“All right.” I released the man’s arm and took a step back.
The girl pushed past me and checked on him. He lowered his arm, then turned away from the window to face me.
The dagger hung at my side, clutched in my fist. He palmed his arm, then turned toward me. She stayed at his side, looking at his arm. He yanked the hood back, peeled the mask from his head, then shoved it under his arm.
Beads of sweat raced down the sides of his flushed cheeks and past the five o’clock shadow around his jaw. The thick-brown hair went in all directions on top of his head. Bags rested under both eyes.
His brow furrowed and nose scrunched. He squinted while panting. “Listen, pal, we don’t want any trouble. Take what you want and leave us be. Just don’t kill us.”
The young girl looked back to me while standing at his side. He moved in front of her again, placing his body between us.
I lifted the goggles up. “I’m not going to kill you as long as you don’t try that again.”
“It’s okay. I’m fine,” he said to the girl who touched and studied his arm while craning her neck. “It’s not broken or anything. Just sore is all.”
The young girl looked to me, then to him. She dipped her chin, and examined his arm a moment longer before stopping.
He turned around, glanced at me, then looked at her. He rotated his arm and winced. His fingers pressed under her chin, lifting her head up. “I know you mean well, sweetie, but I have told you you’re not supposed to go outside without me. It’s dangerous. Also, where is your mask?”
The young girl pointed across the building, but didn’t speak or mutter a single syllable. Odd.
He sighed, tilted his head forward, then ran his hand over his face. “You need to wear it outside. Breathing in the air isn’t good for you right now. We have to be smart and make sure we’re doing the right things. It’s important that you listen to me.”
She gave a single nod, then wrapped her arms around his body, hugging him.
“What is going on here?” I asked, confused. “So, you’re not trying to hurt her or anything like that?”
He looked at me with a disgusted look as if I had said something preposterous. “Lord no. She’s my daughter. I was protecting her from you.”
“I had no intentions of hurting her.” I looked to her, then back to him. “She snuck up on me down the sidewalk and ran away after spotting that car that drove by. She wanted me to follow her.”
“Do you typically chase after eleven-year-old girls like that?” he asked, nodding at his daughter.
I shook my head. “It’s not like that. I wouldn’t hurt a kid.”
He looked down to the dagger in my hand. “If you’re not here to hurt us, then what do you want?”
I glanced around the dim store, scanning the aisles and stocked shelves for any figures moving in the shadows. “Is there anyone else here in the building? I don’t like surprises.”
He stayed close to the young girl, then shook his head. “No. Just my daughter and myself.”
I slipped the dagger into the sheath inside my coat. “I just need to lay low for a minute is all, then I’ll be on my way.”
“I take it that you’re not with the heathens out there roaming the street?” Green Camo nodded toward the street.
“If you mean the armed men wearing the tactical body armor and all, then no, I’m not,” I answered. “Me and my associate ran into them on the highway, then again in town. I guess they don’t care for outsiders much.”
“Did they kill your associate?” He turned and peered out of the window, then craned his neck.
“Not sure. They took him from the surplus store we were in down the street. I need to find them,” I replied. “Do you know anything about who they are?”
The young girl stepped away from his side and retrieved the buck knife from the floor. She brought it back and handed it to him.
“Thanks, sweetie.” He held it for a few seconds, looked at me, then stowed it behind his back. “Just that they’re some sort of militant group patrolling the nearby towns. At least, that’s what some folks in town we’ve come across have said. They seemed rather scared of them from the way they trembled when I mentioned them. After being here for a few days and seeing what they’ve done, I can see why.”
“I take it you’re not from around here, then?” I asked.
“No. We were passing through a few days ago heading west when our car died and all this mess outside started happening. We witnessed that group shooting a few people, then patrolling the streets shortly after that. Haven’t seen any police presence, really. Not sure where they are or if they decided to go home to their families. Wouldn’t blame them if they did. What’s happening outside is like judgement day. Wrath of God type of stuff,” he answered.
I nodded. “So you wouldn’t know where they would’ve taken him then, huh?”
He shrugged. “Sorry. Afraid not. We’re staying low and out of sight until things blow over, whenever that may be. Not sure I want to be stranded out in the middle of nowhere in this mess with my daughter. This sort of thing brings the creeps and lowlife’s out for sure.”
“Yeah. It does,” I replied, noticing him staring at me while keeping his daughter close to him. “Like I said earlier, I’m not going to hurt you or your daughter
