Jared was already partially turned to leave, but turned back with a questioning look on his face. “You know what size they wear?”
John’s jaw dropped, causing his mouth to gape as his mind searched for words he never found.
“Yeah, neither do I. If they give me a description and the stores have been ransacked, they just might have to make changes to their shopping list that I don’t feel comfortable making for them,” Jared finished before turning and walking over to Stephani.
Jared walked up to both Claire and Stephani, who were sitting on a stack of wood pallets in a far corner of the warehouse. He looked at their bare feet and was thankful they had only needed to walk on sidewalks and paved roads the day before. Jared made a mental note to get both women shoes and socks as soon as possible.
“Hey, Stephani, John said you need to go out and get some things from the store,” Jared started.
Stephani turned, her chin held high. “Is that what he told you?” she asked with just a touch of incredulity in her tone.
“Well, yeah, he said you both need feminine products—in so many words, that’s what he told me,” Jared countered, trying to maintain at least some semblance of control over his portion of the conversation.
“We do and we need them sooner than later,” Stephani replied without a shred of hostility in her voice.
Jared nodded his head, licking his dry lips. “You and me can go, maybe get some Chapstick and a couple of pairs of shoes for you girls while we’re out there. You guys talk it over and make a list of what you need. I did a lot of this scavenging stuff after all this happened. I doubt there’ll be as much to choose from now, but it seemed like people didn’t really go after much more than food and alcohol when I was out there, so maybe we’ll get lucky.”
At the mention of shoes, Claire perked up. “Yeah, I need shoes—and socks,” Claire blurted out before shrinking back onto the pallets.
Jared smiled. “Make a list, and when Stephani and I go out, we’ll try to get as much as we can.”
“You want me to go with you?” Stephani questioned curiously.
Jared bobbed his head. “I think me out there shopping for you girls will result in a lot of disappointment when I get back,” Jared answered, smiling grimly. “You may have to choose an alternate substitute for certain things we can’t find. We passed a pretty big shopping center on our way in. I think there was a Target and, if I remember correctly, a Smart and Final.”
Thirty minutes later, Stephani had her rifle, Dwight’s gun belt and pistol along with Dwight’s pack with some food and water. Jared was loaded out nearly identically. Jared made sure the body of each pack was left empty for carrying back whatever they were able to scavenge. Barry walked into the warehouse from the office area, talking to himself while reading a manual, but stopped short, sensing something was up. He looked at both Stephani and Jared, who were at the rear door, readying to leave.
“Where are you going?” Barry inquired.
“Out to pick up—ah, some shoes and things for the ladies,” Jared said, almost opening the can of worms John had wrestled with the evening before.
Stephani looked at Jared and gave him a tiny smile of appreciation. Before the event it was far easier for people to maintain their dignity when it came to private matters. Nowadays everyone’s life was on front street. The group lived, ate and slept within feet of each other, with no privacy other than when they would scuttle a few feet away to do their business.
Jared remembered a meme he’d seen and not fully understood before the event. It was a picture of a bathroom with toilets on one wall and showers on the opposite wall, all occupied by young men. There had been no stalls nor dividers of any kind, and the caption read Now you know why the Marines are such a tight-knit group of warriors. At the time, Jared hadn’t fully understood what the meme meant, but the sight of the toilets and showers sans privacy barriers stuck with him, and now in the aftermath of all that had taken place, he finally understood.
John broke from his post at the hallway and came close to Jared, grabbing him by the shoulder and pressing his face close to Jared’s ear. “Get shit paper, bro.”
Jared chuckled, then turned to Barry. “What’s your timetable here?”
Barry scrunched his mouth to the side in thought. “I’d say maybe midday tomorrow.”
Jared nodded in acknowledgment and ducked out into the morning sunlight, Stephani close behind him, her rifle pointing directly at Jared’s back. John reached out and grabbed Stephani’s rifle, directing it away from Jared’s back.
“And remember, keep your finger off that trigger. You shoot him and you’re all by your lonesome out there,” John ended with a pleasant, crooked smile.
Stephani looked at him for a moment, then lurched after Jared to the ominous sound of the door slamming closed and locking behind them. They were officially on their own.
Chapter 29
Jared and Stephani were out in the wild now. The shopping center was on Story Road not more than two miles from where Solar Green stood, but two miles now had nothing in common with two miles before the event. Jared plodded along in silence, only looking back when he didn’t hear Stephani, who was right behind him in her bare and nearly noiseless feet. The thought occurred to him that if he ever had to sneak somewhere, he just might take his shoes off to do it.
Jared reminded Stephani to keep a good watch to their rear as they walked, while he continued to scan their front and both flanks. The city appeared abandoned, causing Jared to remember what Dwight had told them about people fleeing for the coast in hopes of finding crops
