Puppet {ManxMan}

CHAPTER 27

Cass decided we should stop at a pharmacy before heading back to the car. It seemed like a pointless errand, but I just assumed he was looking for something specific that wasn't at the medical warehouse and left it at that, shuffling down the aisles and picking up random trinkets and medicine, looking at them before dropping them back down and continuing on my bored search for nothing.

The pharmacy itself was large, and the aisles were short enough that I could see everyone. Cass had Dakota slumped unconscious on his back, towards the front of the store, and Rhett was a few aisles away looking at something with intense interest. I wondered what it was but figured it was probably a gun magazine, so I continued to shuffle down the aisle of allergy medicine and aspirin towards the back.

I didn't know what I was looking for, and there was so little in the store itself that being there felt kind of pointless, but I didn't question Cass. Right at the back I did find something, and I stopped in my steps, staring at the rows of boxes that I felt a little surprised still existed. Then again when the apocalypse rolls around you grapple for the bandages and Motrin, not the hair dye.

Carina's words were swimming through my mind as I stared at the boxes, my lips pressing together before I looked out over the store, making sure no one was looking before I grabbed one of the boxes and pulled out the bottle of black dye, then set the box back, stuffing the little bottle into my pocket and stepping back.

It felt a little strange, like I was stealing, but the world had ended, it wasn't stealing. No, I just didn't want anyone to see me grab it, otherwise they'd get weird ideas. I just... if my hair was really such a problem, then I'd change it, I'd dye it back to black, like it used to be, like it should be. I didn't even know if the dye was still good or if it had already expired, but I was still going to use it.

"Right, come on guys!" Cass called, and I jumped, walking quickly back down the aisles to where Cass was waiting at the front.

"What did you get?" I asked, and he smiled at me before turning away.

"Come on, Rhett."

"I'm comin', I'm comin'," Rhett insisted, stumbling over a fallen rack of magazines and scrambling to his feet to join us.

The drive home was very quiet, thankfully Rhett wasn't harassing Dakota anymore, probably because the kid was passed out slumped against the door of the car. He was still talking of course, about the gun magazine I knew he had been looking at, and apparently had taken, reading it and blabbing out facts about the assault rifle that the Russian's used in World War II, blah blah, useless as usual.

By the time we reached Phoniks Vidroh the sun was starting to set, and I just wanted to sleep, so I tried my best to block out Rhett's voice as Cass and I helped Dakota out of the car and up the driveway towards the front door. Malachi met us there, looking at Dakota in concern as Cass explained what had happened, assuring him that we were alright.

Arthur of course wasn't at all happy, but he settled down a bit when he noticed Dakota was already patched up and still a little high from the pain killers I gave him, "You did a really good job, Demi," he praised, checking over the stitches and the wound itself, "Thank God, there's no internal bleeding, he was lucky. What did you give him for the pain?"

"Uh," I turned and shifted the medicine in the duffel bag, pulling out the medicine and tossing it to him, "I used that."

Arthur caught the little box and read the name before giving me a weird look, "Demi this is anesthesia, you give it to people for dental procedures."

I blushed and shrugged, "It worked."

"I suppose so," Arthur hummed, looking down at Dakota, who was still fast asleep, "Well, he's alright. Now you," I pointed at myself and Arthur set his hands on his hips, "Yes, you. Sit down and let me see."