I kept a careful eye on the man in front of us. My skin was still tingling, like some kind of internal warning system was going off. I’d seen him shoot me in the dream…I’d felt it. My gaze was drawn down to the shotgun he still carried. He gripped it loosely, muzzle pointed down, beside his left leg. But it still made me nervous just looking at it.

I could hardly blame him though, could I? He didn’t know who we were any more than we knew him. We could be a bunch of thieving scum, as far as he was concerned. And he was being pretty nice to us.

He made eye contact with me, and his blue eyes widened slightly. “Ah, uh…got a whole family with you, huh? No trouble with the suckers along the way?” His eyes were still fixed on me, and I wasn’t sure if he was talking to me. Luckily Manda took charge of the conversation.

“Nothing we can’t handle, I make sucker killing a kind of hobby. And everyone, this here is Bruce. Bruce, meet Kali, Jai and Horace.”

Bruce nodded at me, then transferred his gaze over to Horace and Jai. “Pleased to meet you lot. It’ll be good to have a bit of company.” His eyes shifted this way and that, suddenly, flicking over the surrounding buildings. “Better get inside though. The suckers stay away during the daytime, but we have army guys come through here once in awhile. Nasty bunch.”

He strode up to the door and knocked it open with his boot, beckoning us inside. “Come in, I’ve still got some coffee left, if you’ve got time for a cup.”

I was the last one in, and I couldn’t help hesitating a bit, my feet faltering on the threshold. I could see the store beyond clearly. Bare shelves and a glass case, just like in my vision. Bruce tilted his head, staring at me questioningly, and I shrugged and moved inside, jamming my fear down and out of the way. It would be fine. We’d changed the future. I wasn’t going to get shot.

There was no way the guardians would let me come inside this place if there was a chance of that happening. Or maybe they weren’t too worried, since they’d said I wouldn’t die.

I shivered. What was worse, dying.. or walking around with a gaping chest wound like some kind of  zombie? Gross.

There was a rickety looking table at the far end of the store, and there were a few guns sitting there, they were dissembled, pieces scattered over the wooden surface.

“Was just cleaning some of them,” Bruce explained. He moved the pieces carefully over to the window sill, and I noticed he leaned his shotgun up against the side of the window as he did so. I couldn’t help feeling a little relieved that he’d put it down. 

“You been living here on your own?” Manda asked, turning around in her chair to watch as Bruce sauntered over behind the counter.

“Yup.” He turned the knob on a tiny cook stove that was jammed between a file stuffed with papers and a steel safe on the back counter. The flame flickered to life.  There was already a pot of black coffee on the top. He leaned back against the counter, blue eyes distant. “Been here for years now. Sort of lost count.” He sighed. “Wife and kids were some of the first to go. They were shopping.” He snorted, shaking his head. “Just went out to get a few things from the super market. We were supposed to have guests over for a chicken dinner. Said she would only be a few minutes, be right back, she said.”

He trailed off. The coffee pot made bubbling noises in the silence.

Manda said softly, “They never came back?”

Bruce blinked, like she’d interrupted his memories. “Yup,” he said shortly.

“Sorry to hear that,” Jai said, his voice was grave. “And we really appreciate you doing this for us. We don’t want to intrude long…”

Bruce shrugged. “It isn’t a trouble, making coffee for strangers is something I don’t get to do every day.” He smiled, revealing crooked teeth. “Plus, I’m running a bit low on the ammo side of things, believe it or not.”

“You’re in a gun store,” I said. “How are you low on ammo?”

Bruce grunted. “People looted the place when it all started going bad. Wasn’t much I could do about it. I had a secret stash in the back. They didn’t get that, but I’ve been fighting off the suckers at night, and any stray army men that think they can come in and pilfer what they like, so I’m running low on bullets.”

The entire time he was speaking he was staring at me, and I squirmed in my chair. His blue eyes were a little unnerving. I couldn’t help but think he was staring at me for a little bit longer than the conversation warranted.

Jai shifted beside me, maybe he was thinking the same thing. “Well we’re glad you’d like to make the trade. We can’t do much while we’re stuck here.”

Bruce poured black coffee into four chipped mugs, and Horace helped him bring it over to the table.

“Happy to help.” He set one of the mugs down in front of me. “There you go, Kali.”

“Um, thanks.” I cupped my hands around the mug, enjoying the warmth, making sure to avoid his eyes. Just in case he was still staring at me.

“Should we take a look at your trucks out back?” Horace suggested. “These three can stay here and keep an eye on your store.”

“Sounds fine.” Bruce shoved one hand in his blue jeans pocket and took a swig of the hot coffee, sucking air in past his teeth. “Damn, that’s warm. Follow me this way, fella.”

I watched Bruce and Horace pass through a door behind the counter. Bruce left the door open, and I could see the hallway beyond that was narrow and dark. Their voices faded as they walked down it, and another door banged, presumably the back door leading to the outside.

“Not sure if I like him.” Jai sipped his coffee, staring at me over the rim of his cup.

Manda snorted. “Well he sure has a wandering eye for our Lady Time, if that’s what you mean.”

Jai hissed at her, shushing her into silence. “Don’t…just call her Kali while we’re here.”

She shrugged. “They’re gone. It’s not like they can hear us. They’re outside.”

“You know better than that.” Jai glared at her. “You know we can’t afford to get sloppy.”

She looked away from him stubbornly, eyes on the empty gun case. “We passed ‘sloppy’ ages ago. We’re a complete gong show now. It’s embarrassing.”

She looked sullen, and I wondered if she was thinking about her and Horace. Is that what she meant by gong show? Is that why she looked so glum? I drummed my fingers against the side of the mug anxiously, looking from Jai to Manda and back again. It was my fault that they were all so hard on themselves. Of course, I didn’t remember any of it, but I must have been horribly strict.

I think if the new me meets the old me, I won’t like her very much.

The silence was stretching out too long, and I stood up abruptly, the chair legs squealing on the cement. “I’m guessing he must have a bathroom back there…”

“Manda, go with her,” Jai said.

“No!” Manda and I both cried at the same time.

Jai glared at her, then at me, as if he wasn’t sure who to be annoyed with. “We need to step this up. We can’t just let her wander around by herself…”

“You’re talking about me like I’m not there again,” I reminded him sharply.

His cheeks flushed a little bit, but he didn’t back down. “I didn’t mean to, I’m sorry. But it’s true. We need to keep you safe, Kali. It’s important…”

“I just have to pee,” I said stubbornly. I realized that I sounded all of three years old, but it was too late to back down now. My cheeks were flushed to match his. “I don’t need a babysitter to find the bathroom. Look, the vision didn’t come true, and obviously Bruce is a really nice guy. Unless there are soul suckers hiding out in the bathroom, I’ll be fine.”

He sighed. “Okay fine, just this once.”

Manda sat back in her chair, looking relieved that she hadn’t had to argue with him, and I turned on my heal, sneakers crunching over the grit on the floor. I rounded the counter and passed through the same door the men had gone through. The hallway I stepped into was narrow and dark. There were two doors, one on either side of the hallway, and one at the end.

I guess the end one led to outside, so I tried the door on my right first, stepping onto carpet. I couldn’t see anything beyond that, so I groped for the light switch on the wall. A second later I felt stupid. Of course there was no electricity. I groped some more, and my hands found the smooth surface of a desk. The top was covered in junk, but I managed to find a flashlight on the nearest corner. Clearly Bruce kept it there so he could find it easily.

I jammed my thumb into the button on the side and the light switched on, casting a wavering circle of yellow light over the contents of the room.

Crap, not the bathroom.

There was a small camping cot in one corner, and a ripped brown armchair beside it. There were a few boxes piled against the wall, wooden crates, and I wondered if this was the last of his ammo stash he’d referred to.

The desk I’d found the flashlight on was cluttered with paper. There were a couple of empty cans of food, beans and fruit, and a rusty can opener sat between them. I swept the beam of light over the papers piled on the desk, illuminating a page near the top. There was a charcoal sketch in the center of it, and absent mindedly I plucked the paper up, wondering if Bruce was an artist.

I guess you’d have lots of spare time to…

My thoughts went blank, and my hand shook as the flashlight beam showed me the sketch more clearly. It was a girl, my age, with long brown hair and a light complexion. There was a splash of freckles across her cheeks, and her thin lips curled down in a frown. Her eyes were serious, and dark, made black by the charcoal, but I knew they were dark brown, flecked with green.

It had been a long time since I’d looked in a mirror, but I hadn’t forgotten what I looked like.

On top of the drawing block letters spelled out the word, “REWARD”. The beam of light shook and wavered, and I squinted at the small printing on the bottom. Fear made my throat feel tight.

Wanted by the Government of New Canada. $10,000 reward. Approach Suspect with caution.

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