Survivors

Chapter 4

1118

August 17, 2011

I shine my flashlight over the multiple items I see. “Toilet paper… shampoo… conditioner… soap…” I start to call out as I grab from the shelves. “Tooth paste… tooth brushes… mouth wash… aspirin… more medicine… more medicine… more medicine… Band-Aids… condoms.” I mumble the last one to myself, and grab as many boxes as I can, and throwing them into the basket I was carrying. “Tampons! Don’t forget tampons!” I hear Becca call from a row over. I smirk. “Got ‘em.” I respond.

“Did you get the right size?” She shouts back. I sit there and ponder that. Holy shit… Tampons come in different sizes? I look at the box and there it is, plain as day. Oh… My… God… what do I do? Oh god what do I do? Do I ask her if she uses Ultra Absorbency? Or Slim? If I choose the wrong answer, I’ll be sitting alone in the shower for the next month, maybe two… Oh god no… Do I guess? What if I guess wrong? What could happen? “Um… Becca Bear?” I call out.

“Yes K?” She chimers back giddily. She sounds so innocent and adorable! It’s hard to believe she begs me to handcuff her to random shit while we make love… “Um babe… What kind do I get?” I call out, slightly nervous. I hear a response I didn’t expect. I hear her chuckling. “Silly, I use the regular and Cathy uses super! Make sure you get the right ones! I like Tampax!” She shouts out loud enough to get a few laughs from across the store. I smile again and grab the requested tampons, then start to walk around to her aisle. I turn the corner and find myself staring at an empty aisle. “Wha… Becca?” I say. I turn and go to the next aisle, and still see nothing. “Becca?...” I call out again.

I walk to the next aisle and see her crouched down looking at some little stuffed animal with a heart on it. I chuckle and she looks up at me, “Isn’t it precious?!” She exclaims, so much enthusiasm in her voice. I smile and nod, “Yes babe, it’s adorable.”

“I really want it!!” She says, as if asking permission. This baffles me, even in the post-apocalyptic wasteland of the world we’re in she has to ask to get something? How sheltered was she before this happened? “Ha ha, then take it.” She seems to find this answer farfetched, as if it was wrong to do. I nodded towards her, encouraging her and suggesting it was okay. She then moved to pick it up and hold it against her, smiling at me the whole time. It was adorable. I walked over and grabbed her hand, and we walked down the aisles, her right hand in my left, and the basket in my right. We walk down the aisles looking at the various things, an occasional excited gasp or random gleeful noise spouting from her as things catch her eye.

We eventually hit the end of the store, and realize that there is nothing else that we want or need in the main portion of the store. I turn to leave but feel resistance from the hand holding mine. I turn back to see why we are being help up, and see a door that says “EMPLOYEES ONLY’. “What’s up baby?”

“What do you think’s in there?” She asks, curiosity rising in her voice. I stop to think about it. “I dunno, but I don’t think it’s important enough to go in alone, let’s go okay?” I say, tugging her. She resists momentarily, then nods and turns to smile at me, accepting the pull and follows me. But almost instantly stops. “Hey Kel?”

This girl is going to be the death of me, please don’t ask to go in the room because I reeeeally don’t want to. “Yeah babe?” I reply.

“I need to pee.”

Oh. “Alright, bathrooms up on the right alright? Want me to check it for you before you go in?” I ask, which receives a very dirty look. “K, I am a grown woman you know? I can check it myself!”

I stare baffled for a moment. I have never heard her say that line. “Alrighty! I was just offering!” I respond after the initial stun was over. After thinking about it I realize I kinda had to pee too. I followed behind Becca towards the bathrooms. When she realizes I was behind her she twirls around and snaps, “Kel! I said I can do this alone!”

“Becca… I-”

“No! I. Can. Do. This. Alone.”

“I just-”

“Kel!”

“Becca! I have to pee too!” I finally snap at her.

She closes her mouth, opens it to talk, then closes it again without saying a word. Then she nods and says, “Well why you didn’t just say so?” She throws the stuffed animal into my basket and chipperly skips towards the bathroom. She pulls her gun, turns and winks at me, causing a fluctuation in my heart rate, then opens the bathroom door, gun raised, and walks in. I shake my head, brushing off the heat raising in my chest, the attraction I have towards her, drop the basket besides the door, and raise my own gun and open the door. I walk in and search the stalls. When I am satisfied, I go to one to use it, and realize that I don’t just have to pee. I holster my gun and a stall door.

“Well shit.” I sigh. I walk towards the toilet, unbuttoning and dropping my pants and boxers on the way, and take a seat. I sit there and think about the whole day and situation that we have been through so far. It’s been interesting, but pleasant. When I am done with my business, I wash my hands with some hand sanitizer and sigh because of the lack of cleanliness I am allowed to uphold.  I open the door and see that the teddy bear is gone.

“Becca?” I call out, seeing that she left without me. Damn it all. I pick up the basket and start walking towards the front of the store, trying to catch up with her. I see a few flashlights in the distance and start to trot over to them. I see two, plus the one from Mark at the door. When they see mine, and are in sight, I look for her face. She’s not there. I run up to then and ask Cathy, “Hey, where’s Becca?” She looks at me, curiosity in her eyes.

“What do you mean? I thought she was with you.” She replies. I look amongst them, and realize that she’s being serious. In half a moment I drop the basket and find myself jogging between aisles, looking for her. I look up and down each aisle and can’t seem to find her anywhere. Oh my god please don’t say you did it.

I continue to jog, looking down each aisle, and soon find myself sprinting frantically whispering her name out, loud enough to hear. “Becca?! Becca where are you!?!” I continue to call out. I make it to the last aisle and find nothing… My heart starts to race. Where is she?! Where is my Becca Bear?! I slam open the door that says ‘EMPLOYEES ONLY’, hoping to find her, but find an empty break room. I walk towards the next room, and without opening the door I hear it. There it is… the quick pants… there is a Darkseeker in here… but I don’t feel the urge to run… I don’t feel the urge to care… she’s gone isn’t she. I want to look in there and see, but I can’t. I stand in disbelief, staring at the ground, wondering why this had to happen.

I can’t believe it… Please God… if you are out there… please don’t do this to me… Don’t take her from me. She’s all I have left… My eyes start to fill, and the tears begin to flow. Did the guys miss something? Was there a Darkseeker in the store that somehow eluded the others? But how? Dear God, I can’t do this… I can’t take this anymore… I don’t want to take this anymore… The blood has gone to my ears, and all of my thoughts are blotted with the images of what happened… Fuck this. I grab onto the handle of my pistol. “Good bye guys. I’m sorry I let you down.” I whisper to myself.

I raise the gun to my mouth, close my eyes, and hear steps behind me, as if trying to be light, trying to sneak and attack… trying to kill without alarm… There it is. The thing that killed her. The thing that fucking took my Becca. And I’m going to kill it. I whip around and shoot three times. All hit home. Right into my angel’s heart.