The Survivalist (Frontier Justice)

Chapter 21

A storm was brewing. Thick clouds rolled in from the west, and the wind tossed trash around the interstate like it was the empty fairgrounds of a departed carnival. Tanner and Samantha had made their way to a community called Perimeter Center in the northeast corner of Atlanta. It had been a long, hard day, and both were physically exhausted. A loud boom of thunder sounded, and they instinctively reached for one another.

"We need to get indoors," she said, looking up at the dark sky.

He pointed ahead to a large shopping mall that was a good quarter mile away.

"Let's see if we can make it there."

"Okay," she said over the wind. "But we'd better hurry."

Within minutes, the bottom dropped out. Rain blew over them in huge sheets, forcing Samantha to hold on to one of Tanner's belt loops to keep from losing him in the deluge. After nearly half an hour of walking through the soaking rain, they arrived at the mall. The doors to a JC Penney were already broken in, and the two stumbled in wetter than survivors of a shipwreck.

"You okay?" he asked, water spraying from his lips.

She coughed. "I think so."

He sat down on a small bench and poured water out of his boots. Looking over at her, he couldn't help but smile.

"You look like a drowned cat."

She flopped down next to him.

"Well, you look like the monster from the black galloon."

"Black galloon?"

"Yeah, it's from a scary movie."

He smiled. "Now I remember."

"This place looks creepy," she said, looking around at what was left of the clothing store. Daylight extended into the small entryway, but beyond that, it was dark and cold. Body parts from mannequins were scattered on the floor, like the whole place had been staged for a slasher film involving teenagers and chainsaws. Piles of clothes, many with tags still attached, were sitting on counters and draped over racks, the wishful thinking of an optimistic retailer. The air smelled of decomposing bodies, but thankfully the store was large enough to diffuse much of the stench.

"It's better than being out there," Tanner said, gesturing outside. Rain continued to pour, and cracks of lightning lit the sky like flashes from the cameras of overzealous tourists.

"I don't know. I've got a bad feeling about this place."

"Come on," he said, standing up. "Let's see if we can find something dry to wear."

A few minutes later, they stood in the dark trying on clothes. They each had a small penlight they had found in a store outside the prison, but neither of the lights worked very well.

"What do you think?" Samantha asked, clicking on her penlight. She was wearing orange bellbottom pants and a white shirt with beaded buttons and puffy sleeves.

"Not bad for a hippie."

"What's that?"

"A hippie is someone from my generation. They sort of lived for the moment."

"So, is that good or bad?"

"Given that it's the end of the world, I'd say it's perfect."

She looked down at her clothes one more time and then smiled, apparently satisfied with her selection.

A loud noise sounded as something fell from within the store.

Samantha's eyes grew wide, but she didn't say a word.