I’m not sure if they’re Carrionites or just random scavengers but gotta shake these pricks before returning. I double back a few blocks, leaving some fake trails, then circle to the warehouse.
Rex is right where I left him, bundled up on the cot, looking like shit. But he's still breathing. That's what matters.
I clear my throat instead of shaking him awake. Last time I tried that, he almost choked me out.
"Rex," I call out.
He stirs a little but doesn't open his eyes.
I say his name louder, and he cracks one eye open, glaring at me.
"Found some shit." I dump out all the pill bottles, making a pile next to his cot. "Might be antibiotics here. I dunno."
He hauls himself upright, looking like hammered shit. His hair's sticking out everywhere and he's got dark circles under his bloodshot eyes. The fever's flushing his face and neck red too. He looks miserable as hell.
"Let me see," he mutters, voice all raspy.
He grabs the bottle of the thick green cough syrup first, tipping it to the side slightly and frowning at the bare mouthful left. Setting it aside, he sorts through the various orange and white bottles. "Gabapentin. Furosemide. Tamsulosin. Ha! Don't need that yet." He tosses a big white bottle my way. "Multivitamin. You should probably be taking those.” He sorts through the rest. “Citalopram. Metoprolol. Huh. Zolpidem."
He hesitates over that one, looking contemplative.
I stop pacing. "Will it help?"
"It might, for sleep anyways. But Ambien fucks me up," Rex grumbles, tossing it aside.
"Don’t care. The coughing is keeping you up. You need to sleep, so take the shit."
“It’s not that big of a deal.”
My fists curl tight, knuckles blanched bone white, pulses hot and unwanted in my gut. “Like fuck. It’s a big deal. Take the pills and get some rest."
A hint of a smile plays on his lips. "Bossy thing, aren't you?"
I don't find it amusing, not when the coughing fit that follows leaves him hunched over and rubbing his chest.
“We should move somewhere warmer. This place sucks. Spotted some houses that might do.” I don't mention the real reason I wanna get the fuck out of this building.
Those two pricks are probably out there right now still trying to follow my trail. And if they find us and Rex is knocked out from the meds, he’s a sitting duck.
His eyebrows draw together as he stares at the ground, his jaw set. "All right."
I pack up the sleeping bag, then lead the way to the most insulated house, shouldering both packs despite Rex's protests.
If he notices the way my eyes dart around rapidly, constantly scanning our surroundings, or how I flinch at the slightest sounds, he doesn't mention it. Then again, he’s barely dragging himself forward, fatigue written across his face.
My stomach twists into knots again, the bitter taste of fear flooding my mouth.
Rex is going to die.
Chapter 8
Itakeustoa section of houses in the opposite direction of where I was earlier. No need to run across those two men. I’ve got plans for them anyhow. But right now, my focus is on Rex.
We find a brick house with some boarded up windows. Doors are still on their hinges, and I help Rex up the creaky stairs to the master bedroom. “Get comfy, old man. I’ll go make sure everything’s locked up.”
Once the house is as secure as I can get it, I head back upstairs. Grabbing our packs, I pull out some dried meat and canned beans, then hand it to him. “Eat.”
He huffs. “Boy, keep ordering me around, and I’m going to bend you over and spank you.”
