I felt the pressure of Dimitri's hand over my eyes before he spoke again. "I don't want you to see this," he murmured, pulling me closer to his body. But even with my eyes covered, I could still see. After all, I was seeing through his eyes and not my own.
"I take it you forgot I was blind?" I smirked leaning back just to see his reaction.
Pulling me even closer to his body, I felt his body vibrating as he let out a low growl. "I won't even ask how you were able to shoot so well blind."
I scoffed at his remark. "I lost my sight, not my smell. It's not too hard to guess where the zombies were coming from based on their stench."
Ever so slowly, he removed his hand and stared down at me. It was… disconcerting, looking at myself with the same intensity that he was. I could see every last healed scar crisscrossing my face as he took an extra minute to study the staples that bisected my cheek.
Then his eyes dropped to my lips, and suddenly, I was back in my own head, no longer able to see.
'Greed?' I asked, tentatively, not sure what was going on. I could feel his strong forearm under my ass as the rest of his body pressed against mine. But for the life of me, I couldn't see a thing. Was I broken? Again?
"Humph," replied Pride. "Maybe now he can stop touching you."
'But why can't I see any more?' I pressed. Being able to see was practically addictive, and I really didn't want to go back to the darkness again.
"We don't know," answered Greed, his voice softer than Pride's. "Maybe you ran out of power? It's possible that you need the benefits of wishes just as much as we do."
I nodded my head absently as I thought about what he had said. I was only able to see after I granted the first wish, and even then, only when I was touching someone. Maybe because I was using so much energy seeing again, I tapped out of it.
For fucks sake.
"The voices again?" asked Dimitri. His voice wasn't condescending, and I nodded.
"Need wishes," I sighed, closing my eyes. Now that I couldn't see, there was no point in keeping them open. "Too tired."
Dimitri hummed, and I felt him carrying me off in one direction. Wrapping my arms around his neck, managing to strangle Teddy at the same time, I allowed myself to doze off.
----
Kitten needed wishes, and only people could grant that. Tilting his head from side to side to relieve the tension in his shoulders, Dimitri tried to think about where the best place to find people would be.
It didn't make sense that everyone inside the mall turned into a zombie. Statistically speaking, there should be a small group of people.
If it were he and his team, they would have made their way to the upper floors, preferably near a food court, so they could have food on hand at the same time.
Looking up, he noticed that there was a lot less blood on the stairs and second floor than there was on the first. Clearly, the zombies hadn't mastered the stairs yet.
'Too dumb to live,' hissed the voice in his head. 'What type of people are you looking for?'
His voice always seemed to know exactly where groups of people were. It didn't matter what the situation was or the location; his voice could pinpoint them within seconds.
'The ones that are too dumb to live,' replied Dimitri, a slight smirk on his face. 'We need people that are dumb enough to make wishes.'
'Says the meat sack who almost made a wish before our woman stopped him,' sneered the voice. But before Dimitri could respond, the voice continued. 'A few members of your team are upstairs with about 30 survivors. They are out of ammo, and there is a mouthy cock sucker that is giving them problems.'
'Perfect,' smiled Dimitri, flying up the steps, taking the stairs three at a time. He felt the moment his Kitten had relaxed enough to fall asleep. The poor thing was tired after everything that had happened today, and Dimitri wanted to get to his team before she woke up again. 'Lead the way.'
'Don't I always?' sneered the voice. 'Fourth floor. You really can't miss them.'
-----
"I don't understand what is so hard for you to understand," screeched a female voice so loud it managed to wake me up out of dead sleep. Startling, I almost dropped Teddy, but my hero easily caught him before he touched the ground.
I really needed to find a way to attach him to me, but I didn't know if I wanted him to be a purse or a backpack. But then again, that would be changing Teddy to suit my needs, and that felt a bit selfish.
"I pay your paycheck; it's up to you to make sure that I return to my home safe and sound." The longer I heard the woman speaking, the more southern her accent sounded. I almost expected her to be calling whoever she was talking to 'precious' or something along those lines.
"Ma'am," replied the man. "While I can appreciate where you are coming from, I don't think the five cents you contribute to my annual salary is going to get you an armed escort anywhere. Now, I suggest that you and your daughter take a step back, find a place to lie down, and get some sleep. It has been a long day, and I don't think tomorrow will be much better."
There was a high-pitched scream like a cat that had its tail stepped on before the sweetest words came out of her mouth next. "I wish I was anywhere but here! I can't believe that you couldn't be bothered actually helping the people you swore to serve and protect."
'Deal accepted,' came the female voice in my head, causing me to straighten my back.
She didn't have any balls, nor did she offer up something in exchange for the wish. Did it still count?