Last Girl

Chapter 7

Jacob and I glance at each other.
All the color has drained from my face.
I was lucky the first time with Jacob, he's a decent person.
But would I be so lucky with other survivors?
I slowly crawl to the backseat, and grab my gun.
Jacob produces a knife from his boot.
"Always gotta be prepared" he says when he sees my shocked expression.
We quietly slip out of the car.
I leave Titan in the car.
He's not very good at being stealthy.
I walk towards the open door, alert.
The open door is spilling golden light into the dark evening.
I can't hear anything.
slowly, I kick the door open with my boot.
Jacob follows, and we walk into the building.
Titan starts barking from the car.
"Well there goes our stealth" I mutter, angry at  Titan. he always has to be the center of attention.
I step in something.
Looking down, I see a crimson liquid in a puddle surrounding my boot. 
Blood.
Puddle after puddle lead through the vast building.
"It's a trail" I whisper.
"Follow it then" Jacob says.
My gun feels heavy in my hand.
The cool metal burns my skin.
I've never had to use the gun, but I know I could if I had too.
The trail is leading towards my room.
We reach the sliding door to my room.
I put my finger to my lips.
Jacob nods.
I walk around the corner, gun raised.
"FREEZE" I yell, before I see the scene before me.
A girl is lying on the carpet. I couldn't tell how old she was because of the layers of dirt and grime that coat her face but she looked about my age, maybe a little older.
Her clothes are tattered, and her ratty blond hair is in a messy ponytail
Her arms are lacerated with cuts, like she ran through thorn bushes. But those cuts aren't the problem.
she has a bullet hole in her shoulder.
Luckily, there's no major organs there, but it looks like she's lost a lot of blood.
Her worn shirt is soaked with blood.
Jacob runs to get bandages, and I approach the girl.
She's barely conscious, and I grasp her hand.
Up close, I can tell she's very pretty, beautiful even.
Jealousy sparks in my heart as I see the beautiful blond hair that I will never have.
I push those thoughts behind as I press my hands against the wound.
She hisses in pain.
"You're going to be ok" I say.
"We're here now. You're safe. Do you have a name?"
"T..Te...Tessa" she mumbles slowly.
"Ok Tessa. Who shot you?"
"They're...coming"
"What? Whose coming? Huh?"
I'm very confused.
She must be delirious from the lack of blood.
Jacob finally returns.
"Her name is Tessa. I think someone shot her" I say.
Jacob gets to work, sterilizing and bandaging her wound.
After she is bandaged up, she slips into a gently doze, induced by the medicine we gave her.
"I think she will live." he says.
"Luckily the biker went straight through her, so we don't have to worry about removing it.
"Where did you learn to do that?" I asked.
He shrugs.

Ok... so he's not going to tell me. I'm ok. (Not)
"I don't think we can trust her.
She was shot for a reason. Whoever shot her could be coming. "
"I agree. What should we do?"
"I think we should lay low for awhile. Power off, doors closed. Make it seem like no ones here. I'm not sure how much longer we will be safe here." I say.
I am in shock. I meet no one else in 3 years, and then I meet 2 people in the course of about 4 days. What the hell.
And obviously there are more people, because someone shot her.
"Gracie?" Jacob says.
"Hm?"
"I think I know who shot her.
At the beginning of the disease, I heard of gangs running throughout the country, looting and pillaging whatever they wanted. Obviously they were immune, and they saw the opportunity to create a new world, where they ruled.
I only heard snippets on the radio before the power went out, but they were ruthless.
They killed anyone who didn't agree with their less-than-human ways.
I thought they were just a myth for a while, but about 2 years ago we had a little run in." He lifts his shirt and reveals a small scar that I hadn't noticed before. "A bullet grazed my side. They would kill for the food and supplies in here. We should pack up and leave. "
"Why didn't you tell me?" I asked.
"I thought you might freak out" he says.
I am shocked. I never heard anything about these gangs. Of course the bad people were immune.
"I'm not leaving my home. There's no where else to go." I say, my voice tinged with anger. "Where would we go?"
"There's Oregon." he says.
"We can't go all the was up there. That's a long way on foot, and there's almost no gas left for a car. Plus, we don't even know if anyone's even there! We can't go all the way up there only to find out that there isn't even any survivors! It's a suicide mission. No"
"Do you have any other better ideas then?" he says with a snarky tone.
"Well staying here is way safer than going." I mutter. I hear my voice getting angry.
Couldn't he see how dangerous leaving would be?
"Maybe you're just to scared to leave then." he says.
"I'm NOT scared." I say.
"2 weeks." he says.
"2 weeks then I'm gone. Oregon  is safer than here."
What an idiot. He will die out there!
"I'm going to get Titan out of the car."
I growl.
I leave Tessa's side, March angrily to the car, and slam the door.
As I sit in the car with Titan, I think to myself.
Why don't I want to leave?
Do I really want to spend the rest of my life in a worn Costco?
Maybe I don't want to leave the only place I've ever known and go halfway across the country.
But maybe I do.