Every breath you take, every move you make
The truck resounded quietly in the background as Julianna parked it near a bloodied curb, the faint sound of wind whistling through the barren streets.
"Let's check that grocery store," Natalie said, pointing toward a weathered building with a peeling red-and-white sign that read;
'Graham's Grocers.'
"Think there's anything left?" Javi asked, hopping down from the truck bed.
Julianna shrugged as she stepped out, slinging her bag over her shoulder. "I doubt it, but we should still check."
Three days. That's how long it had been since they'd had more than a few scraps of food. Her stomach growled faintly, an aching protest that echoed through her like the creak of an empty house. Her limbs were leaden, each step dragging as though she waded through a thick, viscous swamp that clung to her with cruel insistence.
Every motion felt like a battle against her own failing body, as though it demanded a ransom of strength she no longer possessed. Hunger gnawed at her edges, carving her down to something smaller, something raw, while exhaustion coiled tightly around her bones, whispering of surrender with every faltering breath.
The three of them approached the store cautiously, Julianna leading the way with Natalie close behind, crossbow ready. The glass doors hung crookedly on their battered hinges, their fractured surfaces catching the weak light like splintered veins frozen in time.
Julianna's ears strained for every faint sound. The whistle of the wind was almost too loud, masking whatever might be lurking nearby. She glanced over her shoulder at Javi, who was dragging his feet just enough to make her nervous.
A damp, cloying stench seeped through the broken threshold, an acrid blend of damp earth, stagnant air, and something faintly rancid, like decay just beginning to fester. Inside, the buzzing hum of lights had died long ago, leaving the store wrapped in a muted, murky haze.
They slipped inside quietly, the faint crunch of glass underfoot the only sound. The aisles stretched out before them, their shelves mostly bare. Old food wrappers and discarded items littered the floor, evidence of countless looters who had been there before them.
"Guess we're late to the party," Natalie muttered, glancing around with a faint grimace.
Julianna exhaled sharply through her nose. "Let's split up. There might still be something they missed."
"Should we really—?" Javi started, but Natalie cut him off with a reassuring pat on the shoulder.
"We'll stay close enough to hear each other. Don't worry."
Javi didn't look entirely convinced, but he nodded, trailing off toward the far aisle while Julianna took the middle one and Natalie wandered to the left.
Julianna scanned the shelves as she moved, her machete still in her hand. Most of the shelves were empty, save for a few torn bags of rice that had spilled across the metal racks. Her features scrunched in disappointment, but she kept looking, pushing aside bits of debris and long-expired packets of fruit.
"Anything?" Natalie called out from a few feet away.
"Not yet," Julianna replied, her voice echoing slightly in the vacant space.
She turned a corner, stepping over a tipped-over display rack, and her foot brushed something metal. Glancing down, she saw an empty soda can rolling across the floor. She sighed, bending down to pick it up, only to hear Javi's excited voice from the back of the store.
"Guys! I found something!"
Julianna and Natalie immediately hurried toward the sound, their footsteps quick but careful. They found Javi crouched in one of the back aisles, holding up a dusty can triumphantly. Behind him, on a low shelf, were a few more cans, maybe four or five in total.
"Holy shit," Natalie said, reaching down to grab one. She turned it over in her hand, inspecting the label. "Vegetable stew. It's not ideal, but it's something."
Javi grinned, his face lighting up in a way that made him look younger than he was. "Told you I'd be helpful."
Julianna knelt beside him, grabbing the remaining cans and stuffing them into her backpack. "Yeah, you were."
As they turned to leave, Natalie paused, eyeing a box on a nearby shelf. It was crumpled and dusty, but the label was still visible: 'Cherry Lemon Cola Sparkling Water.'
She raised an eyebrow, holding it up for the others to see. "What do you think? Save it for a special occasion?"
Julianna laughed softly. "If we're desperate enough, it'll stop being 'special' real quick."
Javi wrinkled his nose. "That sounds disgusting."
Natalie smirked. "I'm taking it anyway. You never know."
She stuffed the box under her arm, and the three of them made their way back to the truck, moving carefully and checking their surroundings every few steps. Once they were safely inside the vehicle, Julianna turned the key in the ignition, the engine sputtering to life.
As they pulled away from the empty grocery store, Javi leaned back in the truck bed, clutching one of the cans like it was a treasure. Natalie rested her arm on the windowsill, her crossbow in her lap, while Julianna focused on the road ahead.
It wasn't much, a few cans of food, a box of bad tasting sparkling water, but it was enough to keep them going.
The truck rumbled to a halt at the edge of a wide, overgrown field, its headlights cutting through the darkness before Julianna switched them off, leaving only the pale light of the moon. The hum of the engine faded, and everything was silent except for the soft rustling of grass in the breeze.
Javi was sprawled out in the backseat, curled up against his large jacket, his slow, steady breaths being the only sign he was still alive. Julianna glanced back to make sure he was comfortable, her lips twitching in a smile at how peaceful he looked.
Natalie hopped out of the passenger seat, stretching her arms above her head as she leaned against the side of the truck. "Well," she said, her voice low to avoid waking Javi, "this looks as good a place as any to stop."
Julianna nodded, stepping out as well and letting the cool night air brush against her skin. She tugged her sleeves down over her hands, feeling the faint nip of the breeze. Her eyes caught the expanse of the field ahead, wild and untamed, its long grasses waving softly in response to the wind.
Natalie walked around to the hood of the truck, giving it a pat before climbing on top and settling in. She sat with her legs crossed, her elbows resting on her knees as she tilted her head back to look at the empty sky. "C'mon," she said, glancing at Julianna. "Might as well make use of the hood while it's warm."
Julianna hesitated for a moment before joining her, climbing up more carefully and sitting with her knees against her chest, her back almost resting against the windshield. The metal beneath her was warm from the engine, a small comfort in the chill of the night.
After a beat, Natalie reached into her battered bag and pulled out the box of Cherry Lemon Cola Sparkling Water they'd found earlier. She held it up like it was some sort of prize. "I think it's time to crack these open,"
Julianna raised an eyebrow. "You really want to drink that?"
"It's the only thing we've got that isn't vegetable stew. And who knows? Maybe it's better than it sounds."
Julianna gave her a skeptical look but took one of the cans Natalie offered. The two of them popped them open at the same time, the soft fizz cutting through the quiet.
Natalie took the first sip, her face immediately scrunching up in disgust. "Oh my god. That's—" She coughed, setting the can down for a moment. "That's worse than I thought."
Julianna hesitated, then took a sip of her own. The sharp, almost medicinal taste hit her tongue, followed by a nauseating sweetness that somehow managed to be both too much and not enough. She grimaced, wincing as she swallowed. "It tastes like... like it wants to be soda but is failing exponentially."
Natalie laughed, a genuine, full laugh that broke the distress of the day. "Right? Like it has ambitions but no idea how to pull them off."
Julianna smiled despite herself, taking another sip and wincing again. "Why are we even drinking this?"
"Because we're stubborn idiots who don't want to waste it," Natalie replied, raising her can in a mock toast.
Natalie clinked her can against Julianna's, her fingers brushing lightly against hers in the process. The contact was brief, but it sent a small, unexplainable warmth through Julianna's chest. She looked away quickly, focusing on the darkness above them.
"Fair point," Julianna said, taking another sip, letting the bitter, taste linger on her tongue, her face twisting in distaste. "I feel like this is punishing me for something. Like karma, in a can."
Natalie chuckled, lifting her own can to read the label. "I think it's punishing everyone. Whoever made this should be locked up."
Julianna turned her head, amused by the serious tone in Natalie's voice. "You're really passionate about this."
"I've had bad food before. Well, we've all had bad food at some point in our lives," Natalie said, waving the can slightly. "But this? This is its own special brand of awful. It's like..." She paused, her brow furrowing as she tried to find the right words. "It's like someone took a soda, filtered it through dirt, added a splash of cough syrup, and said, 'Yeah, this is fine.'"
Julianna laughed softly, the sound surprising even herself. It wasn't often she felt light enough to laugh anymore. "That was very descriptive,"
"Yeah, well, someone's gotta point out the crimes against humanity." Natalie smirked, then took another sip, wincing again. "Stubborn and desperate," She repeated, leaning back on her hands and looking up. "That should be our team motto."
Julianna shook her head with a small smile. "I don't think Javi would appreciate that."
Natalie snorted. "You're probably right. He'd come up with something overly dramatic, like, 'United against the darkness' or whatever."
Julianna laughed again, quieter this time, but genuine. "He's trying, though. He's good. Better than me, most of the time."
For a while, they sat there in comfortable silence, sipping the awful drink and watching the rustle of the trees in the night.
After a moment, Natalie glanced at Julianna, her expression softening. "I hope you know that you're not half bad."
Julianna blinked, caught off guard. "What?"
Natalie shrugged, her gaze drifting back up to the stars. "I mean, you're quiet and awkward as hell, but you've got guts. Like, when shit goes down, you don't lose it, not in the way you act, anyway. Even when everything's falling apart, you're the one running toward the problem, trying to help someone, instead of freaking out and bolting. Not saying that's smart or anything, it's probably not, but you never complained about it. About putting yourself in danger."
Julianna wasn't sure how to respond to that. Words sat heavy in her throat, tangled and unsure, like they'd forgotten how to form in the wake of something so impossible to understand. No one had ever really paid her that kind of attention, let alone before the world practically cracked open and swallowed everyone whole. But somehow, Natalie Scatorccio, of all people, had noticed her.
Natalie, with her sharp tongue and sharper edges, the girl who had always been a rumor more than a reality. The one who existed in half-heard whispers behind locker doors and cigarette smoke drifting through parking lots. The one Julianna never would've spoken to, let alone known, if the apocalypse hadn't ripped every social script to shreds.
Yet here they were. Natalie didn't feel careless in this moment, not in the way Julianna had been told or expected. Not in the way she carried herself like nothing could touch her, like she'd burn anyone who got too close. Instead, there was a precision to her words, an intensity that wrapped tight around Julianna, leaving her wondering how Natalie had seen so much of her in such little time.
Natalie, the girl she'd barely known before the outbreak but who'd somehow carved herself into her life in just three weeks.
The sparkling water was warm now, the bubbles fizzing against her tongue as she took another sip to steady herself, to keep her face turned down, away from Natalie's gaze. She could feel it anyway, burning into her, prying her open, searching for something Julianna wasn't sure she knew how to give. The faint flush climbing her neck betrayed her, rising like heat in a fever. Her pulse felt loud in her ears, each beat thudding against the quiet, her skin prickling under the strange intimacy of it all.
The sky above them was dark and endless, stars dimmed by the ruin of the world, but Julianna could still feel the pull of Natalie beside her, magnetic and impossible to ignore. Like the apocalypse had stripped everything else away, leaving only this—whatever this was, spiky and strange and inescapable.
"You're not so bad yourself," she said finally, her voice soft. "I mean, you've been through a lot, more than me, and you're still here. That's impressive."
Natalie glanced at her, her expression softening. "You give yourself too much crap too, you know that? You've been through just as much as the rest of us, and you're still here."
Julianna looked down at the can in her hands, her fingers tightening around the cold metal. "You make it sound so easy," she said quietly.
"It's not," Natalie admitted, her voice softer now. "But you don't have to do it alone. You've got me. And Javi. And the others, when we find them. We can be here for each other now, whether you like it or not."
Julianna's throat tightened, a lump forming that she struggled to swallow past, before the corners of her lips lifted into a smile.
Natalie grinned, leaning back again and taking another sip of the terrible drink. She winced but managed to keep it down this time. "You know, the worst part is, I think it's growing on me."
Julianna raised an eyebrow. "Are you serious?"
Natalie shrugged, a teasing glint in her eyes. "What can I say? I'm adaptable."
Julianna rolled her eyes, but the faint smile on her lips betrayed her amusement. "If you start liking this, I'm never letting you pick food again."
"Fair enough." Natalie held up her can in mock defeat, then took another sip, grimacing all the while.
The two of them sat in companionable silence for a while, the awful drink slowly disappearing as the night stretched on. Julianna found herself relaxing more than she had in days, the quiet presence beside her somehow reassuring.
As the wind rustled through the field and the stars continued to twinkle overhead, Julianna glanced at Natalie out of the corner of her eye. She wasn't sure what this was, this weird, tentative connection she felt, but she knew that it made her feel not quite so alone anymore.