“Thomas, shut up!”
“Claire?” She hesitated, not knowing if she should even acknowledge that he knew her name.
“Yeah…?”
“Holy shitballs! I can’t fucking believe it!” The man came closer and closer. They still had their guns up and ready. “It’s David!”
“David!” Claire wasn’t too sure who he was, but she was going to play along.
“Who the hell is this?” David asked, looking at Thomas.
“He’s a friend of mine. We’re staying together.”
“Are you…?” He pointed back and forth between Claire and Thomas.
“Oh. Oh no! He’s a little too young for me. Family friend.”
“Right. Aren’t you still with Marc?” It hit her then. David was one of Marc’s co-workers.
“Uh…” There was an awkward silence. “Well, our ride is waiting so we’ll get going now. It was nice to see you, David.” Thomas still had his gun ready and watched David carefully. Claire started walking toward the door.
“Wait. You said the guy that lived here was your boyfriend?”
“Uh, yes. Yes, I did.”
“But I thought…”
Claire snapped. “He’s dead! Okay! Is that what you want to hear?” Claire’s voice rang out, echoing in the darkness. “He’s fucking dead! I had to shoot him!” She collected herself. “Is there anything else you need, David?” Clare stood stiffly, holding her cries in.
“No. I’m…uh, sorry to hear that. Marc was a good man.”
“Thank you,” Claire choked out. “Let’s go,” she directed Thomas, but David wasn’t finished talking yet.
“My girlfriend is gone, too. She lived here, three doors down. I came here to find her, and she was one of those…things. I’ve been hanging around here, wallowing in self-pity. I haven’t left her apartment in a week because those things in the hall appeared so I guess I owe you a thank you. I only have two bullets left.”
“I’m sorry for your loss.” Claire was all business. She took another step toward the door.
“Uh, can I ask one last thing?” Claire stopped and took a deep breath. “Do you have any smokes? I haven’t had a smoke in weeks, and I really could use one.”
“I don’t smoke, but Nick does. Feel free to look around, take what you want. I’m sure he won’t mind.” Hoping it would get David off their backs, she was happy to allow him to loot Nick’s apartment.
“Oh, cool! Thanks, Claire. I hope you…well, I hope you survive.”
“You, too, David. Come on, Thomas.” They calmly walked out the door, stepped over the fresh true deads, and ran down the hallway. Thomas opened the door, and they stepped over the two decaying bodies, ran up the stairs, and back out the front entrance. They stopped once they got to the truck, and Sophie jumped off the roof.
“Who was tha’?” Thomas’ breathing was still labored.
“I have no idea, but we need to get out of here.” She opened the truck door and pushed the guitar in the back, deflecting the question. She just wanted to get home to Nick. Sophie and Thomas looked at one another and shrugged.
“What about Elaina’s flat?”
“Bad idea. Let’s just go back to the house.”
“Skipping yours as well?” Sophie asked.
“Yes! Let’s just go!” insisted Claire. Everyone got in the truck, Sophie slammed it in gear, and they sped off.
***
They had driven for about ten minutes and Claire was still acting rather odd. Sophie thought maybe she could get her to talk about it.
“So what happened back there?” Claire dissolved into a puddle of tears. Sophie looked back at Thomas, and he shook his head. “Claire talk to me.”
“We ran into someone in Nick’s apartment. It was David Tasker. He was one of Marc’s co-workers, and a royal asshole. Marc said he was shady…a smooth talker and a scammer. I just wanted to get out of there, in case he tried to pull something.” She pulled off the shirtsleeve, which was draped around her neck, and covered her eyes with it.
“Did he say something unkind? Because we can go back and I’ll take care of it. I’m quite ready for a fix.” Sophie had a sadistic enthusiasm that only she could pull off.
“No! Jesus, Sophie. He was asking me about Marc. I don’t want to talk about it, alright!” She covered her face and put her head against the window, trying to block out her thoughts.
“Alright then.” Sophie was gripping the steering wheel. “I still need a fix,” she mumbled.
“Dammit! Thomas, give me her pack!” Thomas swiftly grabbed Sophie’s pack and tossed it up to Claire. “Thank you!”