Page 140 of Death is Familiar

Three also may have gotten a disproportionate amount of the rations because she stopped making noise whenever she ate something. And the pounding in my head was momentarily numbed whenever there was complete and utter silence.

Oh, what I wouldn’t have given for some peace and quiet.

But alas, Three’s humming looped and looped and looped and⁠—

We made it three days in the flooded woods, three full days, and I’d had enough.

What I was doing wasn’t tenable, I knew that. I did. Whether from enduring the elements, or Three, I wouldn’t survive like this much longer. There wasn’t much more I could take. Whatever cluster of buildings we found next was where I’d make my move. The next⁠—

There was a rumble of an engine in the distance. Then the tell-tale sounds of a car accelerating.

It was a road, yes, but it sounded like an intersection. With a stop light. And if there was a stop light, we were getting close to a populated area. Maybe even a town.

Ignoring the chill blooming in my bones, and the ache in my joints, hope flooded my chest. “Do you hear that, Three?”

“Hear what?”

“Shh, listen.”

More cars, more tires accelerated on asphalt. A brief double honk.

“Are those…”

“Cars, and we’re going to need to be quiet until I say otherwise. Got it?”

“Got it.”

“Good.”

We quick-stepped towards the sounds of civilization, scrambling over the underbrush, getting nicked by thorny vegetation, and⁠—

There it was.

A beautiful beautiful sight to behold.

If I weren’t so dehydrated the view would have brought a tear to my eye. But I needed to keep it together as I took in the magnificent collection of gas stations, convenience stores, fast-food restaurants, and coffee shops. The full parking lot. The smell of gasoline and french fries.

And there, at the far end of the pavement, was a large green box.

“Oh my god.”

Three crowded next to me covering her ears as a jacked-up pickup roared by. “What? What is it?”

“That,” I pointed, the mud caked on my cheeks cracking, “is a clothing donation bin.”

Which would have to wait, admired from afar, until nightfall.

And so, we waited.

And waited, in the vegetation, for night to fall. We waited until the halogen street lights blinked on in all their electric glory, then together, we dashed, hand-in-hand, towards the bin. One last stretch before shoes, and pants, and anything other than the shapeless, formerly blue, hospital gowns plastered to us like a second skin.

One last stretch, and we’d shrink the size of the targets on our backs.

The asphalt rippled. The lights swayed.

Nothing was going to get in the way of my good mood, as Three and I came to a stop in the glow of the donation bin.

“I’m going to need you to go in there and get us clothes, Three.” She looked at me like I had two heads. “Something big enough to hide this.” I gestured at my belly.