What Blood Leaves Behind (The Poison Rose) by Delany Beaumont Page A

get them?”
    “Exactly,” William says. He has a narrow face with a large crescent-shaped scar above his right eye. “Think about it, Gillian. Why would we want to hurt you? Do you think there are so many people around that we can afford to lose any? Everybody has to help rebuild.”
    These are words I’ve longed to hear but there’s something false about the way he speaks them. He’s too glib, too comfortable with himself, too clean. Knows just what to say, like his words were prepared in advance. We’re not going to hurt you, over and over.
    Where did these two come from and how did they get here? How did they know we were here? They look like they’ve popped in from some alternate reality where the plague never happened.
    “Why don’t you relax and have some food,” Jendra says. “There’s plenty of good stuff left.”
    I don’t want to take my eyes off them but I have to glance at the bed. I feel myself weakening. The smell of the food fills the air like a smothering perfume. It makes me dizzy.
    “There’s nothing left,” I say, my voice cracking.
    “We’ve saved a little,” William says. He takes from his pocket a small paper bag. He unravels the top with great care, like the bag holds the most precious object in the world. “Look. Real bread. Can you smell it?”
    “Where did you get bread?”
    “We have the stuff to make it,” he says. He peels back a lumpy, half-burnt slice of toast. It’s hard for me to believe that it’s possible but the smell of the food intensifies. “Look. There’s sausage. There’s cheese. And it’s all still good.”
    “How…?”
    “The authorities stored lots of food away before everything ended. Ended for them. You can’t imagine all the stuff we’ve found.”
    He nods at the rifle. “You really don’t need that anymore, you know.”
    His referring to my rifle makes me realize I’ve let the barrel drop. I feel too weak to hold it steady anymore.
    I shake my head to clear it and take a few steps back. I think about how Emily and I found Larkin sitting on the front steps of the school in Potterville and how we started to trust him almost immediately. I can’t imagine trusting these two.
    Emily crosses her arms and stamps her foot like an irritated parent. “Put the rifle down, Gilly, and eat the sandwich. Why are you being such a fool?”
    William takes a step toward Emily and puts an arm around her shoulder. Although he’s not much older than she is, there’s something about the way he looks at her that gives me the creeps. Like he’s an older man appraising her. Like he’s getting ready to lure her into something bad. I can see Emily stiffen at his touch but she doesn’t pull away.
    I raise the rifle, lock it against my shoulder. “Let her go. Step away from her.”
    William shrugs and lifts his arm from Emily’s shoulder dramatically, in the same flamboyant way he revealed the sandwich in his pocket. “I’m not holding her,” he says.
    Emily glares at me. “What’s wrong with you, Gillian?”
    “I want you two to go,” I say. “We need some time to figure out what we’re going to do next.”
    Emily stamps her foot again. “What is there to figure out? They’re here to help us.”
    “That’s what they say.”
    I cock my head at the door and press my back against the wall opposite the beds to let them by. They exchange another look, then shrug and share a little smile like I’m a mental defective they have to dredge up an enormous amount of patience to deal with.
    William holds the sandwich to his nose and takes a deep whiff of its fragrance. He grins at me and takes a tiny bite. “Delicious,” he says, chewing and smacking his lips. “Too bad,” he says to Jendra, nodding at me. They stroll past, unconcerned that I could kill them if I wanted to.
    At the doorway, they pause and address the children. “Anyone who wants to come with us, can,” Jendra says. “If you want to think it over and meet up with us later, you’ll have