TAINTED

Second Acatalepsy

Back and forth....back and forth. She paced up and down the driveway, glancing occasionally up at the sky. There were more clouds than yesterday, but not many. The sun still shone and cast shadows across every object on the fenced-in lawn of theirs- but she paid no mind to the untrimmed green. Her mind was solely occupied with one mission and one mission only.

Operation Mall Shoppe, as Axor had decided to name it, consisted of the pair successfully entering their local megamall and raiding it for supplies. Unlike the modern and trendy tourist attractions, Axor viewed it as a one-stop shoppe for anything in the world seeing as it contained almost anything ranging from department store-sized grocery centres to construction distributors and fashion warehouses. It was a full four floors of nothing but pure capitalism and consumer products, the only change now was that everything in that store was about to be free as long as they could fit it in the car. She couldn't be upset at him choosing the location though, it was the only place in town with a large supply of stores or restaurants, nearly every purchasable item in a thirty-mile radius sat inside that building aside from the occasional mom n' pop market that had likely already been destroyed.

Unfortunately, the brunette was unable to focus on the possibilities of glorious riches and items beyond belief- she was too busy silently stressing over how they would get there in the first place- if they would get there in the first place, and all the potential dangers that came along with their upcoming adventure. Multiple bad scenarios sprung to her head, most of them containing someone's death, some of them containing unrealistic occurrences. But the world had already become unreal, who is to say it won't worsen?

She stopped at the foot of the driveway, standing still just before the metal walls that trapped them inside. Her head leaned forward and laid on it, the chill of unwarmed materials bringing a cooling sensation to her forehead. As much as she hated being trapped inside these metallic walls, she already knew how relieved she was going to be once she was back inside of them.
If she got to be back inside of them.

Before her thoughts could descend back into misery, the sound of the front door opening and closing across the yard caught her attention. She turned to see Axor stepping out from the house, machete and kitchen knife in his hands, as well as the car keys hanging from his belt. She glanced down at her own belongings for the trip, pouches upon pouches in her cargo pants full of nails, staples, and any other sharp object that she would get to fit inside her nailgun as well as a sledgehammer and a few other tools in her satchel on her shoulder. Seeing that she hadn't forgotten anything, Celeste glanced back up at Axor- who was now trying to toss and catch the blades in the air, his only protection being black leather gloves that were far too big on his palms. It looked like there were dark circles under his eyes, but she couldn't determine whether or not it was the lighting and shadows.

"You know," He began, just barely slicing off his hand with the machete. "While we're out, I think we should get ourselves some new weapons as well."
"Is the knife vibe not working for you?" She set her nail gun into her makeshift holster and crossed her arms, struggling to maintain a confident facade.

"I mean- sure I look badass as hell, but getting something more long-range might be a little more...proactive. So I don't have to be inches from my death every time I try to defend myself. Also, you brought your earplugs right?"

Celeste nodded, not having the mindset to make proper sentences anymore and turned away from her friend, going to dump her belongings in the backseat. Unfortunately, the blonde knew far more than he let on- reaching out and catching her arm just before she was out of his grasp.

"Cel," His voice was blank, Celeste turned to face him, and gave demonic eye contact. "We're going to be alright, okay?" His furrowed brows loosened, and he gave her a mocking smile. "I trust me- I mean us."