Apocalypse Grumps

New Look

"Okay," Suzy clapped her hands to get everyone's attention. "so Mark has informed me that there's an abandoned Kmart nearby that we can gather supplies from. I'll warn everyone, this is going to be our last supply run before we head to the White House to finish this. It's behind the hospital we were at, so we're gonna walk there. So everyone get what you think you need, and we'll come back here to pack up for the big fight!" We all got up from wherever we were and began walking in the direction of the hospital. I looked back at the sight of River asking to be picked up by Mark, him picking her up, putting her on his back, and then taking Danny's hand and then starting to walk with the rest of the group.

I nudged Barry and pointed to them, "Aw!" "I can do you one better," Suzy butted in. She then pointed to Jack and Ross walking together and laughing at something they were talking about. "What are you guys, the shippers of the group?" Arin asked looking back at all three of us. "Can't help it." Suzy shrugged. She then proceeded to kiss Arin on the cheek, to which he blushed and turned back around.

When we arrived, we entered through the broken automatic door by Arin smashing it with his foot. There was much less carnage than I had originally anticipated, although it was dark inside. Hell, even the little prize capsule machines were okay. Well, some of them had smashed glass, but they were mostly okay. River pointed at one, "You want a toy?" Mark asked. She nodded with a smile. Danny went to see if any were stuck in the little slot they come out of, no luck. "I know how to get one." Ross declared and urged everyone to step back. "Ross, don't—" Danny tried to stop him, but he was cut off by him smashing the glass with his cybernetic hand which caused some of the capsules to fall onto the ground. Mark let River down to pick which one she wanted. "What kind of prizes were they?" I asked Ross, considering he was the last to see the list of different things it contained before he smashed it. He shrugged, "I don't know, but I see a couple video game characters."

"We're gonna go and look for supplies," Barry told us. I decided to go with them since they could probably use the help. Jack and Ross went to look for Jack some new clothes while Mark and Danny stayed with River.

---

River dug through the toys in search for one she favored most while Danny and I watched. So much wonder and amusement was in her eyes, I couldn't help but smile. Eventually, she found her favorite and asked Danny to open it for her.

"That's Link." Danny told her. "Lick?" she tried to repeat. "No, no, no, Link." he said more slowly this time. "Link." she said successfully. He then applauded her and told her she did a good job while giving her a high five. She then began to pick up different capsules and ask who they were, then Danny would happily tell her. This went on for about three minutes before I decided to sit down next to Danny as she tried to dig for a new one to ask about.

"I think I know who her favorite of us is." I whispered in his ear. He gasped, "No. Is that what you think?" I shrugged. He then put his arm around me and pulled me close to his chest. Then River held up one to us, "Who this?" she asked. Danny took it into his free hand, "It's Megaman." he said, amazed. "Hey, why don't you give this to Arin? It'll make him happy." She took it, then bolted into the store.

"You really think River likes me more than you?" Danny asked. "Well, you are the one who gave her her teddy bear." Danny sighed. "It's only been a couple days, Mark." "True."

That got me thinking. What will we do when this whole thing is done? I mean, Danny and I have talked about it, right? No. We haven't. We only have a general idea of what we're doing. But I guess that's all we can do at the moment.

"Anyway, should we go looking for something that I can wear besides this hospital gown?" I ask, changing the subject. Danny hums in agreement, then lets me out of his grasp. I stand up and stretch while he does the same. Then, hand in hand, we enter the store.

---

As we scanned the shelves for any food that wasn't diseased, I heard the little slap of sandals hitting the tile floors. I look over and see River holding a little plastic capsule, she then walks over to where Arin and Suzy are and pulls his tank top to get his attention. "Arn," she calls. He turned towards her, and she handed him the little capsule. "For you! Open!" she jumps up and down with excitement, earning an "Aww," from Suzy. He pops it open, and his eyes light up at the little character inside. He smiles, then tussles River's red hair, making her giggle. "Thanks, kid," He takes the small Megaman figure and shoves it into his pocket.

After a while of an unsuccessful food search, we decide to try and find everyone else. We eventually found Mark and Danny, which River ran up to them and hugged them both. Mark had found a grey hoodie with red trim, then Danny himself a blue flannel.

Jack, however, looked completely different without his uniform. He had picked out a sky blue t-shirt, jeans, sneakers with orange on the sides, and a tweed flat cap which I thought was an odd choice, but it suited him well. "How come you picked that hat?" I asked him. He looked up at it and back down at me, "I don't know. It just feels... right." He then smiled crookedly as Ross gave him a playful punch on the arm.

"I guess we're all set then! Let's head back to camp—"

She stopped. Then breathed out again, and to our horror, she could see her breathe. That's when we heard loud thumping followed by screeching. "I thought those things were only in Illinois!" Barry shouted. Arin told everyone to follow him to a safe place where we can all hide. As we ran through the store, the thumping was getting closer. And from what it sounded like, there was more than one of them. And they were huge.

Then, we saw a gigantic piece of rubble from the ceiling sitting in a corner. Arin led us all behind it, and told us to keep as quiet as possible. One of them came close to where we were, making everyone tense up. Danny and Mark held each other and River closely and Arin held Suzy's hand tightly. We heard the thing sniff near us as it made a clicking noise.

Suddenly, it's claw hooked itself on the rubble, and destroyed it. We all scooched away as best as we could, but instead of attacking us, it just stood there. It almost looked like it was smiling. Its head reeled back and let out a loud screech that was ear piercing. Two other Reapers showed up on both of its sides. The one who found us was and icy blue, had a human-like upper body with four spider legs, and white fur on its' joints, chest, and head. The one to the right was purple and cat-like. It was on all fours and had something wrapped around it that acted like a tail. Then the one to the left was a mustard yellow snake creature with a mouth on its stomach. It then had mossy green hair that drooped over its' face.

Arin pulled out a gun and aimed at the three creatures, "Don't come any closer!" They all stepped back and looked genuinely afraid.

"Wait!" called a familiar voice. A small, red headed girl ran up and stood in front of the Reapers. I couldn't believe my eyes. It couldn't be her. It couldn't be...

"Lizzy?"