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Heavy pants left Roxy's lips as dragged her arm across the shelf in the abandoned grocery store, pushing its contents into her bag. There wasn't much to take, seeing as other people had already grabbed most of the food. Those days, you had to get as much meals as you possibly could in order to survive, as you never knew when you'd have the chance to find edible items again.
The bag she carried was almost full, mainly with canned food and a few bottles of water she had found behind the counter. Roxy had done the full sweep of the store, even looking through the storage room to make sure nothing was left behind. Her palms felt sweaty as she zipped her bag up, adjusting the strap hanging from her shoulder. Unconsciously, she wiped them on her pants as she walked torwards the door.
"Hey. I got everything, I think," she mumbled, approaching the man Captain Jameson had assigned to work with her. He wasn't that much older than Roxy, which made it easier for them to work together, and she had started to consider him a friend. He hadn't turned around at her words and, upon further inspection, Roxy noticed that his knuckles were white from holding his gun so tightly, "Simms?"
Just as her partner's name echoed in the empty store, a beam of white light illuminated the street just outside the door. Her blue eyes widened as the familiar sound of what could only be a Mech echoed in the dark night, immedeately followed by heavy footsteps that made the ground shake.
"Shit," Simms hissed, turning away from the door. His eyes flickered around the store for a few short seconds, before he grabbed Roxy's wrist and pulled her further into the area. With her heart beating against her ribcage, the girl risked a glance over her shoulder. The Mech wasn't visible yet, but screams echoed outside, signaling that it was indeed getting close.
They found a hiding spot behind the counter, where they both crouched down and attempted to control their breathing. Roxy's hands were clenched into fists, her nails fitting perfectly into the crescent shaped marks already ingraved in her leather gloves. All she wanted to do was close her eyes and wait for it to go away, but she had to stay vigilant. Simms would have looked like he was just fine if there weren't drops of sweat rolling down his forehead, revealing how scared he actually was.
"It's a patrol," he whispered, after a few minutes. Roxy looked up at him, nodding to tell him that she already knew. Before the Second Mass, she'd been on her own for a weeks, meaning that she had to pick up on what the Skitters and the Mechs did in order to keep herself alive. After careful observation, she had learned that they sometimes patrolled the streets, mainly when there had been recent human activity. Being spotted by the extraterrestrial intruders meant immediate death, by being shot down by the giant robots.
"Do you think the others are okay?" she whispered back, before the sound of a Mech firing shut her up. Gulping, she closed her eyes briefly as the person who had been spotted yelled out in agony, before silence reigned once more. Simms gave her a glance and shrugged, not really wanting to speak up and risk them being caught. Silently, he turned around and raised his head so that he could peek over the counter.
