CHAPTER 2
We stood at the edge of the city, taking in the destruction before us. The smell of rotting bodies hung heavy in the air.
"It looks pretty much the same." Trip observed. I nodded, my eyes sweeping the terrain, looking for zombies. I could hear dogs barking in the distance.
"We should go. Before the zombies come." Bobbi said, nudging me. I was shaken from my thoughts and I looked at her, nodding.
"Yeah." I replied quietly, checking my watch. 11:30am.
"We should only take the horses as far as we've been. There'll probably be more zombies on the other side since there's no traps. Besides, they would be too loud." Bobbi suggested. I shook my head.
"We should ride them but walking. We need the storage and it'll take too long to make multiple trips to the horses." I objected.
"I guess so." Bobbi sighed. She jerked on the reigns and headed in a trot into the city, Trip following behind. I took one last look for any zombies and followed them.
We raced through the streets littered with broken cars and dead bodies. I kept note of which streets we passed so I knew when to slow down. The old memory of walking through this city came back to me and my hands itched with the urge to go kill some zombies. I was pulled from my daydreams when I realised where we were.
"Slow down guys!" I called in a quiet tone. Bobbi and Trip stopped, waiting patiently. I stopped beside them and pulled the map back out.
"Is this the furthest we've been? I honestly don't remember." Trip asked. I nodded, matching the street name to that of the map.
"Alright. The map says there's a hunting store 2 blocks from here, a pharmacy next to that and a supermarket another 2 from there." I began.
"We should get the hunting store first." Bobbi stated. I nodded and tucked the map into my pocket, tugging the reins and heading west.
I made note of all the stores that we passed, gesturing silently to them as we rode by. There were standard clothing stores and small convenience stores that weren't worth searching through for now. This side of town was definitely messier, fresh evidence of zombies scattered around. Fresh puddles of blood and mushy brains lay astrewn and disembodied limbs. I crinkled my nose as we passed another rotting body, this one already torn apart with flesh missing.
We reached an intersection and I glanced at the street sign. Burrard street.
"The hunting store's just up the street." I whispered. Trip and Bobbi both looked that way.
"See it?" I asked. They nodded. I beckoned for them to followed and headed up to it. I The glass of the store was broken in places but seemed relatively intact. The door was still shut. I carefully hopped off Basil and tied him to a lamp post. Trip and Bobbi both hopped off their own horses and tied Fancy and Demon to the same post. I held a finger up to my lips and crept towards the windows. I wiped a patch clean and peered inside. I squinted through the darkness and made out several staggering forms. I turned to Trip and Bobbi who were doing the same and held up 5 fingers. Bobbi shook her head and held 6. I shrugged my shoulders and lay a questions hand on my machete and pointed to my bow with the other. Bobbi had her dual steel batons and Trip had a machete and a cautionary pistol. Trip grabbed my arm and led me to a low hole in the window. He made a lifting motion with his hands then a throwing one.
"Take them out." he was saying. I nodded and silently grabbed the bow and notched an arrow. I drew the bow and shut one eye, aiming and the most secluded zombie. Thankfully zombies move slowly so headshots aren't too hard to score. I took a deep breath. Exhaling, I let the arrow fly. It met its mark and the zombie fell without a sound. I quickly took out 2 more until one of them let out a disgusting moan. The remaining three began to stagger towards the sound, groaning. They seemed to realise we were there and stumbled towards the glass. I slung the bow across my back and pulled out the machete. Trip and Bobbi yanked the door open and charged inside and I followed closely behind. My heart beat wildly as I made for the nearest zombie. I ducked a swipe from its disgusting arm and sliced it off simultaneously. I shot up and sliced the head off. I flicked the slime off the blade and watched as Trip and Bobbi finished their own off.
"City zombies are way easier." I remarked, slipping the blade back into the sheathe.
"Agreed." Trip muttered. Bobbi walked through the store, checking it thoroughly.
"Clear. Looks like someone was here before us but didn't quite steal anything." she grinned.
"What kinda weapons do you think we should take. I'm definitely taking all the arrows they have and a compound bow if we can find one. Maybe even a crossbow, who knows." I said as I retrieved my arrow.
"I'll grab anything, honestly." Trip said. I slid the arrows back into the quiver and began to browse the racks and shelves.
Someone was definitely here before but hadn't taken much. Some boxes of ammo or animal traps were strewn on the floor from the zombies stumbling around and some shelves were missing things but it was relatively intact.
"Can't believe nobody raided this place." Bobbi said in disbelief as she tested the weight of a display rifle. I let out a noise of agreement and was interrupted by a sudden bout of laughter. I looked up in confusion and saw Trip standing by an open door behind the cash desk.
"What is it?" I asked, picking my way through the bodies on the floor to the cash desk. Trip was grinning like a kid in a candy store as he beckoned excitingly for us to come to him.
"The storage room! No one even touched it, the door was locked!" He exclaimed, pulling a flashlight from his backpack and heading inside. Bobbi and I exchanged an excited look and I pulled a flashlight out as well.
Trip had already grabbed a dozen rifles and slung them over his shoulder and was cradling enough boxes of ammo to power a militia.
"Woah, remember we gotta be able to take all this back." I reminded him. He glanced up at me and continued to raid the shelves as he responded.
"We should prioritize the weapons and medical for today. Food can wait until tomorrow. Who knows if someone's going to pass through here." he explained. I shone my flashlight around the shelves and spotted the bows, grinning.
"Fair enough. Remember to grab things for the others and extras for Fitzsimmons to tinker around with." I said, speed walking to the bows. There were several plain old wood bows hung on a rack and several compound bows. I clipped the flashlight onto my backpack strap so I could pick one up. I grabbed a sleek black compound bow and tested its weight in my hands. It was light enough to carry around but the type of light that made it feel like it might break. I drew the string and looked down it. Trip appeared next to me and whistled.
"Damn. That one's a beauty. If I was any good with archery, I'd pick one up." he grinned. I rolled my eyes and punched him playfully, slinging the bow over my shoulder and rummaging through the shelves. There were some reinforced quivers and dozens of arrows as well as attachments. I picked up a box containing a scope attachment and a stabilizer. I smiled inwardly as I scanned the description on the box. I took my backpack off and slid the box in. I quickly grabbed 2 new quivers and filled them with as many arrows as I could, as well as my own.
"Grab an extra bow. Who knows if the team will want one." Bobbi suggested. I nodded and quickly snatched another one off the rack.
Bobbi and Trip were already carrying armloads of guns and knives and the such and carried boxes of ammo.
"Think we're good?" I asked. Trip shrugged.
"Can never have too much ammo but I suppose so." He said, looking a little disappointed.
"We've got rifles for everyone plus 2 extra for Fitzsimmons to tinker with, all the ammo we could need, 2 new knives for everyone, sharpening stones, some traps, 5 shotguns and new pistols." Bobbi listed. "Oh, and attachments of course and spare parts." She smiled.
"Yup. Definitely good." I muttered under my breath as we left the storage room.
I carefully loaded everything onto Basil as Trip locked the storage room and Bobbi loaded Demon. I kept my own hunting bow with me and quiver and clipped the others to the saddle. I unpackaged the sight and stabilizer and carefully attached it to spare bows. Basil whinnied impatiently as I arranged everything in the storage bags on the saddle.
"Can you not? I'm almost done, sheesh." I muttered before giving him an affectionate pet. Trip chuckled lightly at us and I swear Fancy was too.
"What?" I said, looking at him.
"He's an impatient one, that's for sure." Bobbi smiled as she pet Demon.
"At least I didn't name him Demon," I retorted. Bobbi faked being insulted.
"Hunter named him, not me. Remember the demonic hell beast of a wife?" Bobbi explained. Trip rolled his eyes at our argument.
"I think Fancy's the best name." he put in.
"Whatever." I grumbled and Basil seemed to catch on and gave Trip a very sassy horse look.
"Wow your horse is exactly like you. That's a pretty creepy expression." Trip muttered, climbing on Fancy. I sighed and mounted Basil and we slowly trotted to the drug store.
I glanced at my watch as we stopped next to the drug store. 1:02pm.
"We should split. Time is of the essence." I said in a posh British accent.
"Let's check the drug store. If it's clear, one of us can raid it and the other 2 can go to the corner store across the street." Bobbi suggested. I stopped Basil and hopped off and tied his reins to a mailbox. I carefully peered through the stained glass and inhaled sharply.
"It's filled with zombies." Bobbi whispered next to me. I nodded and sighed, pulling out the map. I examined the map and looked for other drug stores and pharmacies.
"Shit." I breathed.
"What is it?" Trip asked, quirking an eyebrow. I showed him the map.
"The next drug store's too far. Also, I bet this one's barely been raided considering the hunting store." I muttered disappointedly. Trip nodded, frowning slightly before his cool facade went up again.
"We gotta get in there." he said determinedly. Bobbi nodded.
"Alright. Here's the plan." I breathed.
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AN: Hope you're enjoying it so far! Remember I appreciate any comments. Also, did anyone make the connection with Fancy and Demon's names? The updates probably won't be as often as they are right now, I just have a long weekend.