Tuesday: My best friend's parents both died last night of this new virus. She's devestated. She's staying with me until my mom comes home from the hospital. I'm starting to think she might not come back at all. I wish my dad was here... Wednesday; Everybody's parents are dying! This is horrible. The world's going to hell; this is happening all over the planet! What's going to happen to us kids if all the adults die??
Thurday: My mom's not doing so good. I don't know what I'll do if she dies. It doesn't look good, even the doctors are all dying off. Barges go out into the Gulf every night, setting the bodies on fire, returning in early morning to pick up the next grizzly load. When will this end?! Friday; I just want to scream or cry or both, but I can't do either one. My mom died this morning; it doesn't seem like there are any adults left. When I left my mom's hospital room, it was like they had all vanished; I mean, even the couple that were left. I dunno if they... evacuated or died or what, but I'm scared and I'm not staying here. I know exactly where I'm going.
Rianna closed her journal loudly, startling her best friend, Joyce, who had been asleep on the couch. "Let's go," she said, standing. Joyce rubbed her eyes sleepily.
"Where are we going?" she asked.
"To the mall.
"Are you kidding?? How can you even think of shopping at a time like this?! Is there no end to your-"
"Listen to me!!" Rianna interrupted. "Think about it. All the adults are gone - we're on our own now. If we hide out at the mall, we'll have everything we need: food, clothes, beds..."
"But we have that here," Joyce protested.
"It won't last. Just trust me. Get your backpack and starting stuffing it with anything valuable."
"Now? We're doing this now?"
"Yes! Now let's get going!" Rianna ran her fingers through her short brown hair and got her own backpack, shoving into it two changes of clothes, an extra pair of shoes, and her sister's graduation tassel. She wondered as she did so, where her sister was, and if she was okay. She shook her head - no time for sentiment. She grabbed a folder of her best artwork, and paused in the doorway to look around her room. Posters and framed drawings plastered the walls; her books, her dolls, her wardrobe, her precious computer - they all had to be left behind. As Rianna and Joyce left the house, Riana locked the door, knowing in her heart that it would do no good. She felt tears sting her eyes as she and Joyce hopped on their blades and started off in the direction of the Countryside Mall. She would never see her house again.
Hours later, exhausted and sunburned, Riana and Joyce arrived at the mall. Riana led the way around to the main entrance, but when she reached to open the door, found it locked securely. She tried the other doors, finding them also locked.
"Okay, let's split up. You go around that way, and I'll go around this way. We'll meet back here in a few minutes," Riana instructed. Joyce nodded, and they split.
"I don't believe this!" Joyce exclaimed, kicking a locked door. It was the last bank of doors before the main entrance. Pushing away from the door, Joyce headed back to the main entrance, unaware that she was being watched.
"Somebody out there does not want me to be happy," Riana sighed, pressing her forhead against the cool glass of a main entrance door. The sun pounded on her neck and shoulders, painfully reminding her of her sunburn.
"Anything?" Riana looked up to see Joyce, and shook her head no.
"Not a thing," she answered. Then she got an idea. "Oh well, desperate times..." She smashed her rollerblade through the glass, making a hole large enough to duck through.
"What are you doing?!" Joyce cried, aghast.
"Just get in here," Riana said. Joyce shrugged and followed. They started through the mall, looking for a shop that would suit their needs.
"Just think," Joyce said, pressing her nose to the window, "we can have anything we want."
"How can you think of shopping at a time like this?" Riana mocked. "Come on. We've got a lot to do."
"Like what?" Joyce followed her.
"First, we're going to JC Penny's."
"What for?"
"To set up a place to stay in the furniture department. There's couches, chairs, and those little half-beds, and we can pretty much do whatever we want. Then we're going to go through the entire mall and get all the food, clothes, and anything of value that we can find. We'll have to clean out an entire shop to use as a storeroom. You'll be in charge of cleaning out the shop, and I'll be in charge of looking for food. Got it?"
"Yeah, okay, I guess. You've put some thought into this," Joyce said as she and Riana rolled into the JC Penny furniture department.
"Yes, I have," Riana said.
"It's dark in here. I can barely see anything," Joyce complained.
"Stay here. I'll go see about getting the power on," Riana said, dumping her bag and skating off.
Joyce set her bag down and slowly sat on one of the couches, looking around nervously. It was so dark and quiet here. She could almost imagine that she heard footsteps... someone breathing... someone whispering... someone after her.
"Hey!" Joyce spun around in her seat so fast that she fell off the couch completely hit the floor hard. From out of the darkness of the back recesses of the store, a figure appeared. "What the hell are you doing in my mall?" Joyce was speechless.
Joyce struggled to her feet as the lights came on, revealing two boys who appeared to be about her age, both dressed as security guards.
"I'm... I'm sorry. We didn't know..." she stammered.
"We?" the taller of the two asked.
"Riana and I - we came here to live. We both lost our parents."
"Where have you been? Everyone's lost their parents. That's not news to me, and it's no reason for me to let you stay here. Get out." He took a step forward, and Joyce saw a gun in his belt, which he revealed pointedly.
"What's going on here?" Riana asked as she returned, moving to stand between Joyce and the two boys. She crossed her arms and stared at them, expectantly waiting for an answer.
"We're running you out. This is our mall. There's no place for you," the taller one said.
"Seems to me like there's plenty of room," Riana shot back.
"This is a private tribe - no girls allowed."
"Tribe?" she echoed.
"Where have you two been? Everyone's splitting up into tribes. It's safer that way."
"Well, if it's safer to be in a tribe, wouldn't it be safer still to be in a larger tribe?" For the first time, the boy seemed uncertain. He glanced back at his companion, who remained silent and unmoving.
"What have you got to trade?" he asked after recieving no signals from his friend.
"I can cook - I know how to work those machines in the food court. You can have hot meals every day for as long as the food lasts," Riana said.
"That's not enough. We need something that we can trade with the other tribes."
"You've got a whole mall full of stuff to trade!" Riana exclaimed aggrivated. "What more could you possibly need?" They stared each other down for a long moment, then a swift motion of his hand, to extend in friendship.
"My name's Rio. This guy back here is Khale."
"My name's Riana and this is Joyce," Riana answered, taking his hand and shaking it.
"Where are you two from?"
"Clearwater."
"You've come a long way. Why didn't you go to Cleawater Mall?" Rio asked.
"Where have you been?" Riana taunted. "That place was torn down months ago."
"Toche."
"So what happens now?" Joyce asked tentatively.
"Now, we go back upstairs and you girls stay downstairs until we finish with what we're doing," Rio said.
"Wait a minute. We're not going to be stuck down here like... unwanted guests at a... party for male chauvenist pigs," Joyce said angrily.
"And why should we let you come upstairs?"
"The foot court's upstairs," Riana said pointedly. "If you want to eat, you've got to trade something, too. We want free roam of this entire mall, no questions asked."
"On one condition: you sleep downstairs."
"You've got it."
Suddenly, there was a crash upstairs. Rio and Khale looked up as one and drew their handguns. "Stay here," Rio cautioned, heading for the stairs.
"Like hell I'm gonna stay here," Riana muttered, following them.
"Riana, where are you going?" Joyce asked.
"I'll be right back. Just stay put." Riana skated along after the boys, trying to be as quiet as possible. She wasn't paying attention to her distance from them, and when they stopped, she ran into them. Rio flipped.
"What are you doing here?! I told you to stay downstairs!" he hissed.
"Like I'm gonna listen to you," Riana shot back.
"It could be dangerous," Rio whispered. At the same moment, they heard a baby cry and a female voice shushing it.
"Oh yeah, real dangerous," Riana said.
"Rio? Khale? Anybody here?" a guy's voice called. Both boys holstered their firearms.
"You got lucky... this time," Rio said. He rounded a corner, arms extended. "Denver! We were getting worried," he said. Riana moved to where she could see what was happening. She saw Rio shaking hands with yet another boy; Denver, she assumed. A girl holding a baby of about a year old hung back behind him.
"Look what I found," Denver said, motioning to his tagalongs.
"Serena! I thought you'd moved back up North," Rio said. Serena shook her head no.
"She's a little bit traumatized. The tribes are already getting reputations of violence - if you see someone on a moped, run."
"Mopeds? They're using mopeds?" Khale asked, speaking for the first time since Riana and Joyce had arrived.
"The Peds are. There's six tribes within a two mile radius of here, and they're all fighting," Denver said.
"Well, we're not getting involved in anything. The Bums don't need to fight," Khale said.
"The Bums? Please tell me that's not what you call yourselves," Riana laughed. "You've got an entire mall to yourselves, with everything you could ever dream of and then some, and you cann yourselves Bums? I've heard of modesty, but this just takes the cake."
"Ladies and gentlemen, may I introduce you to Riana," Rio said on a sigh. "Her and her friend snuck in here a little while ago."
"Nice to meet you," Riana said. "Now about your tribe's name. You should think of something more snazzy. I mean, you practically live in a palace. Shouldn't your name reflect that?"
"What would you suggest?" Khale asked sarcastically, crossing his arms. Riana sized him up, taking into mind the way they all seemed to be dressed like Mall Security.
"How about... the Palace Guards?" Khale and the others exchanged glances, and Denver nodded thoughtfully.
"I like it," he said. The others nodded, too.
"Alright then. Palace Guards it is," Rio said.
Later that night, Joyce found Riana, sitting in front of a mirror, with a bunch of paints sitting on the dresser top.
"What are you doing?" Joyce asked.
"I found these finger paints, and I wanted to just, you know, play around with them a little bit," Riana explained, blushing slightly as she dipped a small paintbrush into a jar of white paint.
"What for?" Joyce asked.
"I dunno... We're a tribe, right?"
"Correction: they're a tribe. We have yet to be voted in."
"Whatever," Riana said, waving dismissively. "That's not the point." She took the brush and made a diagonal white streak across her left cheek.
"You're strange, Riana," Joyce muttered, wandering off. She headed for the escalators, and once on the second floor, headed in the direction of her favorite store, Inti. In cruising around, she found an awesome black pleather bindi. She pulled it off the rack and held it up.
"That would look beautiful on you." Joyce whirled to see someone standing behind her.
"Denver! You scared me," Joyce said.
"I didn't mean to. And please, call me Apollyon."
"But your name is-"
"Never mind what my name is or was. 'Denver' was what my parents called me; but now that all the adults are gone, we can call ourselves whatever we want to," he explained. "If you could have any name - any name at all - what would you pick?" Joyce thought for a moment.
"There's this Japanese super model whose name is Nagisha, and I always thought that that was the coolest names ever. I thought that if I had a name like that, people would respect me," she said.
"So why don't you take it?" Apollyon asked. Joyce shrugged.
"I don't know... it seems kinda silly, don't you think?"
"No," he said seriously. "I say if you like that name, then by all means, make it yours." Joyce smiled.
"Well, okay then." She struck a dramatic pose. "From now on I no longer respond to the name 'Joyce'. I only respond to... Nagisha." Apollyon chuckled.
"Great. Now go try on that bindi."
"TA-DA!!" Riana looked up to see Joyce standing over her, looking very proud of herself, dressed in an outfit made entirely of black pleather.
"Joyce, what on earth are you wearing?" Riana laughed. Joyce sombered.
"Not anything nearly as ridiculous as what's all over your face," she said. "And my name's not Joyce, it's... Nagisha."
"Nagisha? So, what, you're a supermodel now?"
"Apollyon says I can be whatever I want to be," Nagisha said.
"Who's Apollyon?"
"Denver. He's changed his name to Apollyon, and he encouraged me to change mine, too."
"Ah, so that's what did it. Well, maybe I'll just have to have a talk with old Apolly," Riana said, putting the caps on her paints and sitting back. "Well, what do you think?" Three broad white streaks down her cheek, shadowed by thin magenta stripes, and a pale blue circle in the center of her forhead. "I still say you're strange." "Whatever... Nagisha."
"What's for breakfast?" Rio yawned as he came into the food court the next morning, stretching.
"Um, I don't know. Riana's still coming," Nagisha said, looking back in the direction of JC Penny. As if on cue, Riana came around the corner. Nagisha clapped a hand to her forhead and heaved an embarrased sigh.
"What did you do to your face?!" Rio cackled.
"You wanna eat? Shut up," Riana threatened, ignoring the way he stared at the paints that she had reapplied to her face. She brushed past Rio and Nagisha as Apollyon, Khale, and Serena tumbled in, Serena supporting her baby, Tia, on her hip.
"Hey, you're acting kinda cheeky today," Rio taunted. "You've got something on your face." He laughed at some invisible humor, and kept going. "Looked in a mirror lately? Does your face hurt? It's killing me! Hey, I think you might have lead poisoning-"
"That's enough, Rio. Let it die," Nagisha said sharply.
"Did you hear that?" Riana asked, looking around.
"What?" Rio said, standing.
"Sounds like voices. Someone's coming," Serena said.
"Boy, for dressing up like security guards, the Palace Guards sure aren't too guardy," Riana muttered.
"Go stick your head in a paint can. Remember you haven't been voted in yet," Rio answered, drawing his gun and moving to intercept the univited guests. "Hold it right there," he called, aiming at a half-dozen kids who had snuck into the mall and were now clinging to each other in fear. The oldest couldn't have been more than seven years old.
"We don't want trouble," one of them said in a tiny, scared voice. Riana pushed Rio out of the way and stood between him and the gun, and the kids.
"Why does she always do that?" Nagisha asked. Khale shrugged.
"What tribe are you guys with?" Riana asked, in the most friendly voice she could muster.
"No tribe. We're just trying to hide from the Stingers. Them and the Peds are out to get all the little kids," another spoke up. "We thought we might find something to eat here."
"Of course. Come on in, there's plenty of food for everyone," Riana said, smiling and motioning them into the food court.
"What do you think you're doing?" Rio demanded, grabbing Riana by the arm. "I'm the leader of this tribe, and I don't appreciate executive decisions made by people who aren't even members of my tribe!"
"They were hungry. Would you like it if you were starving and you had to wait for a bunch of crazy older kids to pull themselves together enough to vote on whether or not you were allowed to eat? These kids are in need, and if I can help them, then I will. There's plenty of room here, and there's plenty of food. There's no reason why we can't share our wealth with those who would otherwise die."
"Passion's a powerful tool," Apollyon said.
"Excuse me?" Riana asked.
"You're very passionate about your beliefs in this instance. Passion leads to power. You might have a rival for your leadership, Rio." Rio crossed his arms and glared. Riana waved dismissively and went to cook breakfast for the Palace Guards and the somewhat-unwanted guests.
"This is it, people - the moment we've all been waiting for. Do our new guests stay as members of our tribe?" Rio started. "First order of business, the official vote for the tribe name of the Palace Guards. Show of hands?" All the tribe members raised their hands. "OK, Palace Guards it is. Next order of business, the official vote for new members. We've got a bunch. Everyone who says Riana, J- uh, Nagisha, Brian, Katie, Emma, Noah, Isaac, and Sarah should all be voted in as permanent members?" Again, everyone raised their hands. "Alright then. Welcome to the Palace Guards." Rio guestured to Khale, who stood as he sat.
"Next order of business, food," Khale said.
"But we've got plenty of food here," Nagisha said.
"No, he's right. We can't live for the rest of our lives on burgers and fries, and they won't last that long, anyway. Food only keeps for a little while. What we need is canned goods; fresh fruits and veggitables, too, if they can be had," Riana said.
"That's right. There's an Albertson's right across the street from the other side of the mall; all we have to do is walk in, take what we need, and walk out," Khale said. Riana stood.
"But it won't be so easy. If what the kids say is true, then the tribes are getting violent. It'll probably be pretty brutal out there," she said. Rio rolled his eyes in annoyance.
"Look at this: five minutes in the tribe and she's already playing leader," he muttered. Apollyon chuckled.
"What did I tell you?" he asked. "Why don't you let her speak her mind, and then you can decide whether or not it's a good idea. That way, neither one of you will lose face."
"Alright. Go ahead, Riana," Rio said.
"I think we should organize a collection party. Maybe three or four of us, at least two of us armed. If we do it that way, then we'll have protection, and the more people there are, the more food we can bring back. Not to mention the fact that there's safety in numbers," Riana said. She turned to Rio, and watched him as he mulled it over in his mind.
"Okay," he said finally. "Apollyon, Khale, Noah, and I will go across the street and get food. Why don't you make up a list of the things we'll need?"
Riana glared at the tone of his voice.
"This is serious, Rio, we need to do this."
"You're telling me to be serious?" Rio asked, sounding shocked. "Why don't you go back to the circus?"
"Leave her alone," Brian said. "She only wants to help; she doesn't need you making fun of her."
"How old are you, Brian?" Rio asked.
"I'm seven and a half," Brian answered.
"Well, when you're older than me, you can make decisions. But until then, let the big kids make all the choices. Okay?" Brian pouted and looked away. "Decision made: Apollyon, Khale, Noah, let's go." Rio stood.
"Be sure to get some milk; the kids need it," Riana said as the boys left. Rio waved over his shoulder.
Outside, things were not pretty. From the top of the sky to the horizon, it was a wonderful, beautiful, sunshiney day; a typical day in Florida, complete with storm clouds in the distance. But once the eyes moved to the world itself, they saw destruction. There was garbage everywhere. Rio found it hard to believe that the city could have gotten so dirty so fast. It had only been a couple of weeks since the adults had all died; how had things gotten so bad?
"Hear that?" Noah asked, cupping his hand behind his ear.
"Sounds like a moped. We've gotta get moving," Apollyon said.
"Wait. We can hide in one of these cars until they go by, but there's nowhere to hide once we get out in the street," Rio said. They all agreed, and jumped into an abandoned car as the sounds of moped moters got closer. Just as the Peds were about to pass, one of the engines sputtered and died out.
"Aw man, I'm outta gas," a kid moaned.
"You got your kit? There's a whole lot full of cars right here. Get some gas. We'll wait for you," another said.
"Don't make a sound," Rio whispered, listenening as the kid got closer. Sure enough, he came to the car that they were in.
Noah was practically holding his breath as the kid came over. He was sure that he was going to see them, or at least hear the pounding of his heart. He looked around, feeling claustrophobic, and spotted something that totally made his day: Keys.
"Rio," he said, his voice barely a whisper, holding up the keys.
"You're incredible," Rio answered, taking them and quickly selecting the one that would start the car. "You guys stay down. I'm going to get us out of here." He carefully slid into the front seat, grateful for the tinted windows. With the sun glaring down so harshly, the kid was unable to see in. Rio put the key in the ignition, and started the car.
"Hey! Hey you! Stop!" the Peds shouted as Rio put the pedal to the metal and peeled out of the parking lot. Gunshots sounded, and a couple bit into the side and back of the car. In the backseat, Khale, Apollyon, and Noah hung on for dear life.
"Rio! Do you know how to drive?!" Khale exclaimed.
"No," Rio answered, "but I'm learning!"
"Just get us across the street in one piece, and I won't kill you," Apollyon said.
"No problem," Rio said, aiming the car for the road and blasting out of the parking lot. Seconds later, the car came to a screeching halt, and everyone jumped out, racing into the supermarket.
"That was fun," Noah said.
"Yeah, a real party," Rio answered, grabbing a hand basket from the stack. "Let's just get this over with. Everyone grab a basket."
"There's not a whole lot to be had here," Khale pointed out.
"Really," Apollyon added, looking around. The entire store had been ransacked. Food wrappers, empty bottles, cartons, and smashed food was everywhere.
"Let's get to work. Split up, take anything that's edible," Rio said. The guys spent the better part of the next few hours picking through the mess of the supermarket, and were heartily rewarded. They each walked out with two baskets of food.
"Ready for another death run?" Khale joked as they loaded into the car.
"Any time," Rio laughed. "Let's go." He started the car and, being more careful this time, eased out onto the road and across the street into the mall parking lot.
"Uh-oh, Rio, we've got company," Khale said, pulling out his handgun.
"Peds?"
"And a couple others. Just keep going, I'll try to hold them off." Khale rolled down his window as Rio picked up speed. He leaned out and fired a couple of warning shots at the persuing tribes, who returned fire.
"I'm gonna pull right up to the door, and we're all gonna jump out and run inside. Khale and I will keep them from getting inside - just get everyone together in the food court," Rio said. He swung the car around and stopped it, at the same moment throwing his door open and grabbing his baskets. He heard gunshots and felt a searing pain; he dropped his baskets and fell. He felt someone's arm around him, and then he was on his feet and moving toward the door. He lost consciousness as the mall door closed behind him.
Rio awoke sometime later to see the faces of his entire tribe gathered around him. He was lying in his bed, in the furniture department of Sears. "What happened?" he moaned, trying to sit up. Khale pushed him back down. "Don't try to move," he said, "You've been shot."
"You're telling me this?" Rio joked.
"The bullet went clean through your shoulder. We've stopped the bleeding, though, you're going to be alright," Apollyon added.
"Thanks, Appy, I always knew I could count on you," Rio said.
"It wasn't me, Rio. It was Riana."
"Don't take it personally. They wouldn't let me let you just die," Riana said, smiling slightly.
"Thanks," Rio said uncertainly. He still wasn't sure whether or not to trust her. He had no problem trusting any of the others, but her... There was something about her. She was a threat to his authority as tribe leader. Then, as if to prove his thoughts, she stood.
"Alright, guys, that's enough gawking for one night. Rio needs his sleep. Off to bed - boys, you go with Apollyon and Khale. Girls, you go with Nagisha," Riana said.
"What about you?" Rio asked.
"I've got some stuff to take care of, back at the food court. I'll be around to check up on you every now and then. Just try to get some sleep," she said. Without a single comment or complaint, the tribe wandered off to their respective mall-ends. Rio was still wondering how she made them do that, when he drifted off to sleep.
Rio awoke the next day to voices in the mall. He forced himself out of bed and wandered over to the doorway; there was a crowd of people standing around the fountain, and Riana was standing on the wall around the fountain. The crowd were all talking at once, and she was trying to quiet them.
"Please, please! You'll all get your turns! These are the things that we need right now - we need fresh fruits and vegitables, and if possible, meat," Riana said.
"I don't know about the first two, but meat we can definetly get," someone answered.
"How much and how soon?" Riana asked.
"As much as you need, and within a week," the boy answered. "We've got plenty of stock to pick from."
"What tribe are you from again?"
"Tribe Zoo, from Busch Gardens."
"You came all the way over here from Tampa?" Riana asked, incredulous. "That must have taken forever."
"We've got our own gas station at the Gardens, and plenty of vehicles. We caught wind of the meeting from various sources, and decided to offer our services."
"And what may we call you?"
"My name is Tygir," he said.
"Well, thank you, Tygir. We appreciate all the help we can get, and we have plenty to trade for the meat. What is it you need?" Riana asked.
"Clothes. There's not much to be had over there. The Stingers have pretty much come through and cleaned everything out. The only reason we're staying over there and not coming over this way, is because of the animals. They'd die without us, and we'd die without them," Tygir explained.
"How many people do you have?"
"All of the teens that were working at the zoo before the virus - that's about thirty of us right now."
"Thirty?" Riana echoed, surprised. She recovered quickly. "Well, you can take as much clothing as you need, provided that we can have as much meat as we need."
"Done," Tygir said with a nod. They shook on it. "I'll leave three of my people here to gather the clothes we'll need, and the rest of us will go back to the zoo to get the meat. How much will you be wanting?"
"Well, we've got the freezer... Why don't you come back with me and have a look around the freezer - you can determine how much meat we can fit in there," Riana said, jumping down off the fountain's wall and leading the way to the food court. Rio tagged along, unnoticed. Once inside the freezer, Tygir paced around, sizing up the space, then returned to Riana.
"You've got room for a lot of meat here," he said, sounding impressed.
"Good, I'm sure you can deliver?"
"Yes, I can, but I'm going to need time."
"How much time?"
"A week, at the least. I'll leave three of my people here as collateral, as I said earlier. Let them pick out any clothes they want." "Not a problem. See you in a week," Riana said, leading him out of the freezer and to the exit.
"Glad to see you can handle things so well on your own," Rio said. "Rio, you scared me half to death," Riana exclaimed. "How long were you standing there?"
"Long enough to know that a meeting was organized, not only without my knowledge or my permission, but also that tribes from other cities were invited," Rio said, trying to keep his temper in check.
"If you heard him say that he was from another city, then I'm sure you heard the part where he said he heard about it through his 'sources'. As in, he wasn't invited directly."
"Then why was he allowed inside?"
"Because, if we're going to advance society at all, we've got to expand our horizons. We can't just trade within the city. We have to go further."
"How much further?"
"As far as it takes."
"I'm going out," Rio announced one day.
"You can't go out, don't be stupid," Riana said. "The Peds will run you down and kill you before you get halfway across the parking lot."
"Who said anything about the Peds? And besides, if they really wanted to kill us, wouldn't they just bust in and kill us?"
"Point taken. Still, it's too dangerous. Stay inside; just for a few days more. You're still healing from your bullet." Rio walked straight up to Riana and leaned down in her face.
"Listen to me, little girl," he said threateningly, "I'm the leader. Not you, me. I am the leader of this tribe, and therefore, I can do whatever I want. Do you understand?" Riana didn't blink.
"You won't be the leader if you get killed," she said reasonably. "And you won't be the leader if you continue to have that attitude."
"What are you going to do about it?" Rio hissed.
"Ree-ree!" Riana looked up to see three-year-old Emma running toward her with arms outstretched. Riana smiled and scooped the little girl up, supporting her on her hip.
"I'm not going to do anything about it, Rio," Riana said, brushing past him. Noah and Brian came up to her.
"Riana, can we go play video games?" Noah asked.
"Have you finished the chores I told you to do?"
"No," Brian said.
"Yes," Noah added, elbowing his companion.
"What have I told you two about lying? I want you to go back there and finish cleaning. When you're done for real, come and get me. I'll take a look at it, and if I think it's clean enough, you can go play. Ok?"
"Ok," both boys sighed, then they ran off to finish their chores.
"I've had about enough of this," Rio said, putting his hand on Riana's shoulder and turning her so he could stare her in the face. "What are you going to do? Overthrow me as leader? Why do the kids always come to you? It's always 'Riana' this and 'Riana' that. They never do what I tell them to do, and they never ask me if they can do anything - they just do it."
"We've all lost our parents, Rio. The little ones don't need a dictator, they need a mother," Riana said.
"Oh, so now instead of just leader, you're going to be leader-mother to the whole tribe?"
"Why are you so angry at me? Did I ask for them to respect me more than you? What could have possibly happened to you that hasn't happened to any of us that could cause you to be so hostile toward me?"
"Alright, fine, have it your way. We'll hold another meeting, and let the tribe decide who the true leader is - you or me."
"That's stupid! I won't do that!"
"Why? Because you know I'll beat you?" Riana put Emma down.
"Go find your sister, sweetie," she told the toddler, then turned to Rio. "I won't do that because I respect you too much," she said with conviction. Rio seemed taken aback.
"You respect me?" he echoed.
"Yes, I do. And the others do, too. They just need a little more of a woman's touch right now. Your style is 'kick the door down and run in with guns blazing.' My style is 'so what you're told and you'll be rewarded.' Do you see the difference?"
"Yeah, gee, I guess I was wrong my whole life, and it took your inspiring speech to make me see it. You've really moved me. I think we've gotta hug," Rio said sarcastically.
"Never mind," Riana muttered, turning and heading for the "girls'" end of the mall. Rio grabbed her hand.
"Riana, wait. I'm sorry, that was totally uncalled for. You're right - it's not your fault that the kids respect you. Maybe I am a bit too hard on them sometimes. I just wish things could be back to the way they were, before the virus."
"You know that's never going to happen. No matter how much we want it to, there's no way that could ever happen," Riana said.
"I know." There was a long pause, but she could tell that he was thinking, and waited patiently for him to continue. "I was wondering... about what you said, about the kids needing a mother-figure. I guess, if you want to, we could do a kind of co-leader thing, where we share leadership responsibilities. If you want."
"That would be great. We can let the tribe vote on it, to see what they think," Riana said.
"Okay," Rio answered.
"Stop fooling around and just kiss already!" Rio and Riana looked around in surprise and spotted Noah and Brian watching from behind one of the restaurant countertops.
"You heard him," Riana said, smiling.
"I don't take orders from little kids," Rio answered.
"How about from a co-leader?"
Rio frowned suddenly, and straightened. "No. Not even a co-leader," he said, turned and stalked away, leaving a very confused Riana behind.
"What's up, Ree?" Nagisha asked, coming over.
"Rio; he's acting really weird," Riana said.
"He's Rio," Nagisha answered, as though that solved the whole problem.
"He almost kissed her, but then he just walked off," Noah said as he and Brian climbed over the counter. Nagisha's eyes widenend.
"Ah, I'm beginning to understand - you've caught his eye, finally," she teased.
"That's not even true," Riana returned hotly.
"You're not the only one who's caught somebody's eye," Nagisha said, grinning mischeviously.
"What? You're not saying-"
"Yup. Me and Apollyon. We're making it official - we're making our own place, just for the two of us. No more of this, 'girls at one end, guys at the other' junk. You should try it some time. Why don't you find a quiet corner somewhere and drag lover-boy down there with you?"
"I can't believe you'd even suggest something like that. I've gotta go," Riana said. Even though she knew it was dangerous, halfway down the length of the mall, she headed for an exit and slipped outside. Like it mattered if she died, anyway. The only guy she'd ever come close to kissing, and he'd left her faster than the virus kills an adult. "What did I do wrong?" she wondered aloud as she started walking aimlessly down the sidewalk. Then, without really knowing why, Riana left the safety of the sidewalk and started across the parkinglot. There was a Steak 'N Shake across the street; if she shut her eyes for a moment, she could almost pretend that she was at the mall by herself, and was now on her way to have lunch with her mother. If she had known how close to the truth she really was, she never would have left the mall to begin with.
Suddenly, out of nowhere, a dozen or so mopeds came flying around the side of the building; Riana was standing in the middle of the parkinglot - there was nowhere to hide. Her breath caught in her throat as she turned to run. It was a good hundred yards back to the mall. She could never make it. Sure enough, the Peds cut her off and encirlcled her, taunting her with their hoots and jeers. Then one of them got off his moped and approached her. The others cheered as he tripped her and followed her to the ground. She was sure she was a goner, when the now-familiar sound of gunshots resounded. The guy on top of her split for his moped, and he and the others took off.
"You alright?" Rio asked as he helped Riana to her feet. She was visibly shaking, but made an effort to stand tall and seem indifferent.
"Of course I am. Why wouldn't I be?" she asked cooly.
"I dunno, maybe because you just almost got raped? You could have been killed, you know! What were you thinking, coming out here by yourself - coming out here at all?" Rio demanded. Riana looked away, and Rio turned back for the mall. "Are you coming?" he called over his shoulder.
"Rio?" He paused and looked back at Riana. "Thanks," she said.
With the week over, Tygir returned, with enough meat to keep the Palace Guards living like kings for quite a while. He helped Riana and some of the others load the meat into the freezer.
"Well, that's the last of it, Tygir said as he pulled the freezer door shut. "I don't know how to thank you," Riana said.
"You already have - my people all have more clothes than they know what to do with."
"Sometime I'll have to come over there and see this tribe of yours."
"We'd like to have you. Why don't you come with us now? You could stay for a few days, then we could bring you back here," Tygir suggested.
"Oh, I don't know. The kids-"
"-Can fend for themselves, with Rio's help," he interrupted. Riana thought for a moment, then nodded.
"Okay," she said. "It might be nice to get away for a few days."
"Go and get your things; we'll be leaving shortly."
"Alright. Give me a few minutes, and I'll meat you outside the arcade."
"I'll be there," Tygir said as Riana turned and headed for JC Penny.
