This Would Be Paradise (Book 1)-A Zombie Novel

Chapter 10

With John in the lead, we entered the quiet store. The emergency lights were on and muted light leaked through the front windows but the store was still a bit too dark to see properly. All the shelves and displays gave off elongated shadows which created a sinister look to everything. I couldn't hear any movement except for the sounds of our group's feet hitting the linoleum. We all split up into different areas in the interest of time. I had claimed the pharmacy; after all I'm sure the guys wouldn't think to grab tampons.

I picked up a hand basket along the way and started to peruse the aisles. I grabbed all the first aid items I could, like bandages and peroxide. I peeked around the corner to see Zoe filling up her shopping basket with all the hygiene items we needed, various soap and shampoo. After filling my own basket I sat it down on the pharmacy counter and went around to the swinging door and let myself in. Somehow this felt more wrong than breaking into a gun shop. The shelves were still stocked with all the various medicines and I had no idea where to start. I started to skim the labels and grabbed anything that sounded like an antibiotic or pain killer.

I dumped all of the boxes into a new basket and stepped back onto the floor. With both baskets in hand, I went back to find Zoe. As I rounded the corner, I ran straight into the body of an infected, the force and the shock knocking both of us down. The basket's contents spilled all over the floor surrounding us. I scrambled back as the thing snapped at me and tried to get itself up while still coming at me. My back hit the pharmacy counter and I used it as leverage to get myself onto my shaky feet.

The infected reached towards me as it stumbled forward; its eyes were clouded over so bad that I couldn't even see the iris's color. There was a big chunk missing from its shoulder and the wound leaked an almost brown colored blood onto his grocery store uniform. In my panic I had completely forgotten about the gun holstered on my waist. I pulled it out and flicked the safety until I saw the small red light. I pointed it at the infected but my hands were shaking so badly that I couldn't hold it steady. I took a deep breath and squeezed the trigger. I missed and the bullet whizzed by the things head and embedded itself in one of the shelves.

It was still coming at me and I only had time to make one more shot before it was on me. Never taking my eyes off of it, I shot again. This time the bullet hit its mark, sort of anyways. It caught the infected in its good shoulder causing him to spin around from the impact. It landed on the ground with a hiss and pushed itself back up again, not bothered by the bullet hole now adorning his body. I raised the gun to try again when the things head whipped to the side, brain and blood spraying in the air along with it. I looked to my right to see Taylor lowering his gun.

"You ok?" He asked as he ran up to me.

All I could do was nod dumbly, too shocked from what just happened to speak at the moment.

"Oh my god Bailey, are you alright?" Zoe dropped her basket and ran over to me.

"She's in shock, I think. I don't see any blood," Taylor said giving me the once over.

Everyone else ran over to the scene at the sound of Taylor's pistol. After deciding I was fit to go, John said,

"We need to hurry. That shot was loud, who knows what else heard it."

After the others flew off into their areas to finish, Zoe stayed behind with me.

"Are you sure you're ok?" Zoe asked, placing her hand on my shoulder.

"Yes," I said weakly then cleared my throat, "I've just never had to shoot a gun before and the fact that I actually hit that thing freaks me out."

"The infected don't seem to feel it or even notice it," Zoe tried to reason with me.

"Yeah," I said and looked up at her, not realizing I had been staring at my feet, "It just got up and kept coming for me."