Excerpt: City of the Dead

While Hollis stopped for a “meditation break” - this meant taking a piss, since he went into the men’s bathroom - Jocelyn and I stood awkwardly outside the doors. She had been rummaging in her pockets for a ridiculous amount of time before finally allowing her hand to surface with two candy bars. I gave her A Look.

She looked down at the bars and shrugged. “I was going to give them to you the first day we met, but I wasn’t sure you’d like these kind,” she said, passing one over and grabbing my hand as I went to rip it open. “Later. These are special. We’ll have them when we’re home.”

“Special candy bars?” I asked skeptically.

Jocelyn stared at me, a grin snaking its way onto her face. “Raine. Raine, Raine, Raine. All mixes of chocolate - in this case including macadamia - should be considered special. Sacred, even.”

I laughed and put the candy in my purse, the same over the shoulder bag I’d been using since I was 16. I made a mental note to look around the city for a new one. “Are they really that good?”

“Oral couldn’t compare to this, my friend.” She paused. “Not even really good oral.”

I smiled weakly and nodded as though I would know the difference between good and bad. The door to the men’s bathroom swung open and Hollis barreled out and ushered us forward. “Out,” he hissed, hands wrapping around our wrists and dragging us out of that side of the road shithole. “Out, out, hurry up!” he said, ushering us away from the building in the car.

Jocelyn pried him off of her as he shoved her into the side of the car. “Hollis, what the hell?”

“We need to leave, get in the car,” he said, dragging me around the back of the car. I half-heartedly tried to pull him off my wrist, knowing that I would get inside anyways. He popped the door open and let go of me. I immediately slid into my seat.

“No, Raine, get out of the car,” Jocelyn said, glaring at Hollis and ripping open the final door to the car. “You don’t have to do whatever he says, he’s not go-”

A dull roar. I watched through the open door as behind Jocelyn the side of the road, shithole Tex-Mex restaurant exploded outwards and was engulfed in flame.