Desolate

Charlie fought to keep the smell of meat from emanating past the room or the building; the smell would most definitely attract a group of zombies. Meanwhile, she was fidgeting with the corner of her shirt, spotting each and every stain that littered her shirt; guaranteed the majority being blood.

"I'm going to get some clothes, anyone want to tag along?" she asked as mostly everyone agreed minus Alex who decided to look at shoes instead. Charlie's arm was beginning to throb with such an intensity that she bit her lip in pain; it was wrapped in bandages, but she was too scared to peak.

"You okay?" Darren questioned, watching as she stood beside a rack of lingerie; staring at her arm. She stumbled in surprise grabbing a set of the lacy material and holding it up; a look that was asking for his opinion. "You get that, and you might as well let me have you now," he spoke, making Charlie laugh as she placed it into her bag with a wink.

"Maybe later," she teased as he let out a groan, fleeing the scene; running towards Jason as he spoke animatedly. With a shake of her head, she moved to the shirts section; flipping through the possibilities. There were only a few shirts that she had taken a liking to, so she wasn't too overwhelmed.

"What is this?" Oliver appeared, pulling out the lingerie from her bag; a look of shock written on his face. His fingers tracing over the lacy bra that he held in his hands; if you could call it a bra at that.

"If you must know, it's for Darren," she joked, watching his eyes widen; apparently he took it for real. "I'm kidding, I'm not interested in anyone at the moment," she explained after turning around; hearing an awkward cough she watched out of the corner of her eye as Oliver moved towards her. He threw a shirt over and into her bag, wiping his fingers and running a hand through his dark hair; eyes downcast towards the floor.

"You should get this," he mumbled, before turning on his heel and walking away; grabbing another shirt, and a jacket, she quickly ran to catch up to his receding back.

"Not so fast speed racer," she smiled, pulling his jacket arm when she reached him. Charlie felt so at home in this shop, it was almost like before; where she could joke with everyone and just be herself. She didn't know if it was because the place was so oddly sterile, or because everyone was getting along; it was just relaxing in her own way.

"It's um getting late," he started his face turned to the side, "Everyone's gone to the mattress store for sleep, he explained as she watched him with curiosity; she's been his friend for so long, but he's always been a little off with her. She softly laid a hand on his arm, and he didn't hesitate to pull it out of her grip; her fingers pulling onto her bag a bit hastily.

"Alright let's go then," she urged, seeing as the mattress store was in the middle; the sight of Jordan ushering them in at the entrance. If she could estimate, it was probably closing in towards nearly midnight; they would need the sleep that they could get.

"We were going to close the gate on you two," Jordan chuckled when they got there; everyone collapsed on beds with blankets and pillows. Charlie moved to the open bed, and placed her things beside it; pulling up her hair into a pony tail.

"We should share to make room for everyone," Zakk spoke to Jordan; watching her nod ever so slightly to go and follow him. Charlie laughed watching as Zakk simply flipped her off; she moved to collapse on a bed.

"What the he'll are you-" Charlie started, when Darren appeared, moving her shirt out the way to reveal a plain white bra strap; he let out a relieved sigh. She wondered aloud when he placed a hand over his heart, and crawled off of her; a sheepish smile on his face.

"I can sleep in peace now," he laughed, making Charlie turn an insane red color; she burrowed into the mound of pillows and blankets. Darren laughter was loud as he ran over to an open bed, quickly hopping in and finding his way towards sleep.

"Hey, no other beds," Oliver spoke, moving to settle in on the other side of Charlie; awkwardly laying so that he could see the ceiling.

"So what other stories are there?" Bianca spoke up, because there were only a few that we haven't heard. "How about you Oliver?" She mumbled, watching as he sat up uncertainly; his eyes moved between Charlie and Bianca before he spoke.

"Well at the time," he started, rubbing the back of his head; something he did when he was nervous. "I owned a music shop with Andrew and Charlie," he spoke as she sat up in uncertainty as well; placing her hand on his arm, he wasn't nervous now and shrugged it off. "A group of them broke in and Andrew took the first hit, smashing one with a guitar. Charlie was at a hotel some cities off," he continued, moving to brush hair out of his face.

"Who was Andrew?" Bianca questioned, the tone said she was envisioning a hot guy to appear on their trip; as if he wouldn't have been with us in the first place. Charlie rolled her eyes, and moved to rub her head with an aggravated sigh.

"My best friend, and Charlie's...ex," Oliver continued, watching as Charlie nodded her head; his fingers softly brushed her hand as he gripped it with his. "He said he'd manage the shop while I went and got Charlie and Alex, but he didn't make it," he finished, scratching the back of his head.

"Oh well, is that it?" Bianca mentioned, watching as Charlie hastily looked up, shaking her head and pulling the blanket over her; trying to ignore how much Bianca was asking to be killed by her. Oliver hesitantly laid down, moving the blanket to see Charlie's face; his arm wrapping around her waist as he merely laid beside her.

"Don't let her get to you," he whispered, moving so that she could lay looking at the ceiling. "We both miss Andrew," he continued, watching as she nodded; staring at the ceiling as if someone would just magically appear from within the hard roof. "Do you think...you'll...ever get over him?" he questioned, watching as her eyes scanned towards him, making her smile awkwardly.

"I suppose eventually, I'll have to," she retorted softly, moving to brush her hair out of her face; Oliver nodded as he pulled away from her, leaning on his elbow.

"Anytime soon?" he continued, making her turn towards him with a stern look on her face; he nodded and laid in the other direction.

"No," was all she could say as she turned and pulled a blanket over her; letting her mind die down with buried memories. Oliver on the other hand, stared blankly at the iron gate that closed the shop from the rest of the store; just letting his own mind wander.

The morning had arrived, without any kind of incidents, and it gave everyone a sort of relief. Jordan moved insanely quickly out of the bed that she had been sharing with Zakk, running towards the backroom to change. Closing the door behind her, she turned to see that it was only Charlie and Alex in the room as well.

"Don't like lover boy?" Alex questioned, making Jordan roll her eyes as they all changed into fresh clothes; making them feel instantly rejuvenated.

"Not interested at the moment," she replied with a bit of haste, moving to put on a jacket. "If you hadn't noticed, I had a life before this one. And a lover," she continued as everyone nodded in return; everyone understood. Alex's eyes began to wander as Charlie hissed from the back of the room; she was putting on a jacket, seeing as the weather had taken it's course towards another storm.

"Are you alright back there?" she questioned, watching as Charlie nodded, pulling the sleeve over her arm; making another pained scowl appear on her face.

"I'm peachy," she replied, turning to the rest of them and putting on her shoes. "I'm going to go check on the area, see if any zombies are appearing," she announced closing the door behind her; the rest shrugging their shoulders as she made her way back into the room. The boys were mostly still asleep, and with the exception of Bianca, the girls were all ready to go; moving the gate up, Charlie sneaked out.

"Where are you going?" Oliver motioned, sitting up in the bed; his eyes were covered in bags, and she put her finger up to her lips. "Okay," he mumbled, collapsing into the bed once again. Charlie moved, stumbling around the corner with her gun around her shoulder; she could feel her arm wrench in pain, making her grit her teeth.

"Where's all the goddamn medical kits," she thought aloud as she moved towards the other wing of the mall, in a desperate search through stores trying to find something to get rid of the pain. Her vision swirled for a second before she collapsed onto the wall of the hall; the stores all blurring together as she stared at her arm. Removing her jacket, Charlie ripped off the bandages, biting her lip to keep from bellowing out of pain; blood trickled from her lip as she slowly looked down at her arm. It was swollen red, the skin was engorged with blood; and gooey blood colored puss was trickling from the wound; she fought to keep herself from gagging. "Jesus Christ. It's getting worse," she remarked, motioning towards the red trails that were trailing up her arm; the signs of a serious infection arising. Charlie wasn't going to say something, because frankly; there wasn't much you could do unless you come across a doctor in these woods. Pulling her jacket back on, she returned to stumble around the mall; in search of some more alcohol.