enough to see with. I cast it left to right as we cut up the rows of empty hangers. I jumped when it illuminated a hand, reaching up as if for help, but it was just a plastic mannequin with half its face smashed in. A family of snails had built a nest where the eyes should have been.
“Back here,” Penelope’s voice called from the darkness. A shiver crawled down my spine. I hadn’t forgotten Penelope attacking me, less than a week ago. I had to keep my guard up. What if this was just a trap to lure me alone? I hated that I couldn’t trust her.
Penelope was jiggling the handle of a locked door to a small office in the back. It was all banged up and the handle bent at a strange angle. I grabbed a fire hydrant, and slammed it against the door handle until it snapped.
Penelope kicked the door open, and the loud screech of metal on metal made my skin crawl. Inside the cramped space, one wall was filled with drawers and shelves of merchandise, many still in shipping packages and sealed with plastic.
I held the light for Penelope as she tried things on, viewing her reflection in a cracked standing mirror.
“Remember the last time we tried on dresses together?” Penelope asked.
“My wedding dress,” I said. “God that seems like years ago.”
“Literally another lifetime,” Penelope said. “And now look at us.”
“Better yet... don’t,” she said, frowning at her reflection in the mirror. “Try this one.”
She tossed me a pile of garments. Even in the dim light I could tell the colors were faded, but they were cleaner than what I was wearing, and warmer.
Penelope was taller than me, and thinner, but she managed to find some things to try on as well. In the end I went with jeans, a long dark jacket, and purple sweater with a colorful rainbow made of heart rhinestones.
“This looks like something king Richard would have made us wear for the testing,” I said.
“Where do you think he got his fashion sense from?” she smirked.
Penelope stripped off her top and ducked into a yellow polkadot dress with frilly sleeves, and a black blouse. She completed the look with a wide-brimmed hat and dark sunglasses.
“You’re still too exposed,” I said, frowning at her bare legs and neck. I stepped closer, using scrap of fabric to wipe the dried blood off her chest.
She sucked in a sharp breath, leaning away quickly.
“You can, if you want to,” I said, looking up at her.
“I’m okay,” she said, her hands pressed against the wall behind her as if she was trying to move as far away as possible.
“There’s no sense in holding out. You need to feed. The longer you don’t, the less control you’ll have. Plus, I don’t want you going feral in a rebel camp. With any luck, we won’t have to chain you this time.”
“Maybe you should.”
“I know you need it. Better to do it now while you’re still in control enough to stop.”
“But… what if I can’t?”
“You can. But if you don’t, then I’ll shove this coat hanger up your ass. How’s that sound?”
“Unpleasant,” she said.
I held out my arm and pushed up my sleeve. She frowned at the red gash across my wrist. The wound had closed, but was still visible against my pale skin.
“Sorry,” I blushed, raising my other arm.
She latched on, and I felt warmth spreading through my arm at first, a relaxing calm. But then it started to feel cold, so cold it burned. I winced and she released me suddenly, licking the blood off her bottom lip.
“Thanks,” she said.
“Let’s not tell Trevor about this,” I said, covering my arms again.
“Our secret,” Penelope promised. We headed back towards the entrance, but stopped by a rack holding accessories by the cashier.
Penelope grabbed a handful of plastic bracelets and necklaces and wiped them off until they gleamed.
“What are you doing?” I asked.
“I’m going out into the wilds, for the first time in my life. When the Europeans discovered the Americas, they bought thousands of acres for a handful of pretty beads. Who’s to say these won’t be worth something?”
I hadn’t heard that history. Seems strange someone would trade land for plastic beads.
I rolled my eyes as she tried on necklaces, then snapped bracelets and bangles up her arms before holding a few up for me.
“Fine, whatever,” I said, letting her drape some costume jewelry around my neck. She squealed as she found a purple feather boa and wrapped