Sparrow’s Flight by Jenika Snow Page 0,15

there was enough light coming through the windows that she could at least see well enough. She got on her haunches and pushed some of the pill bottles around. Stool softeners, pain relievers, and cough suppressants were some of them. She grabbed a few bottles of the pain relievers and shoved them in her bag. Standing and going over to the shelves, she scanned what was left. A lot of stuff and been picked through, but she did manage to find some antibiotics, grabbed the bottle, and put it in her bag. She took a few more things and headed back around the counter.

“Get what you needed?” Asher asked.

“I grabbed some things. Let me see if there are any first aid supplies.” She went through the two aisles, feeling the two men following behind her. There wasn’t much of anything left, but she found some medical tape, gauze, a few bottles of sterile water, and several other supplies that would come in useful if one of them got injured. “Okay, I think I got enough.” They made their way out of the pharmacy and headed toward the grocery store.

The grocery store was smaller, but she supposed for the town it could have been considered large. The sign stating the store was called McMillian’s hung right above the front doors. The once red lettering had a few holes littered in it and had a washed-out look to it. A lone shopping cart was tipped over in the center of the parking lot, and grass and weeds were starting to make their way through the numerous cracks in the pavement, but aside from a dented and old blue Toyota Corolla sitting in one of the parking spots near the front, the place was still and silent. They did a quick scan of the lot and then slowly moved toward the front doors. Asher leaned forward and looked inside through the dirty and almost foggy-looking front window.

“Looks pretty bare in there, but we might be able to find a few things, maybe even some stock in the back.” He turned and looked at her. “You ever done a search before?

“Yeah, but mainly in houses. The only store I ever went into was with the first group, and it was a 7-Eleven.”

He nodded once and pointed to the pipe she had a death grip on. “Stay on the alert until we make a thorough sweep.” Asher said it gently.

“Keep your head up and stay out of the way.” Mason said his statement coldly and didn’t look at her when he spoke. Sparrow gritted her teeth but didn’t bother responding. She saw Asher clench his hand around his knife so hard his knuckles turned white. Mason opened one of the doors and stepped in. Asher was next, and she looked behind her at the empty parking lot before following them. The inside was dark aside from the light coming through the huge glass windows, but it didn’t penetrate the inside the building, and the grimy, grungy quality made the rear of the store look murky and frightening. They waited a few minutes and listened to see if they heard any grunting or moaning.

When silence greeted them, Mason faced them and said, “I’ll take the right. Ash, take her with you to the left. We can meet up in the center. Grab what you can find and fit in your pack.”

“I can take the center, and we can meet by the supply door.” She kept her voice low then pointed to the door that could just be made out in the back center.

“You sure?”

She looked at Asher and nodded. “Yeah, I’m not an invalid. I can bash a few skulls in if I need to.” That had Asher smirking and Mason scowling deeper. God, that man had a serious bug up his ass. “You need a good cleansing.” She hadn’t meant to say that aloud, and when the words spilled from her mouth, it had Mason narrowing his eyes.

“What?”

“Never mind, I won’t get in your way. Now, come on and let’s quit wasting time. This place creeps me out.” Before he could say another nasty remark, she was moving down the center aisles. Shelves were turned over, and empty boxes of food littered the ground, but there were some cans with missing labels amidst the rubble. She shoved them in her pack and kept searching. After finding three dusty water bottles, a few half-broken and crushed chocolate bars, and a box of pasta, she stopped in