Hurry up, people.
Crash tapped his toes inside his boot and shifted the stacks of water bottles a little in the shopping cart so they wouldn't fall. He leaned over and counted the people in front of him again.
Twelve, and he'd already been standing here a good ten minutes. What the hell was taking so long? Did they seriously only have two lanes open on a Saturday? He hadn't seen lines this long at the grocery store since that snow storm hit a year and a half ago.
He glanced behind him and counted another fifteen people standing in line. The man next to him coughed into his palm, then wiped it on his jeans.
Seriously, dude?
Crash took a step back, disgusted. He didn't want to catch whatever that guy had. His eyes were ringed with dark circles, and his skin looked almost grey.
Someone behind him started coughing. Then another person. He turned around and looked, tension building around his eyes. At least three other people in the line behind him were coughing and blowing their noses. Several people had similar dark rings around their eyes.
What the hell?
He glanced down at the shopping baskets these people were carrying. Almost everyone in line was waiting to buy the same types of items. Tissues, cold medicine, comfort food like chicken noodle soup, cough drops.
Everyone.
He swallowed and gripped the stack of water bottles tighter.
Had it just gotten hotter in there? Crash wiped a bead of sweat from the back of his neck.
It was May, right? Flu season should have been well over by now. Seasonal allergies maybe?
Allergies that brought them all in to this one grocery store at exactly the same time?
No, definitely not possible.
Something was going around. He didn't know how he'd missed it. Okay, well maybe he'd been playing that new first person shooter for the past two weeks straight and hadn't even bothered to leave his apartment once. But something this bad? He should have known about it. He should have seen something come across the boards.
What if this was the big one he'd been waiting for? Dreaming about?
He studied the people in line again. Almost every one of them was showing signs of some kind of major illness. One lady even looked like she was one step away from just passing out right here in the grocery store. She could barely hold her head up straight.
If this thing was airborne, he was already screwed. He was standing in a cluster of sick people. He stared at the cart full of water bottles. He really needed these to complete his water stash and the coupons he had expired tomorrow. If he didn't get these today, he'd totally miss out on the deal and might not be able to afford to pick them up for another few weeks.
But if he didn't get out of here soon, he was going to hyperventilate. He could smell the sickness in the air.
Just ahead, some guy with a name tag walked by.
"Hey, buddy, any chance we could get another lane open?" he called out.
Several people behind him mumbled in agreement. The manager looked over at him, but shook his head.
"I'm doing everything I can," he said. "We had five employees call in sick today. First time in history. I've got someone calling to try to get a few extra hands in here. I promise we're going to get you through as fast as we can."
Crash leaned over and counted again. Ten people still in front of him. At this rate, he'd be here another hour before he got checked out. By then, if he hadn't already caught whatever it was these people all had, it would be a damn miracle.
He shook his head. So not worth it.
He pulled the cart out of the long line and abandoned it next to some giant display of peanut butter candies. He pulled the collar of his t-shirt up over his mouth and walked past the rest of the people standing in line and, finally, out into the fresh air.
I'm so excited you guys have finally met Crash! He's seriously one of my favorite characters in this series. I hope you're enjoying this book so far. New updates go up every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday.
Thanks for reading! <3