by W. A. R.
Miles quickly shoved both the journal and the ammo in his bag before zipping it up, refusing to dwell on it. “How did you know about this?” he asked her and again, she shrugged lightly.
“Like I said…she is my best friend…she’s Brian’s sister…there isn’t much that we don’t know.”
“Thank you, Shelly. It means a lot.” He said, and he meant it. As much as he would have loved to dwell on her words, her journal, he couldn’t. Instead, it only made him more anxious to return to her and the children. He wanted so badly to be back with them, to ensure their safety, and yet he knew that they had to finish their job first. That was the primary focus. Miles shook his head glumly, the sinking feeling in his stomach returning and he felt sick. Loud footsteps were heard as he gathered the weapons, handing the handgun to Shelly. He was thankful for their presence because it meant they could make their way to their next stop. He pulled his bag closer to his back without thinking as Brian and Damien neared them, rounding the post at the top of the stairs.
“Find anything?” Brian asked and Miles nodded as Shelly showed him the handgun she held. Miles lifted up the shotgun and knife. Miles noted the anger in Brian’s eyes before flicking his glance over to Damien, who stood defiantly behind Brian. His heart began racing with worry, fear, and he knew they needed to leave, to hurry. That uneasy feeling was settling once again within him and he felt the sudden urge to rush back to the house with the others. Brian took note of what they had gathered, nodding in appreciation before taking the shotgun and shells from Miles and removing his bag. After placing the shells in the bag, he slung it back over his shoulders. “We have a few more stops before we go to Bastrop.” He looked pointedly at Miles and Shelly, who pleaded silently with Brian. Brian sighed, running a hand through his coarse hair. “We will get home as soon as we can.”
Damien turned and began walking out. “Let’s fucking go then.” He shouted over his shoulder and Miles watched Brian’s fists clench at his sides. It was going to be a long day.
Shelly glanced around at the store. Sweat coated her brow and she sighed. She felt sticky with perspiration and her body ached. They had been rushing through every stop continuously, obviously rushing to get done and get back. It was expected, and yes, even she expected it. She felt uneasy and restless, as if she sensed something horrible happening. Finally, however, they had reached the last stop before Bastrop and she couldn’t be any happier. They weren’t far from going home, and it was still morning. Her heart had felt heavy that morning when leaving and she was unsure why. She was one of the few that had originally wanted to leave, but when it came down to their leaving that morning, even if it was just for the run, she felt…unsure. Amber’s insistence that they stay didn’t help any, and neither did the fact that George and Buddy had agreed with everything she had said. One look at Miles and Shelly knew that he also agreed with them but he wasn’t going to let Brian go off alone with just Shelly and Damien. She greatly appreciated that about him.
Again, her eyes skimmed the outside of the store as they sat in the truck, ensuring it was safe to get out. They had come across a massive herd of Biters by the school and they had to create a diversion in order to reach the store. The store was almost directly across from the elementary school and next to the high school, and it was a crucial stop. To create the diversion, they had to go off a bit to another house further from the store and create a fire, a huge fire, and release a couple of gunshots to the air. Once that was done, they had hightailed it the back way to the store parking lot, where they killed the truck and waited, watching as the Biters turned from the school and advanced towards the rising smoke. Shelly sighed with relief, feeling Brian’s hand settle on her thigh, relaxing.
The store was a quaint little convenience store, one that had once had a deli, freezers…well, everything. What they had hoped to find there were some canned foods, or even maybe some stale food that was still somewhat good and could be eaten. She wasn’t sure the state with which it was left in, and there was the possibility that the store had been raided and there was nothing left. They had to try, however, as they had barely gathered any foodstuffs at their other stops. Starving to death was a fear of Shelly’s, one that had arisen with the monsters. She knew that one day they would have to suffer with no food; she just hoped that it wasn’t then, not when they had so much more going on than to have to worry about finding food as well.
A chill rolled through the windows and she shivered, knowing it was the changing of the seasons, from fall to winter. She had certainly hoped that winter would slow the Biters down, seeing how summer only made things worse. Brian glanced over at her as Miles lowered his binoculars from the backseat. Damien sat on the other side of her, staring off into the distance, at the main road of the town, seemingly lost in his own thoughts and not bothering with the retreating Biters. Shelly didn’t mind. He had been very moody since the day before with Jackson, and she couldn’t blame him. He had to have felt guilty for what happened to Jackson, and Brian had only made it worse by beating the hell out of him. Bobby-Jean ignored him, his presence. Instead, she had placed herself beside her husband’s grave and stayed there. Amber, on the other hand, refused to breathe a word to him, yet she didn’t ignore him. Her eyes had told him everything she had felt he deserved, no words or actions needed. Shelly shivered, not wishing to think of Jackson, or even Rick for that matter. She glanced at Brian and knew he was not allowing himself to think about them either. If he did, he might breakdown, and she understood that he couldn’t let that happen…not yet.
“Alright, I think it’s safe to run in and check it out. We will have to be quick though.” Brian said firmly, his eyes scanning every person in the truck. He took note of Shelly’s nervousness, Damien’s smug grin, and Miles’s anticipation.
“Everyone have their weapons ready?” Miles asked, checking the chamber of his two matching pistols for the third time that day. Shelly maneuvered herself, pulling her knife from its holster that Brian had given her that morning and feeling her loaded rifle on her shoulder.
“Yep.” She answered.
“Same here.” Damien replied as well.
“We’re ready then.” Brian said, opening his door and climbing out. The others did the same, allowing Shelly to climb out of the truck on Brian’s side. Miles turned to retrieve the radio from the seat beside him, clipping it onto the side of his bag before hurrying to the front right alongside Brian. They had their weapons at the ready, walking slowly and carefully, all angles covered as they aimed for the entrance of the store. Their feet slid silently against the pavement and the scattered rocks. The store was darkened, and surprisingly intact; no windows were broken, the doors were closed and locked. Miles briefly wondered how they were going to get in without drawing attention before Brian suddenly picked up his pace, making his way towards the storage door opening. The metal rolling doors were closed, and yet Brian went forward, pulling it up easily. It rolled up with little noise and Miles and Brian guarded as Shelly and Damien ran in, setting up guard as the two men closed the door and turned on their flashlights. The room lit up brightly, and Shelly could make out rows of stored food opposite from the coolers. The coolers….water. Shelly immediately searched through the shelves on the cooler before finding warm bottles of water sitting on the shelf. They had refused to bring water with them, instead leaving it as a driving force to hurry back. They listened for any movement, for any noises of any kind. After a moment, and the assurance that there was no one in the store, they relaxed and took the water that Shelly handed each of them.
“How did you know that door was unlocked?” Miles asked as he took a drink of his water. Brian shrugged before smirking at him.
“I didn’t.” he replied and Miles chuckled lightly at his response before Brian continued. “It’s been months. Did you really think I wouldn’t check out the only convenience store in town?” he asked Miles playfully, who in turn shrugged, a sheepish grin on his face.
“Well, you were never the br
ightest…”
“Hey.” Brian cut him off, his voice low, on a grin. “One day you will see that I am a freaking genius.” He countered playfully. Shelly grinned warmly at the pair before turning to Damien and unscrewing the top of her water bottle.
“So, how did you come across this place in Bastrop anyways?” she asked him, hoping to keep the lightened mood as well as keeping on task about what needed to be done. Damien shifted on his feet swallowing a mouth full of water. His eyes shifted between the three of them nervously before answering.
“It…it was before…before the outbreak, yeah…before everything happened. I used to have…family down there.” Was his stuttered reply and he quickly turned and began searching the shelves for anything of use. Miles stared at the man hard, as did Brian, both men studying him. Brian held suspicion in his eyes and he began to step toward the man when Miles stopped him; instead he stepped in front of Brian and stood directly behind Damien.
“So, Damien…what family did you have down there? I had some family down there too.” He said conspiringly. One look at Miles and Shelly knew that he was lying through his teeth. He was only attempting to get a rise out of Damien, to hear his response.
Damien froze, his left hand on the shelf. He refused to turn to them. “They are dead now…does it matter?” He bit out and Shelly had to admit that his voice did seem saddened. Miles glanced over his shoulder at Brian, who simply shook his head, turning to peruse the shelves as well. They were going to drop it, and Shelly was grateful for it. If the man didn’t want to talk about his past, he shouldn’t be forced to, or manipulated into it. Shelly sighed and shrugged off one of the two empty bags she had on her shoulders. Miles and Brian had filled their bags on the other runs, leaving three bags shared left to fill. They had hoped to fill them all up before going back.
“No, I guess it doesn’t.” Miles replied before pulling a few cans from an opened box and making his way to Shelly. A few minutes passed by with Miles transferring quite a few cans of food to Shelly’s bag until there was none left and Brian searched for anything of use. Things were silent for the most part and Shelly felt tired…exhausted. Brian suddenly sighed and turned to a side door that led into the rest of the store. Damien quickly turned to him, the light from his flashlight dancing across the room.
“What are you doing?” he hissed almost angrily. Brian turned to him curiously and Miles slowly finished zipping the bag Shelly had on her back, turning to face Damien with furrowed brows.
“We are going to check the rest of the store. Is that a problem?” Miles asked the man hotly, stepping around Shelly and facing Damien. Shelly wondered what had come over the three men before her, the tension in the room suddenly so thick that it was difficult to breathe. Damien stepped past Miles and up to Brian.
“Fine but let’s make it quick. We really should be getting done here. That fire won’t keep them distracted for much longer.” He bit out and although he had said the words bitingly, they all knew that he was right. They did have to scavenge the store quickly. Shelly turned, tossing the empty bag to Miles before stepping in front of him and following Damien through the doors. Brian led the way, and Miles followed behind her, or so she thought. Within moments he had vanished, and she wasn’t too entirely sure where he had gone.
Sunlight filtered in through the tinted windows of the entrance, and even though it provided some light for them, Shelly still had to turn on her flashlight to avoid some fallen shelves and broken jars. It was surprising, really, how many items were still in the store. Shelly wasn’t even sure how the shelves had gotten knocked over. The windows weren’t broken and the doors were locked. Even more bothersome, was that the store was destroyed while provisions were still there. Whomever had ripped through the store, she realized, had no care…they weren’t searching for necessities. A loud crunch resounded through the silence as Shelly stepped on a large piece of glass. She turned her light down to see where she had stepped and a curious look crossed her face. She glanced up, searching for Brian and Damien but they had all disappeared. Their footsteps on broken glass hit her ears and she shined the flashlight from left to right, noting the fallen shelves in front of her. After seeing no one, she sighed and turned back to the broken jar on the floor. Why was she being paranoid? It almost felt as if nervous energy in her body was rebounding against her walls so hard that she may have a breakdown. Her mind was a muddled mess and she couldn’t gather a coherent thought except for one: they needed to get out of there. But…why? Because of what she considered curious under the glare of her flashlight? It struck her as curious because her light….well, it reflected against the surface of the floor, almost as if…she knelt down, her bag weighing heavy on her shoulders and she reached her slender fingers forward to the floor. The tips of her fingers touched whatever liquid was once in the jar and she felt everything inside of her go numb. She scanned her light against the rest of the floor around her. There was liquid, food, broken glass all littering the floor. She swallowed. The shelves were overturned recently, very recently, which meant that someone had been in there shortly before them…and very well could still be in there.
She quickly stood, fear claiming her body. “Brian!” she exclaimed, her voice trembling as the thoughts of who had done this crossed her mind. The sinking feeling in the pit of her stomach told her she already knew who it was. It was the people they were so worried about, the people they were attempting to escape from. Before she could make another move, another sound, a big hand slapped across her mouth and drug her back against a brick wall of a body. She began kicking and struggling against the man, her feet banging against the overturned shelves and her hands clawing at his gloved hand as his fingers dug into his throat. Brian…Brian had to get out of there before it was too late.
“One wrong move and I will pull the trigger, bitch.” The man mumbled against her ear and she suddenly felt her stomach heave. She had to bite back the bile that rose in her throat. The feel of a gun barrel pressing against her temple made her go still and she felt tears flow from her eyes. She was terrified. She was going to die…Brian was going to die…and there was nothing that she could do to stop it.
Brian tiptoed around glass as they rounded yet another aisle, another shelf. Some of the aisle separators, shelves, were still standing while most were down. Brian found this to be odd, considering the fact that the last time he was at the store, everything seemed to be in perfect order. Now however, everything was in disarray and something was off…something was very wrong. He was nervous and he couldn’t hide that fact if he tried. The feeling that he had previously at the house when talking to Amber was returning with a fiery passion. He turned slowly around, seeing only Damien behind him. Brian clenched his teeth in frustration. Here he was, feeling insanely cautious and two of his people had disappeared?
“Where are Shelly and Miles?” he asked hurriedly, in almost a whisper. Damien narrowed his eyes at him, as if Brian had accused him of something.
“I don’t fucking know. They went the other way. Why are we whispering?” Damien responded and Brian heard a heavy footstep against glass somewhere close. He quickly grabbed Damien’s shoulder and squatted down. He wasn’t sure why he did that, as it could very well have been Miles or Shelly but something told him that it wasn’t. The tread of the footsteps was too heavy, too determined almost. His heart pounded in his ears and his eyes scanned the dim lighting as best as he could, searching for Shelly. Damien knelt beside him, eyes wide with fear and curiosity. They remained quiet however, listening as the heavy footsteps continued. Brian closed his eyes shut tightly against the worry and fear that was overcoming him. He needed to reach Shelly; he was unsure of what was going on, and his instincts told him that it wasn’t good, whatever it was.
“Brian!” He heard Shelly exclaim from across the store and immediately he knew they weren’t alone. Her voice was scared, unsure…it was a warning to him. He lifted himself up some, doubling over to remain lower than the shelf and removed his gun and knife fr
om their spaces on his body. He turned to Damien who gripped his rifle tightly in his hands. His chest moved rapidly with his breathing and his eyes looked wildly around them for something…an escape maybe? Brian, although his heart was racing and he felt tears prick the back of his eyes, brought a finger to his lips to shush him. Damien nodded wildly, and Brian turned back before him, listening for the footsteps. Shelly was hurt…she was in danger….or even worse…no, he refused to think that way. He was going to save her. He had to.
Footsteps sounded from directly on the other side of the shelf where they were, walking up the next aisle, coming closer to them, slowly but surely. It was as if the intruder was attempting to be quiet but he failed at it miserably. Brian however, was quick on his feet, and could tread lightly, gained from experience in the woods. Brian, angry and determined, turned the opposite direction, ready to face him once he rounded the corner, shoving Damien behind him. His mind raced with what needed to be done to get her back to him safely, and the thoughts brought him rage. His body was on fire, his blood roaring in his ears and his heart pounding against his ribs. He wished he knew how many people they were up against, but he couldn’t tell, at least not then. If they played their cards right, they could get out of there alive and back home to let the others know….the others. Oh no, he thought to himself as the footsteps came closer. What if they had already jumped the place while Brian was gone? He swallowed. What if they had already killed them all? Renewed fury burned within Brian and he refused to break down. Instead, he gripped the knife handle so tightly that it hurt. He stepped lightly forward against the upright shelf and watched in the dim light as a shoe filled his sight on the floor. His eyes quickly slid up, capturing the man’s unfamiliar face before jumping.