Break Free The Night (Book 2): Loss of Light (2 page)

             
“
Okay
,”
Quinton started, rousing the grou
p’
s attention. He sounded tired and, Kaylee thought it for the very first time, he sounded old
.“
The doors are secure
?
”

              There was a round of response to affirm it. Kaylee nodded along with the rest. Her door was chained and the security gate pulled down and latched.

             
“
Good, we can rest up for a few days, exchange our clothes and stock anything else we might need
.
”

              Kaylee whipped her head around at the sound of breaking glass, panic seizing in her chest momentarily. Andrew shook the glass off his elbow as he ripped a store map from i
t’
s covering and dragged the large piece of plastic out to a patch of light
.“
Ther
e’
s a uniform supply store
,”
Andrew muttered, staring down at the fading map and ignoring Emm
a’
s annoyed glare. She always hated being startled
.“
And a pharmacy
.
”

             
“
Tha
t’
ll help
,”
Anna said with a sidelong glance at Nick. He was perched, Kaylee thought uncomfortably, on the lip of a large potted plant. The plant was fake. The dust that had settled on the once shiny leaves had left them a chalky gray.

             
“
If you're up for it, scout around
,”
Quinton continued
.“
Once I get some sleep, I'll try to see about the generators, they might still be operational
.
”

             
“
Mattress store, second level
,”
Andrew called out, rechecking the map and then pointing northwest. Quinton nodded his thanks. Jack, hands shoved in his pockets and head down, followed silently.

              Twenty minutes later found Kaylee trailing her sister through what felt like acres of useless junk. The beams of light from their flashlights passed over televisions, stereos, four different kinds of machines to watch movies with, endless rows and rows of ballroom and prom gowns and stacks of shoes no one would ever wear. Purses of every shape and color and size, sitting empty except for the paper used to stuff them.

             
“
I do
n’
t know if w
e’
re supposed to be in here
,”
Kaylee muttered. She had
n’
t slept yet either. Could
n’
t make herself sleep. It was that horrible dot. Every time she closed her eyes, it hummed on the edge of her mind, growing ever closer, until all she saw was red, red everywhere.

             
“
We'll lock the chain again when we leave. You said the outer door was secure
,”
Emma said, dismissing her siste
r’
s concern.

             
“
It is. But we locked the security gate for a reason
.
”

             
“
Relax
,”
Emma insisted
.“
We wo
n’
t be long
.
”

              Kaylee shook her head but did
n’
t protest any further. It took too much energy.

             
“
Can you imagine needing any of this now
?”
Emma asked, laughing as she picked up an ornate compact. She tossed it lightly in the air, catching it in the palm of her hand before chucking it down the center aisle. She threw it smoothly, as one would throw a skipping stone, and it clattered softly as it skidded down across the dark, empty tile.

             
“
You would have gotten six skips out of that easily
,”
Kaylee said, idly watching the compact skitter into darkness.

             
“
Eight
,”
Emma countered.

              They keep walking a little further, pausing when glass crunched under their feet.

             
“
Someone had the same idea as me
,”
Emma said, passing a beam of light from the flashlight she was carrying over the shattered glass cases.

             
“
Diamonds
?”
Kaylee asked in surprise, using her own lantern to approach the glass. Among the glittering pieces of scattered glass, diamond rings sparkled. Whole sets of them. One engagement ring and two wedding bands per set, from the spacing Kaylee could tell several were missing.

             
“
Diamonds? What? No
,”
Emma answered distractedly
.“
What good would those be unless I was cutting glass? I want a watch
.
”

             
“
Yeah
?”
Kaylee asked, still staring at the empty spaces where engagement rings once sat. There was a description on a cardstock sign folded and still standing upright on the velvet display. The dust was so thick, she could no longer make out the words.
 

             
It was such a useless thing to take.

              And yet, it was the promise of the item that meant something. More than that, it was the ability to make the promise, to use those rings in an act that would last a lifetime, an act that was no longer a part of her world. It just was her and Jack now, she supposed, they had made it clear. Not official, not with those words, but clear all the same.

              The man I ca
n’
t even talk to.

              Saint Jude bit into her finger as she thought on it. Soon, the grooves would be a permanent feature on her thumbprint.

             
“
What do you think, Kay
?”
Emma called out to her
.“
Solar powered, right? Tha
t’
d probably be best
.
”

             
“
Hmm
?”
Kaylee asked in a hum, ripping her gaze from the black spot in a sea of glass shards to look at Emma
.“
Best what
?
”

             
“
Never mind, here
,”
Emma answered, tossing Kaylee a black box the size of her fist. She fumbled the catch. A shiny, silver watch with a red face peeked out from under the lid once she had it firmly in her grasp.

             
“
Not this one
,”
Kaylee mumbled, throwing it back at her sister.

             
Red.
The dot grew and she saw it and it was swallowing her.

             
“
Okay, picky
,”
Emma snorted
.“
Green suit you better
?
”

              Kaylee nodded and caught the box she was thrown without fumbling this time. She blinked the red away, knowing she needed to get some sleep soon before she could
n’
t just blink that damn dot out of existence.

              "Hey, check it out!" Emma exclaimed gleefully. She reached past Kaylee to grab the receiver of the wall phone and smashed it through a glass case to her left. Kaylee winced as the sound echoed in the empty, black space surrounding them but Emma already had her arm through the shards, picking something out of the glass.

              "A pocketknife? You already have one," Kaylee muttered.

              "Not just a pocketknife," Emma corrected. "Look. It's utensils!"

              She opened the knife, flipping out the tools, but instead of the generic blades and screwdrivers, it was a compact set of utensils: one tiny fork, a spoon, and a dull blade. Emma laughed.

              "It's perfect for me." Emma grinned at her sister, but it wasn't pure joy, it was tinged with the fear and anxiety that Emma always carried with her, like a clenched hand around her neck. Emma was convinced she was infected. She had been bitten, it was true. But even though she had shown no signs of infection, none; it wasn't safe to test it out either. Her saliva could be infectious, her blood too. Emma may stay healthy, but she would never know for sure if she could kill others with a simple touch.

              Kaylee tried to grin back, but she knew it came off more as a grimace. Emma didn't meet her eye, she pocketed her new find and turned her gaze to the rest of the watches.

             
“
W
e’
ll get a few watches for Andrew and Anna too," she said, her voice more subdued now. "
I’
ve seen Quinton wear one, and Dad and Bill. But maybe their batteries are running down. I know Da
d’
s is
n’
t solar. Does Jack have one
?
”

             
“
I think so
.
”

             
“
Not focused on his wrists when yo
u’
re with him
?”
Emma asked with a smirk.

             
“
Do
n’
t be crude
,”
Kaylee murmured out of habit, trying to get her new watch from its protective shell. Green. Green she could handle. She gestured for Emma to hand over the real pocketknife that she was using for the same purpose.

             
“
You rode back with Andrew
,”
Emma said, eyes now locked with uncharacteristic shrewdness on her sister. Kaylee froze, suddenly glad for the low light. Emma should
n’
t be able to sense her lie. She was talking about the last night they had in their city, when the dogs had attacked and their apartment building was blown up and their mother was killed.

             
But, of course, Emma didn't know that last part.

              No one did. No one except Kaylee and Jack.

             
“
His bike was closer
.
” It wasn't much of a lie. The bikes were close together, Andrew's could have been closer. Kaylee wasn't even sure which one was. Not that it was the real reason she had jumped on behind Andrew. The real reason was she just couldn't face Jack, not after her mom, not after... Kaylee grit her teeth and forced that red dot into oblivion.

              Not now, Kay.

             
“
Tha
t’
s all
?”
Emma asked. She was squinting in Kayle
e’
s direction.

             
“
What else would it be
?”
Kaylee answered, taking her new watch from the box and securing it on her wrist. She squinted through the gloom of the department store and her eyes caught a promising word. "I'm going to find some clothes."

              What she really wanted was rest, to curl up on some warm, soft mattress under a blanket. No bumps from the road as she pretended to sleep in the motor home, no Emma chattering away at her, no Andrew sending her questioning glances, no never-ending dot, no red. But even when she tried sleeping, people were near her, watching her. As she lay there trying, she knew Andrew would be watching, Anna wondering. So even above sleep, what she needed was to be alone. This was her first opportunity and she refused to waste it.