in hand. His weapon was now coated in a thick brown liquid that oozed onto the dust blanketed floor like old cough syrup. “You alright bean?” he asked, wiping the beading sweat from his brows with his forearm. Jamie noted the splatter of translucent goo on his shirt, and her nose wrinkled in disgust.

“Yeah, but are you?” she blanched as she rose, dusting her bottom off. Her attention traveled to the crumpled heap of rotting flesh on the floor. Jamie averted her eyes before she could imagine a life for the nameless nightgown wearing woman.

“I’m better now.” Reid answered as he stretched his arms and shoulders.

“You need a new change of clothes.” Jamie pointed out as she made her way to the cupboards in the open kitchen space.

“You think this woman has anything in my size?” Reid asked as he wandered into the back of the apartment.

“She could have had a boyfriend.” Jamie answered offhandedly as she plucked cans of corn and fruit from the shelves. At the sight of canned crab meat, a shameless grin of success brightened her cheeks. Jamie carefully loaded her backpack with the canned goods, separating them with several plastic bags for noise control.

“What do you think bean?”

Jamie turned her head to find Reid in a tube top that looked as if it were going to tear at any moment. For a brief few seconds, her mind blanked as she was completely unprepared to be faced with a man, dressed in a neon pink tube top, in a deserted apartment in the middle of a pandemic. It didn’t help that the poorly fit shirt gave her clear view of his superb muscle tone either.

“Well?” he asked impatiently as he tugged the hem of the garment that didn’t quite reach his navel. “It makes me look fat doesn’t it?”

Jamie blinked several times unsure if she should laugh or feel embarrassed. Her expression fell into the more awkward of the two with a tense uneasy laugh. “Uh, it looks.” Jamie evasively answered, returning her attention to her half filled bag.

“It looks...good, bad?” Reid asked in sing-song . From the corner of her eye she could see Reid making various poses to show off the garment. “Sure.” Jamie absently answered as she found several boxes of instant pudding and lime gelatin in a cupboard. She heard him snigger as he returned to the back of the apartment to change. Deciding she’d taken enough food for now, Jamie searched other drawers finding a matchbook, utility lighter, varying sizes of batteries, dish soap along with other household items that would be useful in the future.

At first, Jamie was leery in her decision to bring Reid along for Thievish Thursdays. Since the day required her to burglar into random homes that potentially were infested with deaders, it was an activity that required extreme precision and control. Relievingly, thus far Reid had proven himself capable in both areas. He’d be even more useful as extra muscle to help lug more supplies to her hideout.