Young and Young at Heart (The Rewrite of The Walking Dead Game: S2) [TWDG/TWD]

90. Family

A girl garbed in a dark green raincoat smeared with gore carefully approached a small supermarket. She took a moment to adjust her ski goggles so they fit over her ski mask more snugly, then slowly crept across the parking lot to the front of the store.

She stopped at the door and grasped a small sports bottle clipped to her belt. She removed a wadded up piece of paper from the bottle then sealed it. She placed a gloved hand on the door while clutching the bottle in the other. Slowly she pulled the door open, then started shaking the bottle, which rattled loudly in her hand. After a few seconds she relented, then scanned the area to see if anyone was approaching.

Not a soul in sight. She replaced the paper and clipped the bottle back to her belt. She switched on a lantern and carefully stepped into the store. Standing before the aisles, she took a moment to remove her backpack, taking great care not to drop the tomahawk hanging from her shoulder.

She quickly darted down the aisles, collecting a few cans of each food that remained before moving to the next shelf. She stopped at a sales rack full of batteries and stuffed a few packs into her bag. Moving through the personal hygiene aisle, she stopped in front of a shelf full of small boxes. She read the labels and packed one box into her bag.

Zipping up her bag, she threw it on her back and ran to the front door. The girl darted across the parking lot as fast as she could and reached the street without incident. Looking back at the parking lot, she saw no signs of trouble, but she did notice a shopping cart. She studied it for a moment, then had an idea.

The masked girl took off her backpack and tossed it into the shopping cart, along with her tomahawk, then placed the lantern in the baby seat. She took hold of the cart and pushed it into the store. She revisited the aisles she visited before, grabbing more of everything she took.

She strolled through the building, searching for more things she could scavenge, then stopped abruptly when she noticed a pair of double doors. After a quick application of the noisy sports bottle, the girl pushed the cart through the doors and found herself in a storage area. There were several pallets of goods, far too many for her to carry.

She looked up and down the area, trying to settle on something to take. before stopping in front of a stack of bottled waters. She tried to lift one of the packs of water, but it slipped from her hands as she pulled it from the stack. Quickly determining that no one was coming in response to the noise, the girl removed a knife from her belt.

She cut open the packing and piled the bottled waters into the cart a couple at a time. She also approached a couple of stacks of canned goods, taking some time to remove some cans from each and placing them in the cart. Pushing on the cart, the masked girl found it incredibly heavy now, requiring great effort to move.

The girl removed some of the water and canned goods, then moved back into the store. She located a can opener and a novelty spoon and quickly returned to the storage area. The girl sat down on the floor and opened a can of peas. She rested for a moment, eating peas. catching her breath, drinking some water, then stood up and placed the can opener and spoon into her bag.

Pushing on the cart again, it still felt heavy, but was at least manageable now. She pushed the cart out of the store, past the parking lot, and back onto the road. The girl briefly checked her compass, then continued on. As she pushed the cart, the masked girl constantly eyed the sides of the road, concerned the rattling of the cart would attract attention.

It was a very long walk on an empty stretch of road, made all the longer with the need to push the cart along. With every step the masked girl felt the noise of the cart would provoke some kind of attack from the dead, or worse, the living. The girl eventually began to breathe easier as she saw signs of civilization again, or what remained of it as she finally arrived on the outskirts of a small suburban neighborhood.