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

Chapter 18

We dug through the pockets of dead infected in the back, managing to find four sets of keys. Whether or not they had the keys for the cars outside, who knows. I jogged back to the one I had downed in the pharmacy. It was still lying where it dropped and I rummaged through its disgusting pant pockets. I almost threw up, managing to only gag at the nasty substance that covered my hand but at least I got a set of keys for my trouble. I copied what I did earlier and wiped my hand on the infected's shirt.

Then I remembered what area I was in and headed off to find the baby wipes and antibacterial gel. A handful of wipes later, I finally got my hands clean but I still itched to wash them with soap and water. If I was lucky maybe the sinks in the washrooms would still work; however, that was just wishful thinking on my end. All the power had stopped and therefore, so did running water, unless a place had its own isolated system like the cabin. And I doubt Wal-Mart fell under that category.

I met the others at the door that said employees only so we could check for keys. John pushed it open to reveal a set of metal stairs leading to the top office area. With our flashlights in hand, we ascended the stairs. At the top was a long hallway with windows to the outside on the left and cork boards, lockers and doors to the right. We followed John as he slowly made his way down the walkway. The few offices that were up here had the doors open and were empty of people or infected.

The last door on the right was closed and had one of those frosted windows on the upper half reading 'loss prevention'. John's hand went to open the door when a figure on the other side slammed itself against it. We all jumped back in shock as the thing snarled and slammed repeatedly against the door trying to get at us. Blood and spittle coated the inside of the glass as the door continued to rattle from the impact. I could see the outline of the nasty figure through the frosted glass and I knew what John was going to do.

"Cover your eyes," He barked, lifting his handgun.

I placed my arm over my eyes as he shot through the glass. The only sound I heard was the glass hitting the floor along with the thump of the body. John peaked in,

"It's clear, I think."

John motioned for Taylor to open the door while he stood at the ready with his gun in case anything tried to charge out. The door opened and the fading sunlight coming through the windows showed us the infected sprawled out on the ground not moving. Behind it was, well a mess. A chewed up corpse was spread all over the back part of the office. I grimaced at the sight of half eaten intestines and the hollowed out chest cavity. The smell was beyond anything I had smelt before and I fought the urge to vomit. The head was still intact and to my dismay, started to stir. Its teeth clanged as it snapped its teeth, defying all the laws of nature.

"That is disgustin'." Ethan paled at the sight.

John lifted his knife from his belt and brought it down into the left eye socket. The head stopped moving and we all looked at each other searching for answers we knew none of us had.

We checked the open lockers for keys and the pockets of the coats hanging on the hooks beside the lockers. Coming up here was a bust. We didn't end up finding anything useful so we headed back downstairs.

"Should we try out the keys now or wait until morning?" I asked.

"I think we should try to get as much done tonight as possible," Ethan answered.

John nodded, "We've got maybe an hour of sunlight left so we should get to it then."

The setting sun shone through the murky doors as we approached the front. We opened the set of doors and peered out into the parking lot. Nothing had changed. The cars were still parked in their spots and the fallen infected from earlier were where we left them.