Dust

Alone

9 Alone 

"Have you ever killed one?" 

I looked up from my book, meeting Slaters gaze. He peered at me over the bulging garbage sack in his arms, eyes sickeningly curious. I went back to ripping up pages, contemplating my answer carefully.  

It had been nearly a fortnight since I found Slater. We remained in the mall, as Slater eventually told me the building was called, and were faring well until a few days ago. Our supplies were gone and the city offered little to be foraged. 

We'd developed a system of scrounging the city for supplies, Hero sticking loyally to my side and Slater incessantly asking questions- most of which I ignored. But this one caught me off guard.  

We never discussed death. Whether it be my painful memories of the colony or Slaters reluctance to admit his mother was gone, we always found a reason to avoid the topic.  

"No." I muttered, yanking a particularly stubborn handful of pages from the leather binding. Slater remained silent, his face quirking as he contemplated the information.  

"Alright," he finally said, and I let out a sigh of relief to have the subject drop. Though the boy had a knack for getting on my nerves, I dreaded having such a discussion with him. A nine year old should never have to consider such things. Perhaps my attempts at protecting his mind were futile, but it was all I could do.  

Hero stood and stretched at my side, letting a yawn roll off his tongue as he woke from an afternoon nap. I stood as well, scanning the area carefully. It'd been days since we saw a Creature, but that didn't stop my paranoia.  

"This should be enough," I murmured, giving one last look behind us before shifting my gaze to Slater. He nodded and shoved the garbage bag towards me. I pushed the book pages in it before hefting the thing over my shoulder. It was mostly filled with paper to burn, but we'd also thrown in some cans of soup we found.  

The city remained silent as we walked through her abandoned streets, our footsteps resonating off the overgrown architecture. Slater skipped over loose rubble, humming a foreign tune. Holding on tighter to the large fire axe we'd stumbled upon, I swept my eyes back and forth.  

Hero padded along in front of me, nose low to the ground and tail wagging. He enjoyed our outings and was always reluctant to get back into the safe-room at the mall.  

"Kyle," Slater whined, scraping his feet across the rough ground. I rolled my eyes and continued moving, watching Hero for any sign of alert. "Kyle..."  

"Yes?" I snipped, quickening my pace.  

"I'm tired of this," I didn't have to turn to imagine the pout on his face. My own features twisted into distaste at the child's moaning, but I said nothing.  

We walked a few blocks further before coming to a stop in front of a stretch of pavement, faint horizontal lines painted neatly over its surface. A few cars sat abandoned, their insides gutted and decaying.  

"This looks promising," I murmured, regarding the large building with curiosity. Slater and I hadn't ever ventured so far into the outer city. Buildings were smaller and more spread apart, even a few houses dotting the overgrown streets.  

"Mom never took us out here..." Slater sounded timid and was examining our surroundings with a newfound caution. I peered at him over my shoulder with an arched brow.  

"Have any idea what this place is?" I asked, jerking my thumb towards the building in front of us. Hero padded around the parking lot, tail beating the air furiously.  

Slater shrugged and took a few steps forward. "Maybe a grocery store? Or Some sort of 'super market'," I squinted at his use of air quotes and turned to look at the building.