Immunosupression

by Jose Luis Solorzano

  Chapter Two

  Zack’s next destination revealed itself when the two of them had walked for a good hour. They were both exhausted, their thighs burning, but they also didn’t dare share their complaints. Yes, there were many cars that littered the streets that they probably could have taken, but they wouldn’t be able to travel too far without there being a barricade of other abandoned automobiles.

  Anna had spotted a familiar sight, which happened to be Zack’s destination. It was an abandoned Wal-Mart. As they reach the front doors, they were happy to see that there was still electricity running in this facility, the sliding doors opening for them. The cool breeze of the air condition hit their faces, almost paralyzing them. It had been a while since either of them were able to experience any kind of cool air. In more than one way, it caused shivers to crawl up their spines. The bright, florescent lights were also something that they felt their eyes had to get used to for a while.

  “So, what are we here for exactly,” Anna asked him.

  “Well, you’re going to look for something that we can used to cut your hair with when we find some shelter, and then you’re going to find us some food.” Zack seemed to be very blunt when he passed her these instructions.

  “And where are you going,” Anna questioned.

  “I need to go shopping for some personal items,” he told her.

  Zack hoped that she wouldn’t dig much deeper into the matter, for now anyway. Right now, he wasn’t sure if he wanted to share his secret so openly with someone in this world. His hopes seemed answered when she turned away from him.

  “Meet me in the food aisles,” Anna told him.

  “Not yet,” Zack instructed her, grabbing tightly onto her backpack to keep her from running off.

  Anna was ready to question Zack, but he immediately shushed her. It was completely silent in the store, only the low buzzing of the florescent light emitting in the background. Zack inhaled lowly and then let out a loud whistle, one that was designed to call upon a dog that had been lost for some time. This time, he was calling upon the monsters that may be hiding amongst the sections of the store. Several seconds pass, but there is nothing that sounded like rumbling or anything that resembled the movement of their enemies.

  With that, Zack signaled to Anna that it was okay to explore. The two of them split separate ways when they reached the end of the initial walkway. Zack’s main focus was towards the pharmacy, which he felt was traditionally next to the hygiene products. Even though he had tested if any of their enemies were present, he kept his hand tightly around the hilt of his katana just in case. He knew that in this new world, there was no such thing as being too careful.

  Anna was having a hard time looking for scissors that she could use to cut her hair with. She found a good large pair in the section that held kitchen supplies. This section seemed to be missing a lot of things, which were probably taken during the early looting periods of the viral outbreak. There were no big appliances and barely any small things that were of any value remaining. Anna didn’t understand the difference between trimming scissors and kitchen scissors; she just figured that it looked sharp enough to get the job done. She struggled to take it out of its plastic holding before placing it in her backpack.

  Her next destination was towards the grocery section of the store. This seemed even more deserted than the kitchenware section. Anything that could last over a year was practically gone and all the leftover produce had rotted away. Anna figured that she didn’t want something that could go bad, or at least she figured that’s what Zack would tell her to do. Only knowing him for a little while, she had a vague hypothesis of the kind of guy he was. To her, Zack was a very careful, very calculated person. Anna figured she needed him if she really wanted to stand a chance surviving in this new, fucked up world, so proving her usefulness in any situation was a must.

  Meanwhile, Zack was digging through the pharmacy in aggravation. He figured since Wal-Mart was a large chain back when the world still kept a bit of its sanity, it would have a large supply of medicines that weren’t common. Instead, as he searched through the medicines supplied there, he couldn’t find what he was exactly looking for. Sure, there was some pills that were of use to him, but not the specific one that he was looking for. Without that specific drug, soon, his life would become a ticking time bomb. Trying to keep a good leveled head, he started to hyperventilate.

  Not good, he told himself, gathering his thoughts. You don’t want to panic now, especially not in front of the girl. Remember, the hospitals are only a last resort, and you still have some meds that could last you for a while. Just calm down; it’s not the end of the world. Well, not quite yet anyway.

  Zack sat still for a good five minutes, then he gathered the other medicines that he felt had some use to him, although he was still frustrated about his luck. After that, he spied the clock that was hanging along the wall. He chuckled to himself, seeing that something in this upside down world was still a constant. Time kept running, so were the laws of science, although he had heard theories that time didn’t really exist. Well, monsters aren’t supposed to exist either. According to the clock that was hanging on the wall, it was getting late; much later than he had expected to be out today. He figured it was nearing sunset, meaning they would be surrounded by darkness. The night didn’t give the zombies any kind of initial advantage besides a level of stealth, but Zack still didn’t feel comfortable being out during the night for his own safety.

  Upon his way to find Anna, he spied some of the kitchen supplies. A lot of it was pretty useless now, seeing that not many places ran on electricity. Plus, he had no idea how to use a lot of what was left over. The one item that seemed to be missing in quantity were coffee makers, not that Zack cared for coffee though. Still, there was one particular device that had caught Zack’s eye: a dehydrator.

  He made his way to the produce section. He was quite surprised to see a bag a grapes that weren’t completely dried out, nor having a rotten odor. Still, he was careful to take the smallest bite of the dark, purple spheres. It tasted very sweet to his tongue, a sensation that he had quite missed these past few weeks. He took the rest of the bag with him as he searched the rest of the aisles for the strange girl.

  Zack had spotted Anna in the canned food section as she packed a few cans of ravioli into mesh bags that she had found lying about the store. Zack was quite impressed, also spying that one of the bags was filled with fresh water bottles. Anna turned her head towards him and smiled.

  “Were you able to find what you were looking for,” Anna asked him, now picking up the bags. It was impressive of how she was able to carry them without showing any strain.

  “N-not really,” Zack told her.

  “So, um, what exactly is that,” Anna asked, looking at the medium-sized box that the boy was carrying.

  “It’s a surprise,” Zack told her. “Do you think that any of the meat in the back freezers are any good?”

  “I doubt it, honestly,” Anna answered. “I guess it wouldn’t hurt if you checked, but you’re the one who’s going to be carrying it.” Comically, she lifted up the bags that she was going to be carrying over her shoulders.

  Zack lightly laughs, nodding at her.

  The two of them make their way towards the area where the meat was being held. Much of the meat that was on display had Zack lose a bit of his hope, but he figured it was all part of the natural process of life. If no one was around to eat something, it would only spoil. He went to the back, having little hope that there would be anything salvageable.

  Instead, the cold of the freezer had warmed his heart as he saw the leftover stock of meat, perfectly wrapped. Zack went to the first piece of meat, which had a thin layer of ice on top of it. Besides that, it still looked pretty good to his judgment. Grabbing one of Anna’s empty bags, he stuffed two large pieces of meat into it.

  “These are perfect,” Zack said, filled with pride.

  “For what,” Anna asked, slightly annoy
ed at little need for secrets that have to do with food.

  “To make jerky,” Zack told her, almost as if he felt his idea was completely obvious. “I know a place near here; I’ve stayed there for the past couple of nights. It has running water and electricity, but no gas for cooking. With the dehydrator though, we can dry out the meat, add some spices, and having something that can help keep us full for the next few days.”

  “Brilliant,” Anna told him.

  The two of them didn’t leave the store after that exact moment. Of course, Zack had to go looking for the exact spices he needed in order to make the jerky to taste how he wanted it to. He remembered the exact recipe his mother would use whenever she had the chance to make the dried treat. It had taken them another ten minutes or so to find the right supplies.

  As they reached the front entrance, the two of them spied the color of the sky, a blend of bright violet, bright orange, with a hint of dark blue and a slight shade of blackness. Night was coming upon them; a shiver crawled down Anna’s spine. With her axe hanging over her shoulder, aiding in carrying some of her bags, she felt that if zombies were to appear, she would be completely useless.

  “We better hurry,” Zack told Anna, hiding his nervousness.

  “That would be a good idea,” Anna responded, a bit of laughter in her voice.