V & V - Rageous Rageon Redemption.

Gnarly Groceries

Veneer POV:

The whole room is covered floor to ceiling in dripping, black liquid. The floor is swarmed with small, black worms. It is genuinely the worst thing I've ever smelled.

Ven: "What the fuck..."

I'm literally gagged over how overwhelmingly disgusting the odor is inside, closing my eyes in an attempt to stop myself from passing out. This can't be real; I have to be hallucinating. I count to three mentally, willing my eyes to open once more. The horror scene is still here; and from what I can tell, it's all real.

I need to get out of here.

I hurry downstairs, the sick smell burning my nose. I run out of the apartment, looking around frantically for my sister.

Ven: "Velv? Velvet! Where are you?"

I scream into the street, not caring who could hear me. I get no response, which just causes me to freak the fuck out more.

Shit... okay... I need to come up with a game plan. Let me check the car to see if the keys are still there.

Quickly, I go to the car, searching the whole vehicle for the keys that are now gone. As much as it kills me, I can't stay here knowing what's in my old bedroom.

With tears in my eyes, I set off on foot, not going in any particular direction. My mind is so foggy from the secondhand high that I can't make rational decisions, let alone think through things clearly and be level-headed.

I just need to find my sister.

Velvet POV:

Ven passes out again, his breathing sounding just as bad as it did when we were fleeing. I debate back and forth mentally if I should leave before finally deciding I can't sit here and listen to him suffer like this any longer.

Carefully, I lay Ven down and gently rub his shoulder before closing the door. He'll be safer if he stays here in the car; I shouldn't be long. With one last quick look, I jog toward the old grocery store. It's not incredibly far from here, and I should be able to reach it soon by running.

Ven took forever to wake up the last few times, so I'm sure I'll be back long before he wakes up. I jog at a good pace, reaching the store in fifteen minutes. Maybe I should have became a track star—yeah, right! I HATED p.e. and would always force Ven to walk the mile with me.

Luckily, he never had a problem with that, though our physical education teacher did. If only Coach D. could see me now. Pushing my high school gym thoughts away, I creep to the front of the store, seeing it's dark inside. 

One of the windows is smashed in, broken glass littering the floor. Well, at least I have a way in. Carefully, I climb through the smashed window, wincing as I hear how loud the glass crunches beneath my feet.

Walking in, I notice that the store is eerily quiet. I regret not appreciating the previous times that I've been here for how calm and peacefully quiet the atmosphere was. Now, it's creepy and unnerving. Ignoring my fears, I make my way through the store, noticing much of the food has been picked through. I go to the mini medicine aisle, looking for the closest thing I can get to an inhaler.

I grab drugstore asthma combative meds before I spot packs of medically licensed ring pop gums. I grab a few boxes for Ven; maybe he can use them in place of the ring pop he has now, or even better, have them as an aid in weaning off.

I take my small collection to the front of the store to get a bag, happy I could get what I came for. As I bag the items, I start to feel uneasy. It's probably just the insatiable hunger I'm feeling; I should grab some food for Ven and me; who knows when the last time he ate was.