Bite {Niall Centric}

Day 677

That was a nice mural, really. There was a nice contrast to the purples and oranges depicting the sunset, and a dark landscape leading to a brightly lit city through a winding road that felt much like the one he had just traveled to get here. The town was uncharacteristically well-kept - for the zombie apocalypse, which was probably a testament to the town's well-functioning society.

However, Niall did not feel well at all looking at the mural. And the society that existed here was completely wiped out, a deduction courtesy of the blood and guts smearing said mural and painting the town red in a way that truly unsettled the brunette. Niall vaguely remembered visiting this place some months ago, and the mural had not looked like that.

What had happened here? Months prior, Niall had come across a few families still living here, but they seemed to be gone now. He quickly got back in his car at the chills he got thinking about it. Should he check on their homes?

He remembered a particularly old couple who owned a farm, their entire property fenced in and when news of the apocalypse came, reinforced. Niall liked the old couple, and wished them well, but he also wouldn't be surprised if they couldn't handle the upkeep of their security (or simply died of old age).

The couple, Ed and Linda, lived out of the way, so Niall opted to save it for later in the day. He needed to find more supplies and find a good spot to leave a ribbon and his name. Niall often thought about how dangerous leaving a trail was, but he could only hope that the only ones following him were his boyfriends.

A grocery store, nestled between Lucky's Automotive Parts and a clothing shop with its sign torn down, captured Niall's attention. He parked the car in the lot, grabbed his bat, and entered the store quietly. Most of the food was gone, but he wasn't really looking for that. Fortunately, there was tons of what he was looking for: batteries for his walkie-talkie and flashlight. He grabbed all of the packs, moving on to the next aisle, up and down, searching for anything that could be useful.

He found another flashlight, a few notebooks and pens, and the last pack of gummy bears. Just as he was sure there was nothing else, he came across the pharmacy section. Niall didn't know much about medicine, but he did know that Neosporin and peroxide were musthaves for a med kit, along with band-aids, bandages, and wraps. His backpack was rather full and heavy by the time he left.

He looked at the little outlet of stores, wondering if there would be anything else that he could use. He didn't have any mechanical skills, so the automotive store looked like it could only serve the purpose of providing expired sour candy at the check-out station. He also didn't fancy smelling nail polish in the nail salon or looking for antiques in Marie's Antiques and Novelties.

The clothing store, however, offered promise. Niall was wearing rags at this point, so sifting through racks for a few new outfits didn't bother him. Inside the store, it looked as if no one had entered since Doom's Day. Everything was neat, covered in layers of dust and cobwebs, and oddly freezing.

Niall still checked every nook and cranny before going over to a rack and looking through blue jeans. He didn't really know his exact size, so he just grabbed multiple of everything he liked.

The next rack didn't have much that interested him except for an old band shirt. He was sure all of the band's members were either dead or zombified right now, so upon further reflection, their pursuit of fame and fortune seemed like a waste of time if it couldn't protect them. Actually, a lot of things felt like a waste of time, Niall concluded. Why change clothes if they'll get covered in dirt and blood by the end of the day? Why continue to document each day despite the increasing neglibility of the meaning of time? Why continue to survive when death is just around every unchecked corner?