by R. A. Neely
James was silent for a few moments as he thought. "I'm a cop. Have been for what, ten years now? I've always prided myself on being careful. I never wanted to be that cop that shot someone when they were just reaching for a cell phone. But now? Unless the government miraculously shows up and takes care of this, I'm not a cop anymore. I'm just a man looking to protect his family. And that man will do whatever he needs to do."
Greg nodded. That made sense. He would do whatever he needed to as well. James, Laura, and the kids were his family. Had been for years now since his parents had died. And well, it looks like Carol was a part of that now too. He didn't know what would happen with them as far as a relationship went, but she was definitely on his list of people to protect. He'd keep all of them safe no matter what.
"We're here," James said. Greg looked up and saw that they had arrived at a Rick's Sporting Goods. There were a good number of cars in the parking lot, was the place doing business as usual?
"What do you think," Greg asked as James pulled into a spot. "Looks fairly normal here."
James nodded. "Maybe leave the machete. Keep the pistol though. Just cover it with your shirt."
Greg nodded. They didn't want any problems in the store if things were still running normally here. Greg took a moment to remove the machete from his belt and then made sure his sure covered his gun. Satisfied, they headed inside. They reached the door and saw two employees standing at the door, each of them had a bat in hand.
"You bit?" one of them asked.
"No, we're fine," James replied.
The employees opened the door and quickly ushered them inside. "We'll have to check you for bites just to be sure," one of them said.
Greg nodded. That seemed fair. He show his arms and lifted his shirt so they could see he was bite free. James did the same. The employees nodded that they were satisfied.
"Alright, you look clean. The rules are business as usual. That means no pushing or fighting or any nonsense like that. No fighting over merchandise."
"That's fair," James said, "I have to ask, you do know what's going on right?"
One of the employees nodded. "Of course we know. Why do you think we checked you for bites?"
"I mean you're keeping the store like nothing's wrong," James responded.
"We've taken precautions," the employee said indicating his bat. "Besides, the boss is confident that this will all blow over in a few days. So, he figures why not make some money."
"Fair enough," James replied. They each grabbed a cart and headed out into the store. To their surprise, everyone seemed to be acting in an orderly manner.
"This can't possibly last," Greg said in a low voice.
"It won't," James responded in an equally low voice. "But, it makes our task here easier."
Greg nodded. That was true. He supposed he should enjoy while it lasted. They'd probably be fighting through infected at some point soon enough. Their first stop was the tent section. They grabbed four tents. One for James and Laura, one for Carol and Maddy, and one for Greg and Junior. They thought it would be a good idea to have an extra tent in case something happened to the others. After the tents they went and looked for other gear such as a camp stove, lanterns, and sleeping bag. They made great progress on the list until they got to clothes.
"So you don't know what size Carol wears?" James asked.
"How would I possibly know that?"
"Well, you've been making eyes at her for a while now."
"It wasn't like that. I never tried anything because she worked for me."
"What's your excuse now?"
"Wait. How do you know what size Laura wears?"
"How would I not know? She's dragged me shopping with her enough that I caught on."
"I think I'll just grab several sizes and hope for the best."
James chuckled. "Sure, if you want to play safe. If you want to score some points, you should show up with the right size."
Greg snorted. "I don't need points. I saved her life today that has to count for something."
James chuckled. "Alright. Let's just throw an assortment of clothes in the cart. We'll need boots too. "
Their list complete, they took their carts to the register. Greg barely blinked win the bill totaled over a thousand dollars. Normally, he would have had a huge problem with that. Dealing with people trying to kill you had a way of putting things in perspective however. They loaded their purchases into the van and headed towards their next top. They pulled into the parking lot of a small grocery store and saw that things were a little more chaotic here. Cars were parked haphazardly and people heading into the store were shoving to be the first inside.
"Looks like it's starting," Greg said.
"Yeah," James said with a nod, "doesn't look too bad just yet though. Good thing we decided to do this today."
Greg looked at all their gear in the back of the van. "Think all of this is safe? Should one of us stay back?"
"I think we're okay," James replied. "I think people are out trying to get what they can but it hasn't quite reached the point where they're stealing from each other yet."
Greg nodded. "Alright then. Let's get in and out."
They left the vehicle and headed inside. They each grabbed a cart and took a portion of the shopping list. They figured it would go faster here if they split up. Greg was looking at soup when a commotion down the aisle drew his attention. Two middle aged women looked ready to come to blows over some product or other. Greg shook his head. This was just a glimpse of the days ahead. Right now, people were probably just hoarding thinking that the government would be along in a few days and everything would go back to normal. Greg wasn't so sure that was going to happen. Once other people realized that, things would start getting violent.
Greg felt there were basically two kinds of people. Those that followed the laws for some intrinsic reason and those that followed for fear of the consequences. With the police force out of the picture, that second segment of the population would start realizing they could get away with pretty much anything now. Greg left the soup aisle and head for the next item on his list when the cart came to a sudden halt.
Looking up he saw a man, probably in his twenties, holding tightly to the side of his cart. The man wore a ratty looking leather jacket and equally ratty jeans. His pupils were dilated and he was breathing heavily.
"Can I help you with something," Greg asked in a calm voice.
"Gimme your cart," the man said.
"No," Greg said with a slight frown. He gestured back the way he had come. "There's still a few things in the store. You can get your own cart."
The man shook his head. "I don't have no money. So I’m gonna need your cart."
"I’m sorry," Greg said, "I’m not giving you my cart."
The man released the cart and stepped back. "You give it to me or I'm gonna take it!" He reached into his pocket and drew out a switchblade. He flicked hit open and gave Greg a wicked smile.
"Betcha you wanna give me that cart now, dontcha?"
Greg sighed. He figured they'd have another day or two before something like this would happen. This guy did look like he was on something though. Plus, he mentioned he didn't have any cash so he was already desperate. Greg glanced in the cart. It was piled high with soups and other dry goods. On another day, Greg might have let this slide. It simply wasn't worth getting into a fight over something like this. Things were different now though. The shelves were nearly empty so he couldn't just hand this over and expect to get another cart load. They needed this stuff to survive. The cart literally represented life for his group. They wouldn't survive long without food to eat.
Greg shrugged. "I'm still not giving you the cart." Before the man could respond, Greg stepped around the cart and kicked the man in the groin. As he bent over in pain, Greg grabbed his knife hand and twisted it cruelly, forcing him to drop the knife to the ground. Greg then hit him in the back on the head with his elbow and the man fell to the ground unconscious. Greg he
ard footsteps behind him and whirled to face the new threat. He relaxed when he saw James standing there with a grin on his face.
"I leave you alone for five minutes...."
"Funny," Greg said as he chuckled.
"What happened?" James asked.
"He wanted the cart. I disagreed."
James nodded as if that was enough for him. "Well, I've got everything on my list. What about you?"
"Same here. I'm ready to go."
They headed towards the cash registers up front when they heard a number of people start screaming. They looked at each other.
"Infected you think?" Greg asked.
"Probably. Best to assume that I think."
"Let's find a rear exit. They've gotta have a loading dock or something."
James nodded and drew his pistol with one hand and pulled the cart with the other. Greg followed suit and they headed towards the rear of the store. They quickly heard chaos all around them as people began running away from whatever was happening at the front of the store. Greg heard a growl behind him and turned to see two infected charging towards them. Two shots put both of them down.
"Aren't you glad I dragged you the range now?" James asked as they dragged their carts along.
"Yeah, I guess I am."
"Remember how much you pissed and moaned? ’I don't need to use a gun, I know krav maga.'"
Greg chuckled. "Yeah, I remember."
"Good. I just want to point out that in the future, when I have an idea you should do it without whining."
Greg laughed. "Fair enough. I guess you owed me that one."
James laughed. He quickly turned serious as roar came from the side. He lined up his shot and put it down without slowing down. He smiled again. "I sure did. Can't wait to tell Laura when we get back."
They reached the rear of the store and saw a set of double doors that led to the back area of the store. They pulled their carts inside and saw rows and rows of pallets filled with various goods. They walked along cautiously until they reached a large loading door. They looked around for a button and found it after a few minutes of searching, it wasn't located next to the door for some reason. Unfortunately, pushing the button didn't give them the result they wanted.
"Is it locked?" Greg asked.
"Must be. I have no idea how to open it."
Greg glanced back towards the front of the store. They could still hear screams. "I guess asking an employee for help is out."
"Probably." James pointed towards a corner. I see a red light over there. Emergency exit maybe?"
"Let's find out," Greg replied. They took their carts and headed over and were relieved to see another set of double doors leading outside. Greg saw a sign near the door and spared a second to look it over.
"Alarm will sound," he said.
James nodded. "That'll probably draw the infected this way."
"Alright, so we'll need to go out and book it for the van. Just toss everything inside. We can sort it neatly back at the house."
James nodded. "You ready?"
At Greg's nod he pushed the door open with his cart and headed outside. A screeching alarm sounded and they figured they didn't have long before the infected came their way. They both took off running, pushing the carts in front of them. They rounded the corner of the building and headed back towards the parking lot. It looked even worse now. It looked like some people had managed to make their way out the front and get to their cars. Unfortunately, no one wanted to wait for anyone else and there were several cars smashed together.
They reached their car and quickly started throwing everything inside. Both were breathing heavily but they weren't winded. Part of their training in krav maga involved a great deal of cardio so they were both in excellent shape. They were both grateful for that right now. Once everything was loaded they got inside and James headed for a side exit in the parking lot.
"I'm not going near that main exit," James said.
"Don't blame you," Greg said. A loud screech behind them got his attention and he turned around to look. It looked as if some more people had ended up in an accident.
"Definitely a good idea," Greg said.
"That was intense," James said. "Do we head home now or keep going?"
"Keep going," Greg said, "it's only going to get worse right?"
James nodded. "True. James drove along until he found a gas station that was relatively empty. He filled up the van while Greg went inside to see if they had any gas cans. Greg returned a few minutes later with three cans and used another pump to fill them.
"Do you think the power will be affected by all this?" he asked.
James nodded. "Indirectly at least. Don't think the grid will be damaged but the people who run the station are probably dealing with the same thing we are."
"That makes sense," Greg replied with a nod. He finished filling his first can and started on the second.
"What are you thinking?"
"I don't know," Greg said," just thinking about what to do next. We said we want to leave the city but we haven't said where. After that back there, I'm wondering is anywhere safe? What if this stuff is everywhere?
"That's true," James replied, "If there were just a few people on an airplane..."
"It could be spreading everywhere. So where do we go? Is any place safe? I'm also wondering about the power. Things will be that much harder if we lose that."
"We'll figure it out, man. What matters is that we're all safe right now. Let's focus on that. We'll figure out the rest as we go along.
Greg nodded as he started filling the third can. "Alright, do we want to hit the gas station for some food? Maybe they have power bars or something. That would be good if we don't want to take the time to make food for some reason."
"Good idea," James replied. "I'm done here," he said as he replaced the nozzle. "I'll head inside. Maybe you should stay out here and watch the van."
Greg nodded as he thought about the incident in the grocery store. If some people were already getting desperate, it wasn't a good idea to leave their things unattended. "Yeah, go ahead. I'll keep an eye on things."
James headed inside and returned a few minutes later loaded down with plastics bags. He chuckled when he saw Greg's raised eyebrow.
"Why stop at power bars? Might as well enjoy some snacks while we can. I was standing in there and I thought it would be sad that no one would be making some of that stuff anymore. So we might as well eat it now."
"Can't argue with that," Greg said with a laugh.
Greg finished filling the last can and they took a few moments to load everything inside the van. They were both grateful for an uneventful trip home but they did take note of some changes they saw as they arrived in their neighborhood. This morning things appeared relatively normal but now things were a bit different. Several families could be seen loading up their vehicles, they were likely intent on getting out of town as soon as possible. Some driveways had cars parked at random angles as if the driver had been in a hurry to get home.
Greg frowned at that. Were some of those people infected? Were the cars parked randomly because they had been overcome with the infection? Greg thought it probably a good idea they were staying in the basement. He did think they should rethink how long they were planning on staying though. Just in case the infection had reached this neighborhood.
"We might want to think about getting you another vehicle," James said.
"What's wrong with my car?"
"Just thinking we probably want something with a little bit more space. The van's pretty much packed now with what we picked up today. How's your car looking?"
Greg thought for a moment. "The trunk is pretty much full I think. There isn't too much space back there. We should probably handle that as soon as possible."
James nodded. "Let's drop the van off and get a bite to eat. We can unload your car and then take to go get something else. You have enough to cover a new car?"
Greg thought for a moment. "Yeah,
it shouldn't be too much of a problem. Couldn't get a hummer or anything, but anything lower than that should be fine."
"That's good," James responded, “If the dealerships are open, I don't think they'll be doing any financing."
Greg chuckled. "This is the perfect time though. They could do an end of the world special or something."
James laughed as he pulled into his driveway. He waited for the garage door to open then quickly pulled inside. "Why don't we get some of that gear out the back, just in case?"
Greg nodded. "The jackets and gloves for sure."
They spent a few minutes finding the desired items and headed inside for lunch. The girls had made some chicken sandwiches and a salad. During the meal, the men explained that they needed to replace Greg's vehicle. The girls agreed it was a good idea and they sent the kids out to the garage to unload Greg's car.
After lunch, they put on their new gear. A leather jackets to cover their arms and some gloves for their hands. They had another uneventful trip out. They knew this wouldn't last but were grateful for it nonetheless. They managed to find a dealership that was open and found and SUV that they felt would do the job. Greg ended paying way more than it was worth but didn't worry about it too much since they really needed it. He wondered how much longer the economy could hold up with this crisis going on. He figured pretty soon people would start looting and taking what they needed. Maybe the owner here thought he could get away some place the infection hadn't reached yet.
The drive home was much more interesting than the ride out. Several times they had to drive along the sidewalk to avoid traffic despite the fact they were sticking to side streets. Greg was already starting to feel that the SUV was paying for itself. He realized his old car wouldn't have been any good under these conditions. He smiled to himself. That was another great idea James had had, although he wouldn't tell him that.
Once they reached the house, they took the time to split up their supplies between both vehicles. Greg had thought it was a good idea for each vehicle to have the essentials in case they got separated somehow. They finished with the vehicles just as the girls were putting dinner together. They sat down to a meal of grilled steak, steamed vegetables, and some mashed potatoes. James smiled happily as he cut into his steak. Laura chuckled at his enthusiasm.