500 Miles (Chapter 6)
Previously
They picked up the pace the next morning, moving swiftly towards what used to be Glasgow. They left the wilderness behind and began to see signs of other survivors- fires left behind, the occasional shout, a small group visible in the distance. One day the men at the front of the group found bodies. Jamie would not allow Claire to move forward until they had been decently buried.
As they moved on, they met the first group of soldiers. They leapt back to salute Jamie, checking ID cards as a formality and addressing him in tones of reverence. Claire watched the display surreptitiously, afraid of what they might say to her when they checked her own card and discovered how far she had come.
‘She’s with me,’ Jamie said, arrogantly putting his arm around her. She felt the rest of the platoon look away from her, bowing to his authority. She kept her eyes lowered. How had he done it? One confident, rugby-boy remark and she was marked as a possession. Suddenly cross at the macho-man display, she lifted her head and glared at them.
Jamie kept his arm around her as they were escorted into an armoured vehicle. ‘We’ll stay here for a while,’ he whispered into her ear. His stubble brushed her cheek as he moved in closer to her. Despite all the destruction around them, or perhaps because of it, the one thing she wanted the most was for him to move, to tilt his head up and press his lips against hers. She spoke as quietly as he had done. ‘Can I stay with you Jamie?’
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