When All is Lost

Chapter 23

The sky was a dark grey as we stood in a vacant parking lot with the movie theater looming in front of us. We'd approached it from the back, but there was little we could do to hide ourselves or our tracks. The journey had also been hard enough that it was difficult to care about any other risk than the cold.

We'd had to stop two more times in order to make it to the theater. By the time the building had been in sight, nighttime was creeping in. I, however, saw it as fortuitous as it would allow us a cover to hide in.

Not that we really needed it.

We'd spotted smoke coming out of a few windows and heard some voices as we'd walked, but for the most part, it seemed like everyone was trying to hunker down. It made me fear that I'd been a fool to drag us out of the semblance of shelter we'd had.

No turning back now.

"So, how do you want to do this?" Ian asked me as we all stood out in the snow, waiting for the last of the sun to disappear over the horizon.

I don't know.

Robbing people hadn't seemed so daunting when we'd set out, but as we were actually preparing to do it, I had to fight to stay detached. I simply didn't have it in me to be clinical about it.

But it has to be done.

People counted on me. I'd made the choice and I had to follow through. Once again, I'd demanded people to follow me and I couldn't fail again. I wouldn't.

"Do you know if they have guns, Ray?" I asked, steeling my nerves.

"I don't think so." Ray hesitated with his eyes fixed on the building's tan siding.

"Okay... then, that means that there is still a chance that they do. We should lead with our guns then – Carlos and I will go in first. Is that okay with you?" I looked over at Carlos to see Paula gently tugging at his sleeve with her gloveless hands. She'd given her gloves to Ray hours earlier without any hesitation and I hated that I needed to ask her to sacrifice more.

Carlos worked his jaw for a moment before giving me a stiff nod. "That's fine."

"Thank you." I took a deep breath before turning to the rest. "Ian, could you guys keep watch? We'll sneak in and if we're able to get the situation under control, then we'll bring anybody we find outside to you guys."

Ian smiled, but it was strained. "Sure. But, what do you want us to do if the situation isn't under control?"

I had trouble swallowing, but I tried to match his smile. "Listen for shots I guess. If you hear anything that sounds like we're in trouble, then you can come in. Just... please be smart and safe about it."

He did his best to give me a reassuring look. "Sure thing."

I turned away from him. "We'll adapt as we need to. Let's take this slow and try and catch them by surprise. Any questions?"

Prisha looked like she wanted to be sick, but she shook her head. None of the others spoke up, but Paula and Carlos shuffled a bit off to the side to whisper together. I couldn't hear them, but, as it seemed heated, I could imagine what they were saying. The moment didn't last long, however, as they gave each other a tender kiss before returning to us.

I met Carlos's eyes and attempted to mimic the look Ian had given me. "You good to go?" I asked Carlos.

The last of the sun's rays had finally faded, leaving us with the dim light that we had to use to our advantage. Carlos readied his rifle and I pulled out my gun with its single bullet.

Please don't make me need to use it.

"It's getting colder," Carlos stated, giving Paula a soft pat on the back as he passed her and joined me. "Let's get going."