Fighting to Survive (5 page)

“
You
learn things on the job being a cop,
”
Bill said somberly.

“
Don't
care if you're black or white or brown or whatever,
”
Ed said,
“
just
as long as you don't turn green and bite me.
”

Jenni
laughed and Felix smiled.

Bill's
brow furrowed as he concentrated. After a moment, he smiled. With a
twist of his wrist, the lock spun, and the door opened slightly.

They
all gagged at once. The smell coming out of the store was putrid.

“
Fucking
shit,
”
Felix gasped.

“
We
got a dead one in there all right,
”
Ed said grimly.

Bill
crawled away from the door, his eyes watering, trying to get a clean
breath of air.

Jenni
pulled her bandana up over her nose.
“
Gawd,
that is awful.
”

“
Enclosed
space and rotting dead stuff; not a good combo. Let's do this,
people,
”
Ed said, pushing the door all the way open with one foot. He stared
into the gloom, his rifle with the makeshift bayonet at the end at
the ready.
“
Hey!
”

His
voice filled the store. A low growl answered.

“
It
’
s
dead and talking,
”
Ed said somberly, and walked in.

Felix
moved in right behind him as Bill climbed to his feet and joined
Jenni. He wiped his eyes and cheeks with a bandana, then nodded to
her. His eyes were still smarting, but he looked ready. Jenni slid
into the darkened interior slowly.

4. The Store

The front of the
store was empty except for a line of small shopping carts. Both
checkout stands stood empty. Jenni walked cautiously toward the
first aisle to the right as Ed and Felix moved to check out the left
side of the store. Bill peered behind the checkout stands just to
make sure they were truly empty. He held his machete at the ready,
but with a swift motion of his head, indicated nothing lingered
there.

Jenni
lifted the ax a little higher as she headed down the first aisle. It
was loaded up with makeup and all sorts of lotions. A lone bottle of
shampoo lay in the middle of the aisle. She scooted it out of her way
with the tip of her boot. Bill moved up alongside her, close enough
for Jenni to hear his steady breathing. It was comforting. Slowly,
she edged around the corner, looking into the aisle that cut down the
side of the store. It was empty.

Together,
they advance slowly to the next aisle.

Ed
and Felix were obviously not finding anything as well, but the stench
and low moans told them all quite clearly something was dead in the
store and still moving. The aisle packed with baby supplies made
Jenni's head swim for a moment, but she shoved any thoughts of Benji
out of her mind and set her jaw determinedly.

The
aisle was clear.

Bill
moved up toward the next aisle.

Another
low moan reverberated through the store.

“
Is
anyone alive in here?
”
Felix's voice called out.

Another
low moan, not a screech, but a moan, answered.

“
If
you're human and hurt, say something,
”
Felix went on.

Somewhere,
the moan grew into a hungry growl.

“
Yep,
zombie,
”
Ed said.

“
For
sure,
”
Felix agreed.

Bill
froze for a second as they reached the aisle full of photo books and
frames. A lot of merchandise lay on the floor, broken and smashed.
Slowly, Jenni lifted her eyes upwards. An arm dangled off the shelf
over the display of cheap, but cute frames. It was savagely bitten
in several places. A low moan came from the shelf.

“
Found
one,
”
Bill called out.

The
zombie moaned. Its arm twitched.

“
I
bet he crawled up there to get away,
”
Jenni whispered.

The
zombie, wedged tightly between two metal shelves, wiggled anxiously,
knowing human flesh was nearby.

“
How
do we do this?
”
Bill looked perplexed.

Jenni
motioned to the zombie's foot.
“
Drag
it down and deal with it?
”

Bill
frowned deeply.
“
Could
go wrong on the way down. Could twist around and land on us or
something.
”

The
zombie thrashed around still unable to free itself.

“
Let's
go to the other side,
”
Jenni suggested.

Bill
and Jenni crept around to the other aisle, this one loaded down with
all sorts of household supplies. The zombie's other leg and arm were
hanging out on this side. It was a young man, probably in his late
teens. If he hadn
’
t
such a slim build, he may have never wedged himself between the two
metal shelves. He saw them and thrashed even more, growling. Jenni
looked around her and spotted a small stepladder used to stock the
higher shelves. It was toppled over on its side and she bet the kid
had used it to climb up out of the way of a zombie. Grabbing it, she
dragged it over in front of the zombie. Out of the corner of her eye,
she could see its decaying hand reaching out desperately to get her,
but she was out of reach.

“
Hold
me,
”
Jenni ordered Bill, then stepped up to the top step.

Bill's
big hands grabbed her hips and held her tightly. Jenni was now face
to face with the zombie. Its hand waved in front of her eyes,
straining desperately to reach her. The kid's face was stained with
his tears and blood. She felt sorry for him. He didn't look that
much older than Jason. But, regardless of his youth, his time was
done on this earth. She was ready to send him on.

She
swung her ax as hard as she could into the face of the zombie. He
grabbed her wrist just as the ax head buried itself into his skull.
Almost as soon as his fingers gripped her, they went slack. Jenni
wrenched the ax out of his dead features. Bill tightened his grip on
her hips.

“
One
more whack to be sure,
”
she said.

She
swung the ax again and felt it cleave the zombie head in half. Now
she was sure it was over. Black goo slid out over the edge of the
shelf.

“
It's
done!
”

Her
voice echoed.

A
low moan from the back of the store answered.

“
Sounds
like we got another one,
”
Ed called out.

“
I
figured that. This one climbed up on a shelf to escape something,
”
Bill answered back.

A
more desperate moan answered.

Jenni
dropped off the stepladder and held her dripping ax tightly in her
hands. She felt a little sick about the death of the kid. The first
death, not the one she had given him. The world was just fucked and
awful.

The
next area was full of hanging clothes and bedding supplies. Jenni
and Bill made sure to study any shelving above eye level. The moans
they kept hearing were from the back of the store, but they were very
cautious as they moved on. They had to be. It was far too dangerous
to let their guard down.

“
Found
her,
”
Felix called out.
“
She's
on your side. And you won't believe this.
”

Bill
and Jenni finally reached the back of the store and turned the
corner.

A
female zombie was reaching toward Felix and Ed who were approaching
her from the opposite side of the store.

“
You
have to be fucking kidding me,
”
Jenni said and almost laughed.

The
ground was covered in overturned trash bins of all sizes, plastic
clothesbaskets, and plastic storage containers. They were splashed
with blood and it was obvious a struggle had happened here. At some
point, the female zombie had stepped into a bucket and caught her
foot in it. As she had tried to pass between the metal shelves and a
support column, her foot in the bucket had become wedged. Unable to
move her foot, she was simply standing there moaning. Jenni couldn't
see her face, but her body looked slim and young. She wondered if
this was the one who had bitten the boy.

“
Kinda
dumb, ain't they?
”
Ed smirked.

Jenni
heaved the ax over her head and brought it down hard onto the
zombie's head. It wedged halfway into the thing's skull. The zombie
slowly collapsed down to the floor and Jenni yanked the blade out of
the dead girl.

Bill
leaned down and looked at the zombie thoughtfully.
“
There
is a bite on her hand. Only mark other than her head being split
apart.
”

“
So,
she gets bit, dies, attacks the boy here, he gets bit up, she gets
caught, he goes and climbs onto a shelf.
”
Felix nodded his head.
“
And
he dies. Makes sense.
”

Jenni
frowned down at the body.
“
But
who bit her?
”

“
They're
both wearing vests and name tags. Boxes are open in the aisles.
They were early morning stockers. Do you think she came in bit?
”
Bill looked thoughtful.

Slowly,
they all looked toward the door to the storeroom.

“
Great,
”
Felix moaned.

“
We
do this right and careful,
”
Ed said firmly.

The
four of them slowly moved toward the swinging metal doors.

The
battered metal doors swung open into a long narrow room filled with
boxes piled along one wall almost to the ceiling. At the far end was
the open door to a narrow bathroom.

“
Hello?
”
Jenni called out cautiously.

They
all jumped when the metal doors that opened to the loading dock
outside began to shake as something on the other side beat on them.
Snarls and growls that set their hair on end emanated from beyond the
closed doors.

“
Okay.
We got one outside. Those doors are locked and holding. Check the
storage room,
”
Ed ordered.

It
took ten long minutes to scour the narrow room. They moved slowly and
purposefully. They checked the shelves, the boxes, the small
bathroom, and the small manager's office. Nothing appeared. Nothing
was hidden. They made as much noise as possible to try to get
something to come out. Nothing.

“
One
more sweep through the store,
”
Ed ordered.

In
twenty minutes they stood outside in the street.