Annihilation

Chapter 7 - Upgrading and Restocking

ELIAS' P.O.V

The car pulled to a stop on a desolate street, the moon shining bright above us. Dyson's soft snores filled the silence.

"Dyson, wake up." Tatiana gently nudged his arm until he awoke from his short slumber. "We need to restock our food supplies."

"There's a grocery store over there," Cassius added, pointing a finger towards a small building. We all silently pushed the doors of the car open, not wanting to attract unwanted company. The six of us briskly walked towards the corner shop.

"Lucien do you have silencers on those guns?" he shook his head in response to my question and I sighed "Crap, firing them will probably attract more zombies than we can deal with" Lucien nodded and slid both guns into his belt before pulling a small army knife from his pocket. "I guess that will have to do"

We all turned to look through the grimy window at the front of the quiet store. "We should each grab some tins of food and some bottles of water, along with any weapons in there would be handy," Lucien boomed.

Everyone nodded and I crept towards the door, my knife drawn and kept close to my side. Tatiana stood with me, keeping her knives tightly gripped in each hand.

I pushed my hand against the dirty glass of the door, watching it slowly open. A quiet groaning inside alerted us that we weren't the only ones in this small shop.

I swiftly crept in and followed the single gurgling sound until I spotted the lone zombie munching down on who I presume was the shop owner's leg. Before it could realise what was happening, I darted forward and drove my knife into the back of its head.

The crunching sound of the zombie’s skull grinds at my ears, causing me to shiver. It's weird to think that a few days ago, murder was the single worst thing I could imagine doing. Here I am now, chopping the undead to bits.

"Are there any more?" Lyndi's hushed voice echoed over to me from the doorway and made me jump.

"I don't think so, but I'll check. Bring the others in and start looting what you can," I said, letting my echoes bounce from wall to wall. "I'll be looting the back room."

She didn't say another word as she turned to the others. I turned back to the dead zombie and sighed before walking into the hopefully abandoned room behind the register. I gripped the bloody knife in my hand, not sure if I was quite ready for another sudden encounter.

As I swung the door open, no light shone in the room. I brushed my hand against the wall until I found a small switch. As the click of the switch made the room burst with light, I choked on some sick.

In front of me, crippled and bloody in the corner, were two corpses. One had a gaping wound in its chest, whilst the other was propped up against the wall, its arm not in sight.

Besides them sat a small woman, tear stains marking her face. Her whimpers were barely audible. I tried to walk towards her, desperation in my chest to help the mentally disturbed woman, but as I tried to get near, she screamed at me, throwing a tin can that successfully hit me in the head.

I stared at the woman, confusion flooding my mind. A fresh tear trickled down her face, tracing the marks on her face as she cradled her arm.

I managed to get closer without her throwing another metal object at me. I hovered around her, catching a glimpse of her arm.

Her arm was mauled beyond repair, with part of her bone visible. That is horrific, but if I'm here to comfort, I need to suck it up.

"You've been bitten, haven't you?" I whisper to the lady. She looked up at me, her large brown eyes filled with tears.