Chapter 2

I eyed the floor sadly. When I first spotted the mall I had grand visions of finding an old clothing store or the such to relax the night away in. Now with Joss by my side, I would be lucky to get comfortable far less get much sleep.

Joss had the look and attitude of a quiet boy but I was no way near fooled. He was waiting for us to be alone. Not to attack me, he had weighed his chances against me and I was still an unknown. He knew his strengths but not mine.

And by pulling such an act like coming down from the fricken ceiling he had revealed to me just what to expect from. Anything bizarre and anything that put him in a hidden place or advantage.

“So” I spoke up kicking my backpack slightly. “Guess this is going to be it. Sorry you have to come from your play house in the ceiling to guard me and all.”

“I don’t mind.” Was the only answer he gave as kneeled on the ground in front of a display of cleaning supplies. Before I could make any smart or stupid remarks my jaw dropped as he hefted the tile aside to reveal a storage space.

No Way. I was hoping that these people had come and discovered that hole. I was just hoping that seclusion had not forced them to go so bonkers they went carving up the place. It was just insanity. Like seriously.

“Sorry to disappoint you, but I made this a little while back.” Joss grunted as he went about removing various blankets. “You never know when someone will snap, that bodes poor for the rest of us. So in case I needed to barricade myself for a while I made some dug outs.”

Talk about prepared. He really was a lone wolf. I guess his brother was the thing that kept him here. He seemed enough like me to survive on his own.

Closing the hole up again Joss tossed a few blankets at me. “You look like the type that hates cold.” He murmured. I had to smile a bit. I did hate cold. My hometown was full of cold, snow people, food everything was cold with no warmth around.

“Where are your parents?” Joss suddenly asked me messily arranging his blankets.

“Where are yours?” I answered back doing the same and making a messy bed.

“My mom ran off a few years back. Dad was a cop here. Died not too long back.” Joss said lowering himself on his set of blankets.

I felt a little sorry for him. that kind of past had to be difficult. He did not know if his Mom made it or not and his Dad was dead. For all he knew she could be a zombie roaming the streets or a survivor hiding away somewhere.

“I don’t have parents.” I told him lying back on my own set of blankets.

“For how long?”

“Since forever.” I admitted. I was not looking for pity or anything. I was accustomed to my life.  Personally I felt these kinds of things were rougher on those who had huge changes in life unlike me who had this kind of thing from the beginning.

“No one to look out for you?”

“Do you have someone looking out for you?” I wanted to know.

“My brother Joss. He is here.”

“Keeping you here?” I grinned looking up at the ceiling.

“He needs a little something unexpected in his arsenal.” Joss rumbled.

“Meaning..........” I drawled slowly beginning to enjoy this.

“Meaning, he stays on top and everybody listens because I’m like the boogie man.”

It was something I did not expect to hear. His brother asked him to become the boogie man of this little camp? This boy had bigger guts than I thought.

“What happens when this is over? What will you do?” I turned to look at Joss and found him blankly looking at me. I felt so dumb. It was obvious what he would be doing. How could I be so slow? Joss would leave.

It would be enough after this is over. Joss is like me, just he has a special person. One to keep him behind because he did not want anything to happen to him.

“What is it like?” I asked, I just had to know. I had no family so there was no way I could understand. Having someone tie you behind. What was it like?

“It’s weird, sometimes I feel irritated.” Joss began as he turned on his side to face me. “Sometimes when he speaks to me I feel a burning in my chest. Sometimes I feel that he is hopeless so I take care of his troubles then go off to be alone. Sometimes I feel like removing everyone around us and letting him be happy. But I don’t feel choked. Not like with the others.”

“That is so deep.” I said. “But I have to know, you funny in any way? Because that sounds so wacked and Incestical I just have to wonder.”

Surprising to me Joss flashed a smile. “Yeah, I think so too. But that is just how I am, he’s my special person, I need no one else. It’s not like that, but I don’t want to have to share my brother with anyone else.”

“I think, this is what people would call a brother complex?” I joked just to see him smile again. This guy was not as much like me as I thought. Ross kept him from being wholly like me.

I did not know why but I felt some sort of relief. You cannot miss what you never had but I had the feeling these brothers were the only thing keeping each other up. I thought I had walked into a pack, but it was obvious it was a gathering surrounding two strong ones.

Sighing I broke away from Joss’s gaze. “If I go to sleep now. I can trust you to not make me kill you right?”

“We promised to let you stay.”

“No they did, you just said you would guard me.”

“So what do you want me to say?”

I rolled back to face him. his face was blank but I was having none of this. “Swear to me that while I sleep you will not try to touch me, my stuff or interfere with me in anyway. If you do and I somehow manage to not kill you. I will kill your brother in a way your brain will not be able to comprehend. I swear you will wish that the Zombies had taken him instead.”

Joss narrowed his eyes allowing me to see his irritation. “In other words don’t F with you. No problem for me. How old are you?”

“Does it matter?”

“Not in the way you mean, you are just so different you can’t blame me for wanting to know more.”

“You know enough.” I said turning around again so he was facing my back.

“Sure that is wise?”

“The moment.” I said slowly. “The very moment you decide to have any intentions towards bothering me. I will cripple you and kill everything that means something to you.”

“The fact you can say that so casually.” Joss said his voice muffled as if he had turned his face into the blankets. “You really are out of my league. It’s like you don’t have a conscience anymore.”

“I don’t like people.” I admitted closing my eyes. “Never did, I don’t know you people so you missing from this world won’t affect me.”

“Can you say the same when it is women? Children?”

“It’s all the same to me. Beings I just can’t understand and that I hate.” Pausing I waited to see if he would say anything in response. Sighing I tossed a sheet over my head. How could I have mistaken him for something like me I was not certain.

“I’m glad, I thought you would have said you enjoyed it. But to you it’s just trash. Night.” Joss finished.

My eyes flew open under the blanket. He got it? He may not understand but he accepted it. Hopefully I would not have to kill him anytime soon or anything. If I could.

He was someone that was able to hide in plain sight, someone that knew what a special person was. I had freed him from part of the bonds tying that person to him.

With the town cleared they would be able to leave. He would be able to leave. If he wanted to, would he want to? Or would he follow his brother to wherever.

Could it be possible he would ride the wind and find a cave of his own to survive a person less existence? These questions haunted me until I finally dozed off to sleep.

I awoke to the sound of arguing. I tossed away the blanket and looked to my side to see Joss had disappeared.

Sitting up I looked for my backpack. Their squabbles had absolutely nothing to do with me. Unless they were thinking to kill me. Digging in my bag, I removed my shower cleansing spray. A recent invention it removed dirt, bacteria and was just the same as having a bath complete with the clean feeling and soft scents.

Spraying myself, I shrugged as I heard the argument getting louder. Sounded like somewhere a meeting was going on. Considering that I was planning to leave I just ignored the whole thing. It had absolutely nothing to do with me.

Picking up my backpack and slinging it across just one shoulder I made my way to the front of the store. I saw across the store some sort of meeting was being held. All the little people were crammed in it showing all behaviour of those ready to riot.

Snorting I made my way to the clothing store. I should have never bothered with this town. They did not know how to be grateful. Even worse they could not adapt to change. It was obvious that some of them would be remaining behind in the mall.

If they could survive in the outside world I would eat my phone. I just bet they wanted to go back to their houses like if nothing had happened.

Stupid people.

I had just started going through the swimsuits when I heard something that referred to me.

“Why don’t you have Joss take care of that little killer out there? You expect us to allow her to walk out with our town’s supplies?” Someone shouted

“I don’t care what she did! No one has the right to treat us like conveniences.” Another yelled.

Gritting my teeth, I slung the swimsuit on the ground and violently kicked over a bunch of the shopping racks. I’m not too sure how they managed to hear that over themselves but everything went deathly quiet.

“I’m pretty sure she just heard you bunch of braying jackasses.” Ross’s voice echoed from some sort of microphone. Narrowing my eyes, I jerked my stun gun from the backpack as well as my altered Ken gun. It was intended for vaporising garbage waste, but those people sounded like the worst I had ever heard.

Picking up my bag I started a slow but very loud walk to the store the meeting was in. I made sure that the clicking of my shoes could be heard. My boots did not have a lot of heels but they sure did echo as I made my towards the store.

The door was sealed shut but I was prepared for that. Aiming a high kick at the edges of the door, I had to grin when it blasted open. Never was I so glad it was an old fashioned door with hinges.

“Yo.” I spoke to the room at large, as I began to lower my foot. “It looked like I needed to join this meeting.” I finished swirling the Ken gun. I heard gasps as several people identified the gun in my hand.

“Have a good sleep?” Ross asked me lowering his microphone. I was amused. He had to be the only one calm. Next to him Joss was sprawled his head down emitting the aura of someone very very bored.

“Yup, I got up and was about to clear out of this rather lovely town of yours.” I said pretending to stretch. “I was so happy no one bothered me last night. I just wanted to pretend a bunch of wasteful bunch like you did not exist you know? I mean, I chose this town just for a quick rest, got rid of the zombies I just wanted a little down time before I moved on.”

I paused and looked at the group gathered. Various ages, all huddled together. They were so brave when they thought I was sleeping. They thought I would not confront them. They were wrong. To lose the fear and respect of people was like signing a death warrant.

“Then I woke up, heard this little meeting. Which has nothing to do with me.” I laughed. “Then I heard these people say that they deserve Respect! That these people want me ‘taken care of’ that these creatures in my sight think they deserve better. These that cowered in fear. That they look to someone they fear to protect them because they fear me more.”

I looked at Ross and read regret in his gaze. Joss had a job ahead of him. a leader so caring was a leader that was never truly valued.

“I apologise.” He started but I cut him off.

“I don’t want that.” I said. “What I want is for these people to understand how bad I will mess them up if they try something. I bet they have all seen Joss in action.” I continued. Joss’s head slowly rose up. He had the look of something dark awakening but I was not fooled, he smiled too easily to be in the dark place resided.

“Let him come at me.” I finished. “Let me show you just how effective a Boogie man has on someone like me that sits at evil’s table. Let me show you what fear really tastes like.”