screamed. “He’s only four, I can’t find him.”
I could not imagine the fear that was running through her. My family was back at home, safe. I stopped running, leaned against a shelf of towels. I navigated through my phone and called my house.
“Honey, where are you?” My wife asked right away.
I wanted to tell her everything, I needed to. Nothing came out, I just listened to her voice.
“Hey are you there? Must have pocket dialed me again?”
“No, I’m here.”
“Oh, so are you almost home? You’re not driving and calling are you?”
“No, I’m still shopping.”
I looked around the dark store, voices were panicked, children crying, people complaining. Lights from phones and keychains were glowing in different areas. I couldn’t tell her.
“There’s a long line, I’ll try to be quick.”
We said our goodbyes and I went on. I love that woman, I will get back to her. A guttural growl then shrieking, I avoided the area hoping to find another exit. Shuffling at my back, turned and there was some teenager stumbling towards me, like the psycho did. I had nothing to say this time, I ran.
Moved into an aisle, a cart was in the center. My phone went black again. I let the darkness envelope me and tried to catch my breath. My mind throbbed, I didn’t know what was going on.
“Meghan, come to daddy’s voice.”
My eyes closed, I felt exhausted. My body wanted to quit, but I pushed on. How could I be this tired? A light was shining on the ground at the other end of the aisle. I started forward, store goods were on the floor, shopping carts left scattered. I got closer to the light.
Gurgling and moaning. I knelt and picked up the keychain with a small flashlight. Shined it around finding big boots, a man’s legs. Maybe the guy fell when he was navigating out of here. I followed up his body. A little girl in a bright red shirt and jeans was sitting on his stomach, leaning over him. She was ‘om nom noming.’ Her young head pulled back, she looked up at me, her cherub face makeuped in blood. The little demon hissed at me and went back to eating what was left of the big guy’s face.
I stumbled away, slowly making my escape, she paid me no more attention. Her little chomping twisting my insides, little moans as if she was enjoying the most delicious thing she ever ate.
My new keychain flashlight in hand I got the hell away from there. My mind tried telling me I didn’t see the little girl eating the face of some guy, it wasn’t real, just shadows playing tricks, nothing to worry about. I knew it was real and it did happen.
Loud bangs, something crashing on the floor, glass I think. I shined my light in the direction. People were running, Junior was after them, he shot and part of a woman’s head splattered her life essence over the others around her. Junior fired a few more times hitting some of the people that were trying to escape. His gun clicked empty, that hollow sound echoing. Junior stopped and fumbled with his next magazine. With my light on him, the people he was chasing charged. They knocked him to the ground, fists crashing into his face and body. His hands still worked at the gun and a few shots went off, a couple bodies fell limp. The weapon of death was ripped from his hands and Junior’s head was blown apart, his brains scattered across the floor.
A man stood, the only survivor from Junior’s hunt. He was trembling, hands shaking, one lower than the other like the gun was a heavy weight. Against my better judgement I walked closer to him.
“Are you okay?”
He aimed the gun at me.
“Whoa, put it down.”
He was frozen on the spot, gun pointed at me and still shaking.
“It’s okay, lower the gun.”
I shined my light around making sure we were alone, didn’t want psycho’s rushing us.
“Sorry,” he whispered.
I moved up to him, my little light illuminating the bloody scene then his face. It was Vic Nolan, I had worked with him recently on a big project, holy shit.
“Vic,” I said.
He looked at me squinting, right there I knew it was him, he always did that.
“Rex?” He asked.
“Yeah, Vic there is some crazy shit going on.”
“I just killed somebody,” Vic said looking down at the corpses.
I looked down at Junior’s lifeless body, his blood pooling around him, mixing with the essence of the people he killed during the struggle for his gun.
“It was self defense,” I told him.
A throaty growl called out.
“We have to get out of here.”
“Fine with me,” Vic said.
Vic started for the front of the store.
“They chained them shut, we need a back exit.”
“There’s an employee door in sports, it leads to their warehouse. We could get out through there.”
I liked his plan. We walked side by side, me lighting the way and him swaying around the gun. Tried to ignore the panicked voices, the sick growls and smacking lips.
“Do you have any idea what’s going on?” Vic asked.
I didn’t really know or understand what had happened so far. Morgan, which I am certain was not a cop, talked about a virus. No way was I going to tell the guy wielding a gun I may be infected.
“Not a clue. I just want to go home.”
Shuffling at our side, it turned my stomach. I shined the light towards the noise, two of them, blood stained and coming at us.
“Oh god. What happened to those people?” Vic asked.
“Shut up and move.”
I started to run, but Vic wasn’t at my side, he was back there in the dark. Dammit, what was he thinking?
“Rex,” Vic called out. “We need to help them.”
I rushed back, the infected were closer. Vic jumped. A squelching sound coming from one of them. I grabbed Vic and pulled him with me, the infected tried to follow. A stench that crawled up and died in my nose had me gagging.
Vic made a cartoonish disgusted noise, “What is that?”
We crashed through a cardboard stand filled with DVDs, the flashlight rolled away into the dark unknown.
“What the hell Rex? Those people needed help.”
“Vic, two armed men came in here posing as cops, they shot three people right in front of me. One of them talked about an infection and they were here to kill it.”
He was quiet, I felt around and couldn’t find him.
“Victor?”
“I can’t see,” Vic said.
I sighed, “you should have come with me when I ran.”
A hand touched my shoe, I jerked back. A girl squeaked.
“Daddy,” she said, her voice was young.
My body quaked, if this was my daughter I would do what ever it takes to get her out alive. Out came my cell, the painfully dull light shined across her face, no blood.
“No darling, I’m not your daddy.”
“Rex we need light.”
A deep low moan called out, I closed my eyes, that’s when I realized there was little chance I could escape this situation.
“Come on darling, hold my hand. We’re going to get out of here.”
“My parents?”
“We’ll find them outside,” I told her.
The three of us stood. I was waving my hand out hoping to find a path. Really didn’t want to fall again or walk into an infected. Lights were beaming a good distance from us.
“Move,” I ordered.
My stupid feet wouldn’t move fast enough. I sure as hell didn’t want to yell and bring unwanted attention to us. Cold hands grasped my outreached arm, I yanked back biting down on my fear. The hand stayed clutched on my arm, It was bloody and missing some fingers. I screamed. (It was manly.)
“What’s happening, I can’t see anything,” Vic yelled.
The cold dead body shoved into me, trying to take me down to the ground. I fought back, refusing to be an easy target. The little girl was screaming and pulling at my hand to let her go, she would be swallowe
d up into darkness, probably be devoured by these nightmarish creatures. The cold hands of death left me. The girl was lifted into the air, she shrieked so loud I thought my ears would burst.
“Victor help me, something’s got her.”
“What do I do? I can’t see!” Vic yelled.
I grabbed onto the girl with both hands, her lungs never giving out, the screams deafening. I felt the cold lithe arms of her attacker, a woman. It groaned then the cold body jerked taking the girl from me to the ground. I dropped and felt for them.
There was something wet all over the floor. I found the little girls hand, she wasn’t screaming anymore. Chomping sounds and moans. The distant lights were racing towards us shining their lovely glow.
A petite woman was mounted on the young girl, tearing at her face with her teeth. The girl’s throat was torn open, her blood poured out like water from a faucet. How could this happen? She was so young, there was still much for her to experience.
My anger overthrew me, I jabbed the disturbed woman in the side of the head. She wasn’t letting up, the sick sounds of her chewing flesh was too much. I leapt to my feet and pulled her up by her silky hair. In the glow of the lights I could see her cold hands reaching out for the young girl.
“Mm ... Mom ...” The little girl gasped.
I lifted her and swung the sick woman off the child. Her body smacked into the tiled floor, with a wet thud. She rolled back towards the girl and clawed out at her. My black boot slapped into her face. The woman, my god she looked like an older version of the little girl, her mother. There were people around us wielding flashlights.
“Look at the girl,” a feminine voice called out.
“Is she dead?”
The little girl wasn’t moving anymore, tears dripped down my face. The mother quickly lurched onto her daughter and began devouring her again. I jumped back and everybody screamed. There was an emptiness growing in the pit of my being. I punted the woman from her daughter, my body controlled by another source. I was stomping on her head, voices were calling out, arms wrapping around my body trying to pull me away. Vic put me in some sort of hold, my arms were above my head and he pulled me away. Lights were shining over my actions, the mothers brains defaced the tiled floor. My bloody boots created a trail to my current location. The little girl was passed and I sent the mother to join her.
My body was sluggish, I didn’t want to do anything. Hunger had me in it’s grasp, tearing into my stomach. The bile sloshing from side to side making me feel nauseous. I realized Victor was leading me away, the other people with flashlights were with us.
“Where are we going?”
“The hell out of here,” one of the guys said, he was bulky and wearing Velcro shoes, paint on his pants and a big silver thumb ring.
“To sporting,” Vic said.
There was six of us together now, we got more lights from one of the shelves, searching for the packages with batteries. Rubber flashlights, they were heavy and awkward. I was just glad to have some form of light with me.
A short man stumbled upon us, he was bathed in blood. Whole chunks of his body were chewed away, he was missing his right arm. He hissed at us, and shuffled closer, wanting to fulfill his twisted mind with our tortures. His intestines were dragging along the floor behind him.
The girl that was with us screamed, “ETHAN.”
“Izzy, calm down,” Ethan said.
“Lets move,” thumb ring guy said.
I couldn’t leave this infected man free to roam, it was only a matter of time before he kills somebody, possibly a child.
“No. Victor give me the gun.”
He didn’t think twice, the cold steel was placed in my hand. I’ve played tons of shooter games with my son, I’m sure I could handle this. The infected man wasn’t far, he was still approaching unaware I was about to deal him death, if he could die. I felt like a barbarian, my mind was numb, acting only on instinct. I aimed death at the man and pulled the trigger, it wouldn’t go down all the way. I smacked the gun with my other hand, like I imagine a caveman might, I bashed it again and pulled the trigger, still nothing.
“The safety,” Vic said.
He walked up to me and flipped the little