Chapter 23 – Christine and Manila

Inside the dim auto shop, Robby stood before Dogg's body, his voice low and hoarse. His back was turned toward Jondance, hiding the expression on his face. His hands slowly drifted to his waist, pulling out the two pistols he had tucked there moments ago.

"Jondance, you killed Dogg before he even turned into one of those things?"

"Robby… I…" Jondance stammered, instantly realizing the gravity of the situation. He had indeed pulled the trigger before Dogg had transformed. It hadn't been long after the shutters slammed down. He couldn't bear the thought of sharing a confined space with someone who had been bitten. He didn't have the patience to wait for the inevitable. And he had never imagined Robby would survive and come back.

There was a line between killing a human and killing a zombie. Dogg had still been human, still Robby's brother—the only family he had left.

Jondance tried to explain, throwing a quick look at Arthur and Anthony. They caught the signal. Both of them, tense and sweating, slowly lifted their rifles, subtly aiming at Robby.

They knew exactly who Robby was. Jondance might have become the boss because of money and connections, but Robby had fought his way up with pure skill. His speed, his aim—among all the gangs of New York, Robby's name carried weight. The recent ambush that nearly killed him hadn't been random. The others saw him as a threat.

"You didn't even give him a chance?" Robby suddenly spun around, facing the much larger Jondance directly. His two pistols were fully drawn, his face shadowed but his eyes bright, and shining with something suspiciously like tears.

"Robby… I…" Jondance stuttered, taking a shaky step back, his hands fluttering uselessly in the air.

"You could have saved him," Robby snapped. "You could have cut off his arm. You could have waited, at least until he died naturally. Then he wouldn't have faced death terrified of his own people. But you didn't. You shot him like an enemy because you were afraid for yourself."

The guns in Robby's hands remained pointed at the ground, but that single step forward was aggressive enough. For a man like Robby, that was a death sentence.

Arthur and Anthony raised their rifles fully, barrels locking onto Robby's head.

Pfft! Pfft!

Two silenced shots cracked out as one. In the dim light, it sounded almost like a single whisper.

Robby's arms lifted, his hands steady. He didn't even glance at them. His gaze never shifted from Jondance. His lips trembled, as if he had words to say but the pain suffocated them.

The garage fell into a heavy silence.

Jondance watched in frozen horror as Arthur and Anthony both collapsed, almost in slow motion, their eyes wide and glassy. Two clean bullet holes in their foreheads. Dead before they hit the ground.

It had been a fatal mistake to even think about raising a weapon against Robby. Even if they could live that moment again, the ending would not change.

"Don't… Robby, don't," Jondance stammered, stepping back as sweat poured down his forehead. His hand hovered far from his gun. He knew better than anyone that if he twitched wrong, he would die instantly.

"Robby, he was bitten, we couldn't—"

Pfft.

...

Afternoon. Second Avenue, inside the Walmart Supercenter, second floor.

Jason zipped around the aisles on a stunt bike, music player clipped to his belt, Bluetooth earpieces stuffed in his ears, head bobbing as he sang along, completely absorbed in his own world.

Christine had changed into something cleaner. She still wore her twin pigtails but was slumped in a hidden corner, sneaking cigarettes, her expression sullen and distant.

Mike and Laura were inseparable, pushing a cart through the aisles, methodically picking out foods with long shelf lives and high calorie counts. Bowen, meanwhile, still slumped against the shelves, unmoving and lifeless despite Jason's earlier attempts to cheer him up.

As Manila strolled past, her backpack slung over one shoulder, she spotted Christine hiding away. She veered over and sat beside her, tilting her head in concern.

"Hey, hiding out here all alone? What's wrong, Christine?"

Christine glanced at her but said nothing, lowering her head.

Manila reached out and tousled Christine's hair gently, smiling a little. "Come on, talk to me."

Christine suddenly stood up, taking a few steps as if to leave. But at Manila's next words she froze.

"You like Liam, don't you?"

Christine hesitated, then shuffled back, plopping down in her old spot. She stared at the shelf ahead and muttered, "He doesn't like me."

She said it quietly, almost ashamed, stealing a glance at Manila to see her reaction. After all, Manila was the one who was with Liam now. Her opinion mattered.

Manila laughed softly, her voice full of layered meaning. "I envy girls your age. You're brave enough to fall in love without hesitation. Don't you have a boyfriend?"

Christine shook her head, taking the cigarette from her lips and whispering, "We broke up."

"I see," Manila said lightly, tearing open a pack of cookies and munching as she turned back to Christine. "Why do you think Liam doesn't like you?"

Christine frowned. "Maybe he thinks I'm too young. I'm sixteen. He's twenty-seven. That's an eleven-year gap."

"Wrong," Manila interrupted, chewing thoughtfully. She wagged a finger at Christine.

"Liam's different from most men. He's…" Manila paused, looking up at the ceiling as she tried to find the right words. She wrinkled her nose in amusement and said slowly, "He's not tall, really. If I wear heels, I'm taller than him. And he's not bulky. But he's handsome and… different. You never know what he's thinking."

She turned, patting Christine's shoulder. "When the outbreak first started, he was ready to leave me behind, you know. In our crappy little apartment. Just let the zombies get me."

Christine's eyes widened. "Really?"

"Absolutely," Manila said, nodding. "Before we met you guys, to him, I was just a familiar stranger. A burden. He thought I would slow him down. But he still saved me."

She laughed. "Then later he wanted to ditch me again, but I kept following him. And somehow, here we are."

Manila leaned closer, voice softening. "You know what I did before all this?"

Christine shook her head.

"Guess."

"Office worker? Salesgirl? Model?"

Manila shook her head after each guess. Finally, Christine gave up.

"I was a hooker," Manila said simply. Christine's eyes widened but before she could react, Manila barreled on, voice casual. "We lived in the same crappy building. Knew each other for two years. Barely spoke. I thought he was just another salaryman."

"When the world ended, I ran out of my apartment naked. He saved me. Then told me he wasn't going to help me again. Said I was useless."

She stuffed a cookie in her mouth and mumbled through it. "But I stuck with him. He kept saving me. And after everything… he doesn't care about what I was. He might not love me, not yet. But I know he'll never leave me behind."

Manila smiled at Christine. "That's Liam. He doesn't care about your past. He doesn't care that you're young. He cares about what you do. How you act."

She reached out and squeezed Christine's thigh lightly. "You're gorgeous. You've got the body. If it were any other man, he'd have dragged you to bed by now. But not Liam. Maybe you just haven't shown him yet what makes you worth noticing."

Just then, Liam's voice drifted from the aisle's end, carrying lightly. "What are you two talking about?"

Christine froze. She scrambled, shoving the burning cigarette into Manila's mouth and snatching the cookie bag to stuff one in her own mouth, trying to look casual.

"Girl talk!" Manila called back with a laugh, dragging on the cigarette. "Which bra to steal, you want in?"

"I'm good," Liam shrugged and turned away.

After he was gone, Christine stared at Manila, flushing. "Why are you telling me all this?"

Manila smiled without answering. Instead, she swung her backpack around, unzipped it, and pulled out a walkie-talkie, pressing it into Christine's hand.

"Keep this on," she said. "We need to stay in touch."

That had been her real reason for seeking Christine out. She'd collected phones and walkies on the third floor electronics section, per Liam's orders. Seeing Christine just made her linger a little longer.

Just as Christine took the walkie, the ground outside rumbled with a loud roar. Diesel engine. Tires squealing.

Everyone in the quiet Walmart heard it.

"Someone's coming!" Liam shouted, already sprinting to the window. He lifted the binoculars slung around his neck, peering out.

He turned back, voice ringing loud and clear across the empty store.

"It's Robby! Open the door!"