4 4

I stand there catching my breath and shoot him a smile, wiping my forehead. "Thanks for the heads up back there."

He nods. "Best not to spend too much time in one place." Tristan looks down at the man's body, who's out cold. "Come on."

I follow him as we leave the aisle, putting as much distance as possible between us and the guy we just assaulted. For once, I feel thankful for how huge this place is. At this point I'm growing sure I've gained an ally and the feeling of uneasiness around Tristan begins to fade away. I can tell that the night is catching up to him now because of the tired look in his eyes and slower gait.

"Do you want to stop and rest for a bit?" I suggest. "I'll watch."

He seems surprised at first that I noticed then shakes his head and lies, "I'm not tired."

I narrow my eyes because I see right through it. "We won't get very far if you were to pass out on me."

"I guess I'll just grab some food," he replies, amused. "Besides, we should get out of here."

I've already tried, I want to say. But then again, there's always a way. Almost always, at least.

"How so?" I ask, curious to see what he has in mind.

Tristan grabs a bottle of iced tea, opens it and takes a large swig. "I don't know," he shrugs.

Well that's just dandy. I decide to grab a drink too even though instead of being tired I feel like I could run a mile.

"We could try the other doors," I say after a while, gesturing in the general direction with my bottle. "The ones I didn't bother checking."

"You could've waited longer to tell me," Tristan replies.

I shoot him a look. "Nah I just thought you would be smart enough to have done that already."

Suddenly the shitty light in the distance goes off for good, creating pitch black darkness aside from the circle of light in front of us from our flashlights. I think of playing a mean prank on Tristan by turning my light off and reappearing as a staff member but it would be a moronic risk.

"Think it would be this way," I mutter as I speed up, trying to increase my confidence.

We approach the opposite end of the store and to my relief, I spot a door at the back end. I smile at Tristan even though he probably can't see it.

"Alright, fingers crossed," he says as he goes to open it. He gives the door a good push but to our disappointment, it doesn't budge. Although I know I'm not as strong as him, I try giving it another go but it returns the same result, only discouraging me further. shaking my head, I step back. "Bullshit."

"Hey," Tristan says. "I'm sure we can figure something out."

I point my flashlight in his direction and look at him in my hopelessness. Really.

"Maybe," I reply instead, still paranoid that there might be someone around. I hate the fact that my vision is extremely limited which only adds to my paranoia.

Turning away from the door, I'm suddenly confronted by a woman appearing in the light with blood dripping from the corner of her mouth. Instinctively I step out of the way and she grabs Tristan instead, shoving him back. This pisses me the hell off and I instantly return the favour by throwing her to ground. Before I can go in for another attack, she immediately rolls out of the way and gets back up to face me but I was already prepared and land a good punch in the jaw. It causes her to lose balance and I take the opportunity to knock her out for good, her body collapsing to the floor.

I take my cap off and slump against the wall behind me, swearing. "Shit, that hurts more than punching a throat!"

"Damn right it does," Tristan says quietly.

I look up at him in annoyance, some of my hair falling across my eyes. "How about a little help next time?" I say, my voice sharp.

"Sorry," he replies, crouching down next to me. "Truthfully it's always the other person I'm more concerned about when you fight," he adds with a small smile.

"She woulda hurt you," I reply, shaking my head, then look away for a moment. I put my cap back on, getting up. "Well, I'm gonna go grab something to eat then let's get the hell out of here."

I kick the woman's body to the side and start walking in the opposite direction, craving a snack. Checking the time, I see that it's 1:54 AM and decide against telling Tristan. We go over to the fresh produce section and I have a banana, taking a break from all the other junk while Tristan doesn't take anything, even after I suggest that he does. Sweet, I think. Everything's hell but at least I get to fill my stomach. I go around the place eating all the light snacks I can find that won't make noise with Tristan just silently following me around. I shouldn't have snapped at him earlier and I know it. Dimwit of the year.

"You sure you don't want anything?" I ask, holding out a cupcake. My skin looks ghostly in the light.

"Well, only because you offered," he says as he takes it. I hope that he can see the apology plainly across my face.

I take one for myself too, beginning to get sick of this place and longing to see my car again.

"We could probably bust open one of the doors but not without making a shit ton of noise," I suggest, running out of ideas.

"Yeah, but I guess that wouldn't really matter at that point," Tristan replies, shrugging.

I frown, then. My ears perk up and I hold my breath, listening to a voice progressively growing louder. My eyes widen as I spot a person walking towards us and I immediately pull Tristan next to me, the both of us hiding behind a corner with our backs pressed against the surface. He clicks his light off with me doing the same, and we stand there for a few tense moments. I'm sure I saw someone and that person does exactly what I'd hoped they wouldn't: turn the corner. I hear their footsteps loud and clear as they must only be a few feet away. Keeping as still as a statue, I trust the dark to conceal us completely.