Even with the glass doors and windows exposed, some areas of the store remained dark or at least so dark that the inventory on the shelves could not be seen, and Carl did not fancy having to pull things from the shelves and haul them to the glass windows just to identify them. Alicia, however, was the first to voice a desire to find a flashlight and hurried to grab one off the shelves and then find some batteries to make it work.
Even so, Carl still had one nagging concern. “Shyanne, don’t touch anything, even if it looks safe. This place is filled with weapons and I know we gave you a letter opener to use, but there’s still a lot of stuff in here you don’t know how to handle. Always ask one of us first.”
“Okay,” Shyanne said cheerfully.
Tara approached Carl with her own flashlight. The group had remained near the doors up until now, but with some light they were ready to start exploring the store. Carl and Tara each voiced their desire to check out the hunting section, particularly the place where the rifles were stored.
“Thank God this place hasn’t been hit,” Tara said. “We’re sure to find some ammo here.”
“So, this place has that Rambo kind of stuff?” Alicia asked.
“Probably not.” Carl walked slowly past a shelf that offered fishing equipment. “I wouldn’t bet on finding high capacity rifles, or anything like a warfighting weapon. But it’s enough if we can find firearms and ammunition.”
“It’s so weird how normal this place feels.” Alicia reached the end of the fishing section first, which deposited them out near the back right wall. “I mean, the lights are out and it kind of smells, but it’s not looted or a mess like a lot of the stores in the mall.”
“The EMP only hit a few days ago,” Carl said. “So, it really hasn’t been that long. A lot of places still are going to be normal for a while.”
Carl approached the counter closest to the wall. Racks lined the wall, containing a bevy of rifles and shotguns. “Holy shit.” Tara laughed. “Wow, we really have our pick, don’t we?”
Preston grimaced. “Yeah. We sure do.”
Tara leaned against the counter. Her flashlight reflected off the glass surface. Small handguns lay inside. “Yeah, I guess this is your worst nightmare, huh?” Tara asked, “Surrounded by guns?”
Preston didn’t provide the typical political counterargument that Carl and Tara had come to expect. Instead, he just frowned and walked down to the end of the counter.
Alicia shrugged. “What was that about? That didn’t seem like the normal routine between those two.”
Carl walked up to her. “It’s a bit of a story. I’ll fill you in later.” Then he quickly stepped up to Tara before Alicia could ask anything further. Then Carl said to Tara, “Might be a good idea not to set him off. He’s still out of it after having to shoot Jason.”
“Shit! I did forget he wasn’t okay with shooting someone,” Tara said. “Sorry.”
Carl proceeded around the counter. He grabbed a shotgun and looked it over. He had pulled a black 12-gauge model from the wall. “Looks solid,” he said. Then he turned the gun over to expose the butt and used it to smash through the glass counter closest to him.
Alicia laughed nervously. “Didn’t see that coming!”
“I don’t think customer service is available,” Carl said as he raised the gun from the glass fragments.
“Need some help?” Alicia grinned. “I know this is terrible, but that actually looks fun.”
“Knock yourself out,” Carl said.
Alicia found some tree stands and used them to pound through two sections of the glass. Carl busted a third section and Tara handled a fourth, which freed up all the handguns previously under glass. “We can take multiple handguns apiece,” Carl said. “They will be easier to carry and wield.”
“Suits me,” Alicia said. “Too bad they don’t have one in pink.”
Lorenzo picked up one. “What about this?”
Alicia flashed her light on it. “That’s lavender, silly! I hate lavender. I’m not going to blow away a perp with a purple gun!”
“Does it really matter if your life is in danger? A gun’s a gun,” Lorenzo replied as he grabbed a 9mm.
Alicia shrugged. “Guess I can’t be too picky.” She reached inside the display and picked out her own 9mm.
Tara still was trying to decide as Preston walked back over. “I’m surprised,” he said. “I thought you would have made off with half the case by now.”
“Just because I’m big on gun rights doesn’t mean every gun is right for me.” Tara grinned. “Hey, I think I made a funny. Anyway, I’m trying to choose something that’s going to give me power and is also an accurate shot without weighing me down.”
“I’m sure you know your stuff,” Preston said.
“What about you?” Tara asked. “Who’s your battle partner?”
“Probably something nice and light,” Preston said. “If it shoots, it works for me.”
Tara turned to Preston. He wasn’t looking very hard. He just stood there glaring at the display as it if was a vulgar object. She was tempted to quip at him again, but she remembered what Carl had said about Preston’s uneasiness and felt sympathy for him. As much as she liked to poke him about his politics, anyone who had to use a gun on a human being deserved some sympathy.
“You know, since we’re going out there with a bigger traveling party, chances are you might not have to use one,” Tara said with a little cheer in her tone. “I mean, it’s good to have one on you, but maybe you don’t have to worry about it.”
“I’m kidding myself if I believe that,” Preston said bitterly. “You saw the kind of men we had to fight. Those kind of animals probably are multiplied by many times out there.” He sighed. “Maybe I should just stay in the mall with the others.”
Tara’s eyes widened. “Wait! You’re thinking of not coming with us?”
“Tara, I’m not an outdoorsman. I’m not fit for hiking in the wilderness. I’m too much of a civilized person…no offense. I mean, I need to be around people. I need there to be some kind of structure, rules, governing, all of that. At least this little group here is kind of like that.”
“But this isn’t going to last! What if more anarchists show up? You’ll have to fight them anyway. This is your best chance. If Camp Jefferson is still up and running, then we can take shelter there, and being around a bunch of soldiers is going to be much safer than a bunch of bedraggled refugees. You know I’m right.”
“Sure, Tara. I know. But I’m afraid I won’t be the person I am when I get there.”
“You’re afraid you’re going to be a crazed killer?”
Preston inhaled deeply. “I’m afraid this world’s going to make me into something really terrifying. A killer? I don’t know. I just don’t want to have to find out.”
“You know Shyanne wouldn’t like it if you stayed behind,” Tara said. “People would miss you.”
“You too?”
“Well…” Tara hesitated. “It can be a little fun to argue with you.”
“I thought you said I was a leech,” Preston said.
Tara’s cheeks burned. “I meant that affectionately,” she quickly replied. When Preston didn’t respond quickly enough, she added, “No, you’re not a leech. You saved Carl’s life, and actually, all of ours. And if you didn’t come with us, you might not be there to save us again. That could happen. So, maybe you ought to think about it before you actually decide to stay behind.”
Preston turned back to the display. “I guess stay or go, I still would need a gun. What do you think?”
Tara reached in and picked up a Glock. “Light and easy to use.”
Preston took it. “Thanks.”
Tara picked up a couple of Glocks. “No problem.”
Preston grabbed a second Glock. The pair then checked around for additional ammunition. But just as Preston was about to turn and walk down one of the nearby aisles, the top of his shoe kicked something. He jumped back. “Holy shit!”
&n
bsp; “What?” Tara turned to him.
“I hit something. I thought it was a rat,” he replied.
Whatever Preston had kicked, it was rolling down the aisle. “No, that looks like a can.” Tara chased after it. “Hey now, this little guy’s rolling pretty fast. Is it empty?”
Tara soon caught up with it. She cut in front of it with her boot, stopping it. “The can’s open,” she said. “It looks like a can of meat.” She leaned over and picked it up. She gave it a sniff. “Can’t tell how old this is, but whoever opened it cleaned it out.”
“Hold on a moment, Tara,” Preston said as he approached her, “This store was locked. No one’s supposed to be eating food in here.”
Tara looked up, to the aisles beyond. “That’s right,” she said quietly, “We’d better tell Carl.”
Chapter Seven
Lorenzo placed the rifle down on the conveyor belt. Since the conveyor was no longer functioning due to a lack of power, it made for a handy table for modifying his weapon. Carl was in the next aisle over reconfiguring his weapon. Thanks to the proximity to the glass windows, they had just enough light coming through, to see what they were doing.
“Hey! Carl!” Tara jogged up to him with Preston behind. “We think we may have a guest after all!” She presented the empty can to him. “Unless this place has huge rats, someone decided to have a nice dinner here.”
“Wait, how does that mean someone’s here?” Lorenzo asked.
Carl took the can. “This place has a lot of canned food, enough to live off for years if you had to do so. So someone could have taken refuge here.”
“But wouldn’t we have seen someone by now?” Alicia asked. “We’ve searched this place almost to the back wall.”
“Not if they were hiding in the back room,” Carl said.
“Or maybe they already left,” Alicia said. “Maybe we really do have this place all to ourselves.”
“But this place was locked up,” Preston said.
Carl looked down one of the aisles. “That doesn’t mean they couldn’t have used a back entrance. You don’t have to jimmy more than one normal-sized door to get inside.”
Tara looked at Preston. “Yeah we know what that’s like.”
Shyanne tugged at Carl’s arm. “Do you think he’s nice?”
“Well, I don’t know if he or she or they are nice, but they could be scared of us,” Carl said. “They might be waiting for us to leave before coming out.”
“That doesn’t sound too bad,” Alicia said. “We could modify our gear back at the mall.”
“I’d still like to see if we could meet them,” Carl said. “If they’re just people trying to survive, maybe we could take them with us.”
“I guess you can call them out,” Alicia said.
Carl marched up to the center of a nearby aisle between shelves. “Why not?” Then he cupped his mouth. “Hello?” he cried out. “My name is Carl Mathers. I’m a United States Marine. I mean you no harm. I’ve only come to find gear for myself and my friends. We want to talk to you.”
He waited, but no one responded. “I promise you’re in no danger! We only want to help. We’re preparing for a journey into the woods, to find a lasting shelter. There’s a military installation not far from here. We implore you to consider joining us!”
A full minute passed. Finally, Carl turned and walked back to his friends. “Like I said, they probably already left,” Alicia said.
“Could be,” Carl said. “Look, maybe we should pack up and head back. I would feel better once we’re clear of this place.”
Suddenly, the sound of something clicking drew their attention. A lone figure approached from the farthest set of shelves. He was holding two pistols, one in each hand.
“What a shocker. A bunch of thieves breaking into my store. Figured that would happen sooner or later,” the newcomer said.
Thanks to the light shining through the windows, the man’s visage easily was visible. He appeared well put together, with a business suit, nice leathery shoes, and a fresh haircut, quite a contrast to the disheveled looks of the mall survivors. If it wasn’t for his body odor, likely from a lack of recent bathing, he would be totally kempt.
Only Tara raised her weapon, but Carl could tell she had not loaded a magazine into it. In fact, nobody had been able to load their firearms yet. Carl would have to talk this man down. “Easy,” Carl said, “you heard me back there…”
“I heard a bunch of yelling,” the man said. “Anyway, the fact that you’re in my store says enough. What? You think you can take whatever you want? Got no respect for private property?”
“Wait a minute, who are you? You act like you own this place!” Alicia said.
“I do. This is part of my chain. I’m the only one who gets to decide if my inventory moves off my shelf without paying.’”
“Fair enough, fair enough,” Carl said. “We can put it all back. Is that what you want?”
“Carl!” Alicia said.
“If he’s the owner, then he has a right to his property,” Carl said.
“Yeah, but things have changed,” Alicia said. “You know, the apocalypse that’s going on outside these windows?”
Carl shot a glance at her. “Just because things have gone south doesn’t mean we can trample on other people’s rights. We do that, we’re no better than the anarchists we escaped from.”
Then he returned his attention to the store owner, who looked a little more nervous than he may have wanted to let on. The man twitched a little, and his right leg was quaking. Perhaps he wasn’t used to pulling a gun on living human beings. That could work to their advantage, or it could be a recipe for disaster. What if the man shot them in a panic?
Damn, Carl thought. Today was supposed to be a relaxing day with the real hell coming tomorrow. Are we going to bite it in here before we even have a chance to make it out of the suburbs?
Carl stared down the two gun barrels pointed at his face. He believed this man was not an anarchist or a nutjob like so many others he had encountered so far. There had to be a way to let him know that Carl and his friends were not his enemies.
“Look, it’s very simple. If this is all yours, we’ll put it back and walk away.” Carl then decided to add an appeal to simple logic. “Besides, you can’t afford to waste those bullets. It’s not like you can order more from your supplier, right?”
The man flinched. Carl didn’t know if his comment penetrated the store owner’s thinking or not.
“There’s been enough chaos going on around us. We don’t have to bring it in here too. We’re civilized people, we and you. So what do you say? Let us put these back on the shelves. That’s what you want, right?”
Suddenly, the man’s scowl started to fade. Instead, he let out a sob.
“Want? I…” He squinted. “Dammit, I…I don’t know!”
The store owner then dropped both of his guns onto the floor. Carl winced as he feared one or both of them might go off, but they mercifully remained silent. So Carl did get through to him, somehow. Now Carl wanted to probe further. He approached the man, but slowly.
“We’re friends. I don’t know what happened to you out there, but I swear you have nothing to fear from us,” Carl said, “What’s your name?”
The shop owner turned to face him directly. “My name is Tyler. Tyler Redmond.”
Carl nodded. “Good to meet you, Tyler. If you don’t remember in all the confusion, I’m Sergeant Carl Mathers of the United States Marines.” He turned to the group behind him. “And these are my friends.”
Tyler then turned toward Shyanne. “My God, you have a child with you. And I was pointing a gun at you!” He cringed and turned away.
“Easy.” Carl quickly walked in front of him. “You didn’t harm her. But you can see why I was so desperate to talk you down.”
“Thank God you did,” Tyler said breathlessly. “I could have done something really horrible.”
It took a few minutes, but Tyler calmed himself down eno
ugh to invite the group toward the back of the store, to a back cashier’s counter where they could talk. Tyler then discussed who he was.
“I own a chain of businesses throughout the city and up and down this part of the state. I was set to open a new store in Leesburg tomorrow when…” He spun his finger to the air. “…all of this happened. I was on the road when my car stopped. I couldn’t find a policeman or anybody to help me, and there were these horrible mobs roaming the streets. This was the only place I could think of to go.”
Carl nodded. “It was probably a good call. We had to flee a bunch of anarchists who were looking to skewer us alive.”
Tara nodded. “Yeah, at one point they blocked off Earhart and we had to ride a truck down the off-ramp.” She made a sweeping motion with her hand. “Thank God that fence was there to catch us.”
“Thank God I never went through anything that bad,” Tyler said. “But the trip still practically killed me to get here. Had to walk all the way.” The memory prompted him to exhale loudly. “I got here about two days ago. Lived off this place ever since.”
“And you didn’t see all the people heading for the mall?” Tara asked.
“I barely looked outside,” Tyler said. “Didn’t want to. I didn’t really expect to go anywhere else.”
“What about your family?” Lorenzo asked. “Did you try to reach them?”
“I don’t have family,” Tyler said, “I had a wife, Marilyn, but she died in a car accident five years ago. We didn’t have any children.” He looked to the ceiling. “These stores are my babies. They have been ever since.”
“No wonder you were pissed at us,” Tara said with a slight chuckle.
Tyler shook his head. “My store chain is my life. It’s the only thing I care about anymore, the only thing I live for.” He bowed his head. “But that’s all over now. If it’s really that bad out there, my stores are going to be looted, wrecked, maybe burned down by a bunch of psychos. No one’s ever going to shop in them again.”
“We did.” Alicia grinned, but then her smile faded. “Well, sort of.”
Silent Interruption (Book 3): An Uncertain Passage Page 5