We crashed through the doors like a couple of battering rams. I felt Ethan's hand grab my arm and yank me to the left, just as I started to contemplate which direction we should go. The narrow back room was lined with jam-packed shelves as high as the warehouse ceiling which made it difficult to run in. I heard the sound of the plastic doors swinging open again as the mini-horde pursued us.
"Get behind me!" A familiar southern accent rang out.
We spotted John and his worn cowboy hat just around the west corner. Once we were clear of his line of fire, he raised his gun to eye level as the infected approached in a crowded mass. The narrow back ways made it difficult for them to all pass through; some fell to the others insistent shoving and some to the littered alleyway. Muffled shots came from John's raised weapon and soon a blockade of dead infected clogged the passage.
"Did you alert every one of those things in the store?" John asked us and he reloaded his gun.
"They were hidin' in the aisles," Ethan said indignantly.
"Where's Taylor?" I asked, noticing it was just John.
"Unloadin' some of the pallets we found. Come on, I'll show ya."
So we followed him around to the other side of the backroom. Taylor was slicing up one of the shrink-wrapped skids of product with a Xacto knife.
"Found a whole bunch of protein bars," Taylor beamed at his find. "Should last us a good while too."
"Now that we made sure the back is clear, we should move the truck 'round back to load this stuff in," John suggested.
"Well I'm sure as hell not lugging it all out the front door," I said as I eyed our year supply of protein bars.
Ethan and I headed back into the main part of the store, a lot more alert this time. We stuck close to the outer walls just in case there were more lurking inside the aisles. Luckily we made it all the way back out and to the truck with no more infected but I'm sure there were some left inside, we would just have to stay on our toes.
The massive steel loading door squealed as John and Taylor tried to open it up. There was a manual pulley system that required two people to tug on the rusted silver chains just to lift it a little. Ethan backed the truck right up against the loading dock, which was about three feet higher than the bed of the pickup. Together we tossed the protein bar cases in the back in a matter of minutes.
"We also found a flat of water and some dried goods we can use," Taylor huffed as he lifted the wooden pallet outside and out of the way.
We kept a wary eye on the back lot just in case some roaming infected decided to stop by. There was just one out there so Ethan jumped from the dock and took the thing out with his machete, leaving a nasty stain on the tarmac. He grimaced at the mess that now coated his weapon and he flung it to the side to dislodge the decaying matter.
"Now, should we just load up what we can find back here or look around?" John asked.
"We're here, we might as well grab all that we can." I shrugged.
I desperately needed new clothes and hygiene products. You would be surprised how rough living out in the sticks and washing on a scrub board, like a house wife from the 1800s, can be on your clothes. Plus we needed deodorant and trust me that was a necessity not a luxury. John glanced down at his watch,
"We don't have many daylight hours left. Maybe we should make camp here?"
A supermarket and now a hotel chain? Wal-Mart really did have everything. Ethan looked around nervously,
"This was supposed to only be a day trip. I don't want the others to be worried."
"I'd rather spend the night sheltered than chance driving 'round in the dark. There aren't streetlights anymore," John reasoned.
He had a point. If anything happened while we tried to get back in the dark we would be even more screwed than normal.
"Looks like I'm out numbered," Ethan sighed and I looked away guiltily.
Normally I would always take his side but not this time.
"Alright then, let's finish loadin' what we can back here."
Between the four of us we managed to almost completely fill the truck bed with food products. Looks like any extra supplies would be crammed with us in the seats with us. John reclosed the roll-up door while Taylor and Ethan stood underneath to gently place it on the ground. The last thing we needed was a big crash to alert even more infected to our whereabouts.
"Everyone got an idea of what they want?" John said just before we pushed open the swinging doors.
We all nodded.
"There can't be that many more of them in here," Ethan said, pointing to the mass of bodies that piled up where John shot them, "So do you each want to take a section?"
I tried not to let my concern show on my face but I was not happy with being sent on my own. We walked out onto the main floor, no infected or even a sound greeted us.
"Alright, Ethan and I will split up the grocery section, Taylor you take camping supplies and Bailey you take the pharmacy area," John mapped out for us. "Grab what you can and bring it back here so we can load it all up at once."
As we were about to take off, Ethan stopped me and whispered quietly,
"If you get into trouble just yell and I'll be right there."
I was going to point out that the food and pharmacy sections were on opposite sides of the store but instead I just nodded.
"Won't be problem."
I took a deep breath through my nose and clicked on my flashlight. All I could hear was the blood pumping in my ears and the sound of my feet quietly hitting the cold ground. I stuck with the main aisles to get to the other side. This way, I had a larger view path so nothing could just appear right beside me. I calmed my breathing so that I could better listen for the sounds of infected. Looking to my right and left rapidly was starting to make me dizzy so I opted for just looking straight ahead. I shone my light onto the wall and saw the giant red pharmacy sign, like a lighthouse beacon.
I realized I had not brought anything to carry all the supplies in other than the backpack currently resting on my back. Shit. I walked up and down the aisles and spotted an abandoned cart; I placed my flashlight down and holstered my gun so I could take the items out. Looks like someone had grabbed all the toys they could but never made it to the register with them. I shoved the boxes onto the empty spots on the shelf closest to me. I had a bad habit of doing that even before the breakout.
My head whipped to the sound of something hitting the floor a few aisles over. I held my breath and started towards the noise, one of the toys still in my hand. As I gingerly rounded the corner I first spotted the light purple mess than coated the floor. The smell of chemicals and lilac perfume hung in the air. A bottle of shampoo must have fallen but what could have done that? I squinted further into the aisle but no one was there.
I went rigid at the gargling sound one aisle over. I swallowed and tip-toed to the front of the aisle. The infected was about halfway down the aisle. It was once a teenage boy, his body now ravaged by the disease. His clothes were in tatters and he was missing a few fingers; it almost looked like they had been gnawed off. His head was whipping around in the air and if I wasn't mistaken it looked like he was sniffing. All I could smell was the cheap perfume of the spilled shampoo. Maybe that obscured my smell and that's why he wasn't charging at me.
Well if I was going to do something about him, it would be better if it was on my own terms. I brought my arm back and threw the toy with as much power as I could muster while throwing the awkward shaped box. It hit the infected square in the back and he turned around at the impact. The infected looked down at the toy as it hit the floor, confusion showing in its jerky body movements. I couldn't believe I was about to do.
I ran as fast as I could towards the infected, slipping my hunting knife from its holster on my belt. Before it could even register that something was moving in front of it, I sunk my blade into the part where the head meets the neck at a slight upward angle.
I had to grab the things shoulder to gain leverage and when the blade hit home, the infected tumbled backwards taking me with it. I rolled to the side instinctively to avoid landing on it, then turned right back towards it. The infected was laying still, the blade protruding from its neck. I counted to ten before investigating. I got up and kicked it with my foot and when it didn't react I went to grab the knife back. It slipped out of the creature's neck easily, leaving an open wound behind. The smell was awful and now coated my knife so I used the infected's wrecked shirt to clean off the blade.
I stared at the unmoving infected. I hadn't realized my heart was pounding and I had to crouch over to catch my breath. The adrenaline was starting to dissipate, leaving me a bit shaky. I had barely taken time to think my plan through. All the images of what could have gone wrong played through my head, mocking my impulsive choice. I was lucky it has worked out this time but would it again? Slowly, I walked back to my flashlight and cart, the smell of decay and lilacs mingling in the air.
A feeling akin to triumph, like when I used to play soccer as a kid and scored, bloomed within me. I found this confusing. On one hand I should be upset but on the other it was either me or the infected and like any other human, I choose myself. I looked down at the blade in my hand and scowled as I put the knife away.
I grabbed what I felt we needed, dropping a few items in the process thanks to my shaky hands, but soon my cart was almost over flowing. We really should have brought another vehicle. Not that John's little "drive to town" car as he called it would hold much more. The cart wheels squeaked a bit until I got a steady pace going as I pushed the cart into the back. The rush of taking out the infected had finally worn off and my hands were steady once again. For a second, I pretended I was back home doing some shopping, mentally trying to tally up the bill in my head and failing.
"Geez, ya got enough stuff?" Taylor asked as I approached him.
He had some small propane cylinders and other various camping supplies lying by his feet. He must have made quite a few trips.
"I could say the same to you. Are the others done?"
"Pop is. He's stacking the stuff by the back door. Dunno about Ethan though."
"Alright well let John know I'm done and I will go grab Ethan."
I left my cart in the care of Taylor and went off in search of Ethan. I found him in the granola bar aisle tossing boxes into his cart.
"What do you think of those bars with the fruit jam in the middle?" He asked, hearing me approach.
"That they were invented by people who knew nothing about children."
He placed the box back on the shelf. I almost squealed like a fan-girl when I spotted the blue box and shoved all three into his cart. Ethan raised an eyebrow at me in question.
"Frosted strawberry Pop-tarts," I grinned at the find. "I love those."
"Well, we do have a toaster back at the cabin."
"Hell, toaster or not I'm eating them."
"Everything go ok in the pharmacy?"
I hesitated and Ethan stared me down,
"What happened?"
"There was an infected but I took him out," I shrugged, playing it off like it wasn't a big deal.
Ethan's mouth formed a mulish line, "I told ya to call out of you ran into anything."
"What was I supposed to do? Run around the aisle like a hysterical woman until the big strong man came to save me?" I glared in response.
We stayed like that for a few seconds before Ethan cracked a grin and laughed.
"It's not that funny," I muttered.
"Sorry, I just got this image of you runnin' around in old fashion dress yelling Lord save me," Ethan said through his laughter.
"That would mean I will have officially lost it," I grinned at the image he painted.
"You two done tellin' jokes?" John asked as he rounded the corner.
With John prodding us along, we managed to grab what we wanted and brought it to the back I looked at our haul. It looked like a giant mound at the garbage dump minus the smell of course. I felt like I was in an episode of Hoarders.
"Look, I'm no engineer but how is all that supposed to fit into the truck?" I asked skeptically.
John took off his hat and ran his fingers through his hair, "Dunno but it's gunna be mighty squished in there. Maybe we can grab another vehicle nearby."
"There were a few in the parking lot," Ethan suggested.
"Do you know how to hotwire one?" I asked John and he smirked at that,
"Well I may have had the need to a few times in my life but chances are the cars out there are alarmed so we can't afford to have them go off, even for a moment."
"Maybe the keys are still in here?" I opted and the three looked at me strange. "I mean the cars probably belong to the employees we found in here. We could search the employee lounge and their pockets."
"Quick thinkin'," John nodded in approval.
I knew all that education would come in handy one day.