Yesterdays Gone: SEASON TWO (THE POST-APOCALYPTIC SERIAL THRILLER) (Yesterday's Gone)

me, boy?”
    Charlie’s knee was shaking, and he prayed like hell that nobody would notice, especially Callie.
    “Come on, guys,” Callie said, stepping toward them both, “We’re a team, right? Let’s get into that store. It looks like it’s gonna storm bad.”
    As if on cue, dark clouds choked all but a sliver of the sun, and the temperature seemed to drop another 10 degrees, turning an already cold morning icy.
    Charlie didn’t dare break his gaze with Vic. Though the man was huge, psychotic, and had a rifle in his hand, Charlie had something Vic didn’t — years of pent-up rage, aimed at guys exactly like Vic. He also had a switchblade in his pocket, one he’d lifted a couple months back and had never let anyone see him holding. He didn’t think he’d be quick or agile enough to lunge at Vic with a blade, but if he had Vic down, and Vic didn’t know he had it, the element of surprise would be on Charlie’s side.
    As seconds of silence passed, Charlie started to doubt that his pent up rage, or his tiny knife, were nearly as useful as they had seemed just moments ago. When it came down to it, he’d never won a fight; he barely ever landed a punch before getting his ass handed right back. No way he could take on a Professional Asshole like Vic in a straight-up match. Fucking with Vic, out here on the highway, almost an hour from home, was a mistake. But he couldn’t back down. Too much was on the line.
    Vic leaned forward so quickly, Charlie nearly fell backward trying to avoid him. As Charlie caught his balance, Vic laughed his hoarse smoker’s laugh, “Oh shit, you should’a seen your face. Goddamn, boy, you crack me up.”
    Charlie glared, not sure if Vic were further insulting him, giving him an out, or backing off in a way that made it seem like he were just fucking with Charlie. That was something Bob would’ve done. Whatever the case, Charlie glanced at Callie, and she had that face that said: no, not now.
    “Dude, you need to take it easy. That’s how guys talk, bro. Callie didn’t take offense, did ya’, babe?”
    Callie smiled, saying “No, Vic” in such a way that didn’t show her disgust for the guy, yet didn’t encourage more comments. Though she often spoke her mind, and could dish insults with the best of them, she also had an uncanny ability to get out of tricky situations with her words. Charlie admired her diplomacy, always managing to keep everyone friendly, at least to her. It was the opposite of Charlie’s uncanny ability to alienate and make an enemy of anyone.  
    “It’s all good,” she said.
    “We square?” Vic asked Charlie. Though he was smiling, there was a glimmer in his eye, barely hiding his desire to fuck with Charlie some more.
    “Yeah,” Charlie said, taking the opportunity to save face.
    “Then, let’s get rollin’,” Vic said, climbing back into the cab of the moving truck. “Let’s fill this fucker up.”
    “I dunno,” Adam said, as they all got in. “Aren’t we close to The Prophet’s place? You think this could be a trap? Hard to believe there’s a store so close to them that they haven’t hit yet.”
    Adam had a point, they’d seen The Prophet’s people a couple of times at stores they intended to hit. It was Adam who’d recognized one of the men, a guy named John. Big dude. While the Prophet’s men didn’t travel in large numbers, there was no doubt they were more experienced with guns, and that was a fight that neither Charlie, Adam, or Jeremy wanted. Fortunately, Vic hadn’t been with them the few times when they had run into the Prophet’s men, so they’d been able to sneak away without a confrontation. But now that Jeremy was dead, Vic was coming with them, and Charlie doubted Vic would ever back down or avoid a fight. The steroid case thought he was invincible, and would cross the street just to find a fight to prove it.
    “Trap or not, I don’t give a shit,” Vic said, finality in his voice. “We’re running low on supplies, and we’re going in there and taking whatever’s there, no matter whose turf this is.”
    “OK,” Charlie said. Though Old Charlie would have been reluctant to go along with Vic’s plan, New Charlie was a man of action, particularly if there didn’t seem to be much danger. He’d already backed down once this morning, so he would need to do something brave to make up for it, otherwise he’d feel even shittier the next time his head hit the pillow, and he had to lie in the