I approach the entrance of the SuperMart, and I’m a little dismayed to see that the sliding glass doors are cracked open about two feet. It’s dark inside, so I can’t tell if everything is messed up, but that’s not a good sign. “Looks like someone’s been here before us. I guess it’s not surprising, but I’m still a little disappointed.” I sigh and glance up at Dakh. “Let’s go in anyhow.”
At my side, Dakh sniffs, running his nose along the edge of the metal-and-glass doors. His nostrils twitch and flare, as if he smells something bad, and then he shoves his snout into the crack, trying to wedge the doors farther apart.
“Hey, hey,” I protest, putting a hand on his head. “You’re not going to be able to go in dragon-sized. You need to change to human-size.” I tug at him, then pull on one of his horns. “Change already.”
He pulls back and glances down at me, eyes whirling with gold.
“Change,” I instruct again, though I know he doesn’t understand the words. “Give me Dakh.” I gesture to indicate someone a bit taller than me. “Dakh.”
A flick of an eyelash later and the human-looking Dakh is suddenly standing before me.
I smile encouragingly. “That’s better. Shall we go inside?” I take his big hand in mine and start to go forward.
He growls low in his throat.
I freeze in place, my body going cold. Have I offended him somehow? “What did I do?”
Dakh moves forward, pushing ahead of me, and then steps between the crack in the glass doors. He walks in another step or two, scenting the air, and then turns back to me and holds his hand out.
Oh. I guess this is him checking the area out to make it safe for me. I feel a little silly now. “You’re kind of a chest-beating alpha male, aren’t you? All right, you can lead as long as I get to shop as much as I want.” I put my hand in his and step through myself.
Immediately, there’s a weird smell to the place. I wrinkle my nose and try to rub it before I remember that I shouldn’t use my bad arm. “What’s that stink? A skunk, maybe?”
Dakh leads me forward…and I realize it’s not all that dark in here. Most of the big fluorescent lights are out, but there are a few scattered in the ceiling that are on. Emergency lights, I think. That’s a relief. I can’t imagine what we’d miss out on if we were stumbling around in the dark.
Because ahead of me? It’s a scavenging wonderland.
I don’t care that the store itself is stinky, or everything’s covered with a layer of dust. Beyond the tangled scatter of metal shopping carts barricading the front entrance, there are cash registers. And beyond the cash registers are racks and racks of clothing. Beyond them will be housewares, and sporting goods, and everything else I can possibly imagine.
“This is just like Christmas,” I whisper to Dakh, and then give an excited little squeal.
His hand tightens on mine, and a draconic grin flashes across his broad features, and I feel a little quiver of happiness in my belly for the first time in what feels like…forever.
It almost feels wrong. I’m the captive of a dragon, I’ve just been snatched away from everything and everyone I know, and yet the sight of a SuperMart fills me with so much joy? I can feel my happiness fading and being replaced with shame. Shame that I should be so superficial as to be excited by stuff.
Dakh regards me with a solemn expression and then touches my cheek. He pushes a knuckle against the corner of my mouth and tries to raise it to force a grin.
He wants to see me smile again.
For some reason, that brings all of my happiness back, and I grin. “All right. I’ll take things one day at a time, then. For now, shopping.”
It takes a few minutes to push aside the tangle of carts to get to the other side, and when we do, I pull one out and try to right it. Of course, Dakh takes it from me, and then it’s another few minutes as I try to explain to him that no, the cart really does belong on its wheels and it’s supposed to roll. He’s mystified by the buggy and spends a few moments rolling it back and forth, an intense frown on his face. I want to snatch it from him and get going, but I force myself to be patient.
This store isn’t going anywhere. It’s been seven years since the Rift, and if this stuff has lasted this long, it’ll last one more day.
When he’s satisfied his curiosity with the cart, he turns to me. I do my best not to snatch it from his arms and push it forward. “Follow me. We’re going on a shopping spree, you and I.”
8
SASHA
The next hour is sheer bliss. I’d forgotten the joy of new clothing. In front of me, there’s an absolute wonderland of brand new clothes. Well, okay, not all of them are new. Some of them look like they’re rotting on the hangers, but polyester blends look as fresh as they did seven years ago. There are racks and racks of sundresses and T-shirts and jeans, and I want to grab them all and squeal with excitement. Living in Fort Dallas, where I have to sell myself for a bite to eat, there’s no money for new clothing. Even if there was, there’s not much clothing to go around. No one remembers how to make cloth, so a lot of the clothes people wear are scavenged or are weird, knitted monstrosities. I hold a baby-blue sundress up to my chest, sighing with pleasure. The Rift happened in the summer, and all these clothes are the wrong season. There are racks and racks of swimsuits and cover-ups, and pretty soon it’s going to be too cold for me to make use of these. Reluctantly, I put the sundress back and pick up a pair of jeans. I need to be practical.
Dakh growls low in his throat, and I turn.
He’s got the blue sundress in one clawed fist and holds it out to me.
“It’s not practical,” I tell him with a little sad smile. “I love it, but I don’t know how much we’re going to take with us, and I need to think about stuff like medicine and panties and—”
He shakes the dress at me again, a frown on his face, as if it’s important to him that I take it.
Shy, I nod and slip it off the hanger. I’m going to wear it today. Right now. I pull the material over my head and let it slither down my body, and I’m surprised at how loose it is. Even with my patchwork clothing on underneath, it’s like I’m wearing a potato sack. I slip the straps off, and the entire thing falls to the ground, so I scoop it up and check the size. It’s my old size…from Before.