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Chapter Sixteen

MAVERICK

I watch Mallory’s perfect ass as she jogs towards the clothing store, shaking my head at her excitement. A niggling worry bounces around in my chest for letting her go clothes shopping by herself, but I tell myself I gave her a hunting knife for a reason. Knowing damn well she wouldn’t know how to use a gun, and honestly I’m not even sure she would even know how to use that knife either. The image of her surrounded by zombies pops into my head, and I make it my mission to get what I need as fast as possible. I sprint towards the hunting store a few doors down from the clothing shops. The door is already open and hanging from the hinges. Pulling my axe from its place at the side of my pack, I grasp it in my hand, ready for anything to pop out. Browsing the aisles, I don’t see shit that I need, and I start to get frustrated because how the fuck can a hunting store have nothing useful? I walk towards the back of the store hoping that all the good stuff is back there, and I stop dead in my tracks.

Standing a few feet from me is a woman covered in dirt with ratty hair. Her eyes are wide with surprise, but then they narrow in determination. In her hand is a machete and a pair of sparkling pink combat boots that look like the perfect size for my Pet. If there were a God, he’d be shining his light on those boots right now with harps and angels singing in the background. The woman follows my line of sight and grips the boots tighter in her hands.

“I’m gonna need those. How about you drop them there and scurry off?” I take a step closer to her, and her stance stiffens.

“I don’t think so. I found them first, and I don’t think pink is really your color.” Her sneer makes her face even uglier.

“Look, I don’t have any qualms over fighting a girl, so it would be in your best interest to just leave them there and walk away.” My hand tightens on the axe, waiting for the impending fight.

“And I don’t have any problems fighting a grown man!” She yells back, and her feistiness is really admirable. I’d probably enjoy it if my girl weren't a few stores down walking around in clown shoes.

“Suit yourself.” I toss my axe at her head so fast she isn’t able to make a move herself. The sharp edge plants itself in her skull. Blood spilling down her face, her brain not yet catching up to her injury as her eyes drift up to me, and she finally stumbles back and falls to the ground. Walking towards her, I grab the boots from her hands before they get her nasty blood on them, and also grab the knife too. The more, the merrier. Rifling through her backpack, I find some protein bars and water flavoring packets that I stuff into my own bag for later.

Once I’m satisfied I’ve taken all the useful shit off of her, I head towards the back in hopes of finding what I really came in here for, and I’m greeted with the jackpot of supplies. The first thing I grab is a bigger backpack that I promptly stuff everything inside my own into. Then I scan the walls and come up with a box of ammunition for my handgun as well as a fully loaded assault rifle and extra ammo for that, which I stuff into my pack. Next come more first aid supplies and shelf-stable dehydrated food. Finally swinging my new pack onto my shoulders, I cringe at its weight, but it's still lighter than anything I’ve ever had to carry with me while on jobs. I attach the axe to the side of the pack, hang the boots around it, grab the rifle, sling the strap around my neck, and head towards the door. On my way out I snag a few chocolate bars that I think Mallory will be grateful for.

I walk down the sidewalk in front of the shop, my boots crunching over broken glass and other debris. Peering into the window of the store that I saw Mallory disappear into, I see that it’s empty. I arch my brow and keep walking to the next store. I notice the door and windows are all smashed on this one and I hope to fuck Mallory isn’t in this one, but sure enough I see her blonde hair through the broken edge. But I also see several zombies surrounding her. I watch silently, trying to devise a strategy to destroy these fuckers, but I notice that none of them are bothering her. My mind whirls as I watch her and listen to her gasp excitedly while tugging a pink shirt from the rack. My hand tightens around the rifle in preparation; a few zombies turn towards her and then turn away like she’s a ghost! What in the hell? I see her sniff herself and almost let out a laugh at how ridiculous she looks doing it. She shrugs and starts to turn towards the door, and I decide it’s time to exterminate these disease-ridden beings.

“Mallory, DUCK!” I yell. She looks up at me with a shocked expression on her face, clutching the pink shirt to her chest because of course, she's more concerned about a fucking shirt than getting out of there. I pull the rifle up and aim it at the first zombie’s head. “Get the fuck down!” Mallory drops to the floor like dead weight, her hands going over her head, and I start firing at them like it’s target practice. The first zombie’s head explodes with the bullet's impact, spraying blood everywhere like confetti. In quick succession I take them all out one by one, none of them even making it out of the store. Their dead bodies lay in piles surrounding Mallory on the floor. Making my way over to Mallory, I hear the crunch and squish from the glass and zombie parts under my boots. “You can get up now.” Her head pops up, and she looks around her at all the decomposing bodies scattered around and then looks back at me with admiration. She gets to her feet and leans down to grab her coveted pink shirt, and that’s when all hell really breaks loose.

“Maverick, what the fuck! You got blood on my new shirt! Do you not see how cute this thing is? You have got to be kidding me!” She throws the shirt at my chest and crosses her arms, stomping her foot on the floor like a toddler. “I basically risked my life to get that damn thing! None of them were even bothered by my presence, so why did you even waste your time and bullets?” She throws her hands up in the air with the most irritated sigh I’ve ever heard.

“Yeah, about that… why weren’t they interested in you?” I raise my brow at the question. I know we both have to be thinking.

“How should I know? I came out of the dressing room, and they were just there!” She waves her hands around at the zombies piled on the ground. “I started walking through them and even made some noises, and they didn’t even care. Some of them looked at me, but it was like they were seeing through me. I didn’t feel like questioning the fact that I was still somehow breathing, and not their chew toy, ya know?” Honestly, she has a point. If I had been in that position, I wouldn’t have questioned it either. As soon as I showed up and yelled for her, they all turned towards me and started to shuffle in my direction. They most definitely noticed me and wanted to tear me apart.

“It’s just fucking weird, don’t you think, Mallory? I’ve never heard or seen them act like that towards humans. But I guess it doesn’t matter now, does it? Anyways, I grabbed you a few things you might enjoy.” I set my pack down at my feet amongst the bodies, finding a clean patch of flooring and pulling the boots from hanging around the axe to hold out to her. The squeal that pierces my ears is deafening.

“OH EM GEE! Maverick, they are so pretty!” Her delighted smile is so bright it's almost blinding, and I can’t help but smile back at her. She sits on the ground where she’s at, carefully avoiding the pool of blood next to her, and tugs off her current boots, flinging them behind her. Pulling her new pink boots onto her feet, she ties the laces up and then stands, spinning around like a ballerina. “They fit perfectly! How did you know my size?”

“I honestly just guessed, but I’m glad they fit. I also grabbed you this as well.” I hand her a chocolate bar, and her eyes light up again. “Please, for the love of all that is holy, do not screech like a banshee again.” Her eyes are about to roll out of her sockets with that comment.

“Thank you for this. Well, for everything really. Thank you for taking care of me, sir.” Her ending word has my heart beating faster, and I would love to fuck her over the top of these dead zombies right now, but damn, we really need to get out of here. She leans up on her tiptoes and kisses me softly on the lips; kissing her back is enough to pacify my craving for her body for the moment.

“Let’s get the fuck out of here, yeah?” I hold my hand out to her, and she grasps it in hers. “I’m sorry about that shirt. I’m sure you can find another one eventually. Looks like you were able to find some clothes though.” I nod towards her new outfit that fits her perfectly and also follows the guidelines I set for her.

“Yeah, I was able to find a few pairs of pants, a T-shirt, and a sweater, but that’s about it.” Her frown tugs at my heart, and I vow to find her another pink shirt when we come across another strip mall. I pull on her hand, guiding her through the dead zombies and out the doorway.