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I put my feet up in the seat under me and began a platonic and relevant line of questioning.

“Ok. So. Generic response. Like, if we get asked why we’re buying all this stuff, we say...?”

“You and I are married counselors and we’ve got a camping trip with our church youth group. That’ll explain all the food- feeding teenagers,” Phillip quipped.

“Huh. That’s actually really good, Phillip,” I admitted cheerfully and wrapped my hair around one side of my neck wishing I had a ponytail holder with me.

“Thank ya, sweetness,” he said, flashing me a crooked smile.

“Phillip. Please, can we just be friends and not do this? I understand it’s possibly the end of the world and it sucks being alone, but I am totally and completely, no going back, no changing my mind, in love with Merrick. So please-”

Holy Cow! I just said I was in love with Merrick and it sounded so true!

“Alright. Alright. I think it’s crazy...but if that’s what you want...”

“It is. And thank you.”

Break the ice with small talk.

“So, have you always owned the store?”

He told me his story, how he bought the store a few years back, moving back here from where he was living in California, so he could better take care of his mom. More flexibility.

Trudy has Leukemia, adult acute lymphoblast Leukemia, and he needed to be here often for her procedures and doctor’s visits. This shocked me, she looks so great. So healthy, so happy. He explained, she was in remission and that’s why she’s so fascinated with her Keeper.

She thinks that whatever she has to do, her task, will have something to do with cancer, helping someone or pushing them to find a cure. She was excited about it and couldn’t wait for it to come her turn to act. Wow. What an impressive lady. I was almost more shocked to hear that Phillip was twenty nine years old. He didn’t look near that. His family aged gracefully apparently.

I told him I was only nineteen, figuring that might detour his affections even more but, he just smiled sideways at me and shrugged.

“Age is just a number to me.”

We neared town and I began to get anxious, wrenching my necklace charm back and forth down the silver chain furiously, but Phillip seemed perfectly fine and calm.

“Relax, sweetness, we’ll be fine. Don’t worry your pretty little face about it. I won’t let anything happen to you.”

The grocery store wasn’t anything special or large, some local dive. It was going to be harder to buy in large quantities.

I turned to him before we got out and explained that we needed to feel this out, test people, see if anyone might be interested in joining us, but be careful not to give us away. He looked amused and I could tell he was just letting me act like I knew what I was talking about but I let it go.

He nodded and we stepped out. No sirens, no flashing lights, no screeching half bird half human beings. No black haired, black eyed men. Must be safe.

The parking lot wasn’t crowded and not too many people in the store. As expected the plump orange vested security guard checked behind my ear. I turned to wait for Phillip to be checked.

“Oh, it’s fine. We only need to check one of you. I don’t need to check your husband,” she said and waved us through.

That got my brain thinking about future possibilities, about maybe a Keeper coming with me. A particular Keeper.

We both grabbed a cart and made our way. I was glad that Phillip didn’t feel the need to split up because I didn’t want to be alone, even with him, it was better than alone. Sweeping fear gripped me as I even thought about it.

My cart was full in not time so we began with Phillip’s. I saw a sweet looking woman, alone watching down our aisle.

“Whatya think?” I asked Phillip whispering and hooking my thumb her way.

“She’s semi-cute,” he said, eying her speculatively.

“I mean what do you think about testing her, goon.” I slapped his arm playfully as he laughed at me. “I’m gonna try. I need the practice anyway.”

He smiled and waved his hand for me to proceed. I walked over her direction and she smiled a hello at me before I spoke.

“Hey, um, do you happen to know where the pasta is?”

She laughed and points behind me.

“Ah. Thanks,” I said as I try to put on a embarrassed face. “Hey, you been watching the news lately? Pretty crazy stuff the past few days, huh?” I started my line of questioning I had assembled in my mind.

“Yeah, I guess. Seems a little farfetched to me. I’m still wanting to think this is all some big hoax, like crop circles or something.”

“That’s been my theory too,” I said inching closer to be more intimate. “A hoax or just paranoia.”

“So, business as usual for you then? Some people are going pretty nuts,” she said, cocking a brow and glancing at our cart.

“Yeah. Just staying busy. Me and my husband run a youth group at our church. Teenagers, ya know.”

“Oh yes. Sounds like fun and an awful lot of stuff.” She looked over to our carts again.

“Camping for a week. Eleven teenage boys,” I stage whispered and raised my eyebrows.

“Well in that case I don’t think you have enough.”

We laughed and she told us to be safe on our trip before turning to leave. I stopped her and tried one last time for some indication that she wasn’t too far gone yet.

“Can I ask you one more thing? So, besides a hoax, what do you think this is? The end of the world, maybe?”

“I don’t know but I tell you one thing. If it is all true, I hope those filthy Keepers get what’s coming to them for doing this to us.”

That answered that. We waved good bye and I returned to Phillip who looked to be holding in a laugh.

“Shut up,” I muttered and he finally let his chuckle slip.

We grabbed everything on the list plus what we thought we might need and some liquid foundation and powder, in multiple shades, with a plan in mind. We finished up our cart and headed to the register to pay.

With all the bank card pin numbers memorized we joked about the ‘youth camping trip’ to ward off any suspicions as I swiped the card. The cashier laughed and told us she had three teenagers, and once again we get the ‘are you sure you got enough?’ joke.

As we left, I glanced up to the wide open windowed managers office. There it was. I saw his dark coat and pants, his jet black hair and dark eyes and pale skin. He was looking around the store, watching people intently, with clear fascination and disdain.

I immediately panicked. What if Jeff was wrong and all the Marker poison wasn’t gone. Oh no. Why was a Lighter in a grocery store anyway?

I kept walking, glancing to my cart then back to the Lighter. The last time he caught my glimpse, locking his gaze with mine and I froze. The smile he gave was nothing but fake, unadulterated evil. He nodded a hello and I fake one back and shuddered as we moved under the exit sign. Phillip noticed nothing of my distress. I couldn’t help but think if Merrick had been here, he would have noticed right away.

Van loaded down but not near full we drove around but found nothing that looked different on the surface. Phillip took us past the city limits. There was a lot of abandoned buildings but none seemed to have been messed with recently. That would be the point if someone was hiding there wouldn’t it? We can’t just go and investigate every empty place in town, no, we’d have to find another way for that. I groaned and slumped in my seat. This was impossible.

Then I hear a thumping, a loud thumping and banging. And then cursing. I looked over at Phillip.

“Flat tire,” he said curtly.

I rolled my eyes at the timing as we pulled over to the side. He went in the back and searched frantically.

“No jack,” he yelled up front to me and my heart jumped.

It was already 3:00 in the afternoon and getting darker. They’d start to wonder where we were. Phillip said he was going to walk up the road a bit and try to find someone. I got out and started walking to him, amid Phillip’s protest for me to stay put.

“Un-uh.” He pointed behind us. “Get your cute butt back in that van. You are
not
coming with me.”

“Hey, I have legs just like you. You’re not leaving me here, alone.”

“I’m the man here, darling. I think I can handle it. Just stay with the van. You’ll be fine, nobody will mess with you way out here.”

“I don’t doubt your abilities, Phillip. I doubt mine. I can’t stay here by myself. It’s too... It’ll be dark soon.” I so didn’t want to reveal my silly insecurities to Phillip, of all people.

“Merrick told me to keep you safe. Now just go on back to the van,” he said more softer this time.

Oh! He was pulling the Merrick card, huh? No way!

“You’re not leaving me out here alone,” I repeated. “I’m coming. Let’s go.” I passed him in our walk to drive my point home.

“Fine. Fine by me, toots. You can tell your
old man
you wouldn’t listen to me, if anything happens to you,” he said, emphasizing ‘old man’ with clear disdain.

No point in waiting for someone that isn’t coming to save us and I’m not being left alone. I had my sweater but it was still cold. I wrapped myself up and rub my arms as we walk.

Time passed quickly as my mind raced. Every time I looked at my watch at least fifteen minutes has passed. Adding it together, it’d been almost two hours of walking and talking. Well listening.

Phillip was good with the small talk. In the past two hours, I’d learned everything there was to know about running a convenience store, being in a hunting club, Leukemia and making your own pickles.

Odd but to each his own.

He explained how the store used to be packed with people but then the interstate came in and took most of the business away.

He still makes enough to live off of, but nothing extravagant. I wondered to myself how many rich convenience store owners I’d ever seen anyway.

I’m glad that he dropped most of the flirting and just talked to me, like a normal person. To me he seemed like he finally understood that there would never be a him and me. I tried to fit in a question or story in but, Phillip was a talker for sure.

Did he even realize he’d talked so long non stop?

Suddenly, Phillip grabbed my arm, pulling me down abruptly, making me squint from the pain in my shoulder and drag my pant legs in the dirt as he pulls me behind a bush, none to gently. I felt some gravel in my shoe.

“There’s a van parked behind that thatch of bushes,” he whispered and I felt the goose bumps rise on my arms. “Sit tight. I’m gonna walk over, see if anyone’s in it.”

He crept up slowly and began to sweep towards the van, bent low but quick. I barely saw the silhouette of the dark conversion van against the darkened purple and baby blue streaked horizon.

I could see him, he looked as if he was going to open the door, without knocking? I heard a click behind me, making me jump. I turned to see the rusty barrel of a gun, pointing right in my face.

Merrick - Fancy That

As I watched her leave up the bunker steps, my heart fell. It felt like it was being pulled from this fleshy chest. It was completely wrong to let her go without me but I couldn’t go and put her in danger if someone found out what I was.

I can’t stop her from going either, no matter how much selfishness I could conjure, and we do need someone to get supplies, but why her? Why out of this many people the most fragile and sweet had to go out? And Phillip. I couldn’t believe he had the nerve to ask me about her.

He actually asked me if we were serious. What did he think I was going to say, ‘No. We’re not. She’s all yours’? He’s about as lame as Bobby was if not more. Shameless.

I know how it is, I understand. I do.

She’s amazing and irresistible and so gorgeous but she was
mine
until she decided not to be and I wouldn’t trade her for anything in this or any other world. For whatever reason, she chose me.

And the second time this morning that Phillip made a point to mention to me that Sherry was ‘something special’ was the last straw for me. I made a very pungent point to glance over my shoulder at him before I kissed Sherry, knowing he was there watching her and gloating about getting to take her away from me for the day. Even though the room was full of people, I had to make a point. She was mine.

Sherry did not disappoint. She wrapped her arms around me, fingers gripping my shirt back, completely pliant and trusting in my arms. The way she always was with me. I hope Phillip finally got the message and let it go. I know her and she wouldn’t have wanted to go with him today had she known the things Phillip said to me about her.

Mrs. Trudy was always in the kitchen. Max was there with her. She seemed to really like him. A good Keeper-Special relationship used to be really important when we made our way here. These days, I guess it doesn’t matter anymore. Everyone is in danger now.

“You want a snack or something, honey? I got some homemade peanut brittle,” she asked me, smiling as it seems to be the norm for her.

“I’d love some. Thanks. I’ve never had any before.”

“Land sakes, really? How’s that possible? Oh. I guess it is possible.” The wholesome fluttering laugh that came next was contagious.

“Yes ma’am. Thank you.”

I took a quick bite and it is good. Very good, seemed to get better the more you chew.

“So sugar, that Sherry sure is a sweet thing,” she prompted.

“Yes ma’am. She is.”

“My Phillip sure has taken a liking to her, but she said she was already taken.”

“Yes ma’am. She is,” I repeated.

“So, how’s that work?”

“Still finding that out.”

“Hmm. Well. In times like this, anything’s possible. Ya know, Max is real nice, I’m really enjoying him. Phillip’s gone so much with the store, Max is good company but...I have no interest whatsoever in taking it beyond that. So what happened with Sherry? What did you do that was so wonderful she couldn’t resist ya?” she asked with genuine curiosity, not animosity for her sons competition.

“I’m not sure but I’m not Sherry’s Keeper. I’m Danny’s, her brother. Sherry was just an...unexpected surprise.”