Zombie Parade

10: Papers

Percy POV

"Jason, I can't believe you didn't let me follow the other group," I pouted. "As my friend, you're supposed to support my decision to spy on the other people."

"Bro, listen to yourself for a minute," Jason commanded. "I'm not going to let you spy on Luke and Annabeth because you want to know what's happening in South Sector. I already let you off the hook once. Don't push my good graces." 

"Your last name is Grace. You're supposed to gracefully accept my decisions."

Jason rolled his eyes while stabbing another zombie. Jason and I are standing guard in the front lobby of the Walmart. Piper and Thalia were going around the store gathering food and resources. We fortified the other entrances, but we can't fortify the front entrance. The series of glass double doors are too large to block from view. 

The store was dimly lit. There was no electricity here as per usual. Most of the buildings in the world lack power right now. 

I hate standing guard like this. I'd rather be in the store gathering resources. If you haven't guessed already, I have ADHD. Essentially, it's very hard for me to stand still. Even terminating zombies can become monotonous. 

I stabbed the seventh zombie in the eye before retracting my knife. 

I hope I'll get some free time after raiding the store. I still have to pick up an engagement ring for Grover. There's a jewelry shop two blocks away. I just have to go there. Also, there's a state government building next to the jewelry store. 

I intend to make a trip to both facilities. 

Of course, I can't make the trip as long as I'm needed on the raid. I can't leave Jason high-and-dry to guard the entire store. We make a good team though. 

"Guys, we're ready with the food," Thalia exclaimed. Her shout attracted the attention of two zombies on the street. They groaned while stumbling towards the doors. I rushed forward and stabbed them before they could even enter the Walmart. 

"Can you be a bit more subtle, Pinecone Face?" I retorted. 

"Nothing about me is subtle, Kelphead," Thalia countered. She was lugging two large trolleys packed with ingredients. 

Piper rolled up with two additional trolleys. She was sweating profusely because of the heavyweight of the carts. This is a lot of food, yet it would only fill half the jeep. We'll have to go on another run to a different store. 

We took the carts out of the store. Jason helped Thalia and Piper with pushing the carts. Meanwhile, I took care of shooting any zombies that came near us. They came from both sides of the street, but we were moving quickly. The zombies are slow, so we made greater progress than them. 

Plus, it's fun to shoot the zombies. I treat it as a video game because it's easier to shoot them down under the pretense that they're no longer humans. 

I played a lot of violent video games when I was a kid. 

The skills are coming in handy now. 

"Guys, where did the moving truck go?" Piper asked. We came back to the jeep to find the truck missing. We started loading the food into the jeep. 

"They probably took the truck to a different location," Jason suggested. "We shouldn't worry. They are great at surviving; I'm sure they're fine."

Thalia agreed before shoving a nearby zombie. I shot it in the head. 

Jason and Piper worked to load the jeep. Thalia and I worked together to terminate the swarm of zombies coming at us. Since we're positioned in the same place, the zombies were accessing us much more easily.