Infection- Book 2

Chapter Two- Store

The dimly lit parking lot made it almost impossible to see the store. I trailed behind Pony
and Zizzy, feeling paranoid about what might all be there. Another infected? More than one?
Before all this happened, I would’ve jumped into things without hesitation, ignoring every
possible risk. Things were different now.

“Remember, we’re here for batteries and getting out of here,” Zizzy turned to Pony with a
serious look on her face. Pony scoffed and raised his arms above his head, resting his hands
around his neck.

“Fine, but if I find any carrots, I’m taking them!” I rolled my eyes at him, stepping into
the dark store. Zizzy and Pony followed as I pushed the door open, splitting up to search for
batteries.

“Holler if you find them and meet back in the parking lot,” Zizzy tapped at my shoulder
as she took off in the opposite direction. Pony followed closely behind her. I turned the corner
into a section of the store, alone.

A surprising amount of supplies were left sitting on the shelves. Clothes, food, books, all
but the thing we had come for. I growled and grabbed a couple books off the shelves. It may not have been the thing we had come for, but I’d read almost every book that Mimi owned back at
the safe place. A month without getting to read anything new was becoming incredibly boring. Exiting the section, I piled the books into a small crate I’d found on the top shelf of an empty
row.

As I made my way through the store, I stumbled across a blocked off room with steep
stairs towering up through the ceiling. Ducking under the “KEEP OUT” signs, I climbed the
stairs to find multiple huge crates stacked up. I pried open the bottom crate and pulled out a
handful of packing peanuts, revealing a ton of brown boxes. Digging further into the crate, I pulled a bunch of the boxes out and stacked them up next to me. I tore the tape off the opening
and flipped the flaps of the box open. An assortment of different supplies were packed inside.

Moving through the boxes, I finally wrapped my fingers around a small package containing
some cylindrical shaped supplies. Pulling the package out, I groaned at the sight of the
cherry-flavored chapstick in my hand. I threw the package against the wall and screamed in
frustration.

Light footsteps were heard as someone began coming up the stairs. I lifted my head to see
Pony and Zizzy watching me. “Are… you okay?” Pony asked, afraid to step any closer to me. I
pulled myself off the ground and kicked the boxes across the floor.

“I’m just frustrated. I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to scare you.” Zizzy held her hand out,
revealing multiple packages full of batteries. I ran a hand through my hair and pressed my
forehead against one of the crates. “I just tore through supply crates to find some goddamn
batteries and you still somehow found them before me?”

Zizzy tossed the batteries into the crate along with my books, swinging it onto her back.
“Let’s get going, hm?” Pony stepped away from the crates I had torn open before stepping next
to Zizzy.

“Hang on,” I held a hand up, digging through one of the first boxes I’d opened. After
rummaging around for a second, I swung my arm towards Pony. The bundle of carrots hit him in
the chest and he flailed his arms around to catch them. He burst out laughing, setting the carrots
in the crate on Zizzy’s back. Zizzy chuckled, stepping down the stairs and out of the storage
room.

“Aha, look who’s back!” Mimi exclaimed as we stepped into the room. “I told you they’d
be back before noon, Giraffy!”

Giraffy rolled his eyes and shook his head. “A deal’s a deal. Great, now I have to cook for
the rest of the week.” The four of us giggled as Zizzy dropped the crate on the ground in front of
us. I snatched my books and stacked them on the table as Zizzy grabbed the batteries, handing
them to Mimi. Mimi stuffed the batteries into the empty slot in the radio as Pony bit into a carrot.