Vial #127

Chapter 7: Front Line Saviours

"Nice to meet all of you," I say after Darryl has introduced everyone. The group has exactly eighteen people, plus Aiden and I. I sit down next to a group of adults in their twenties. They introduce themselves around the table starting at my left.

"Sadie," a woman says. Her eyes are blue and soft. She has short, cropped hair around her ears.

"Michael," a man says, wrapping his arm around Sadie. He is short, and has wavy blonde hair and brilliant green eyes.

"Stephanie," another girl says. She must be only sixteen; her complexion is fresh and smooth.

"Will," a young man with tanned skin and dark hair down just past his ears goes next.

"Jackson," an older looking version of Michael. They must be brothers.

At first it's awkward but once we've been talking for a while, it's like we're old friends. We've all faced similar hardships, losing family members, moving places every few days for months.

Aiden soon follows me down and takes a seat at the other end of the table where there's space.

Darryl finally gets up and welcomes us to the group. "Now that these newcomers have arrived, we are going to need more food, water and medicine. I used up a lot during Emma's operation."

Half the group looks at me, some happy that I made it out of surgery, others mad because I used up so much supplies; that group makes the majority.

"I can make a trip into town for supplies," I offer "just tell me where and what and I'll go," Some heads nod but others turn to sympathy in my courageousness.

"She just went through with a very invasive surgery. She should rest," Darryl insists.

"No, I'll go," I come back. Next I arrange a small group to come with Aiden and I into the truck. Will and Jackson agree to join us, followed by Sadie. We stock up on weapons, then jam the back with bottled water and food to last up three days, in case we get held up.

"You'll need to make two stops; one at the hospital and the other at the super market. I'll make list of what we'll need from each." Darryl directs.

By the time all of us have weapons it's already noon. I pull out of a deserted parking lot and wait for Darryl to open a protective gate wrapping around the mini settlement. Our first stop is the hospital.

The building is huge. There must be hundreds of biters inside. When we get out of the car, I grab the two remaining knives and stuff my jacket with ammo; the gun in my hand.

With caution, I push open the main doors, stepping into the lobby. One by one the group spreads outs, clearing the room. Sadie leads us to the supplies room; other groups have raided most of the supplies, but there is still some left for us to take. There's more supply rooms scattered throughout the building. Stuffing some gauze in the pack, I check the list. The latex gloves are in the back. I grab two boxes, then turn back to the list. Bandages, morphine and antibiotics make their way into the bags. Sadie grabs an IV kit and surgery tools, while Jackson gets towels for handling bleeding. Will gets a stethoscope and a manual sphygmomanometer, for blood pressure.

By the time we've completed the list, our packs are nearly double the weight we started with. "There's a supermarket just one block down the street. Let's conserve fuel. This city sector has been biter free for a long time," Jackson says and we make our way to the entrance that we came in. There's bodies slumped up against the wall, bullet hole piercings above their heads.

The three, from the other group, lead the way, staying in a tight formation, ready to fire at any biters. The street is deserted. No person, no biter has been here in a long time. Empty cars line the streets. Some turned over, others look like they've just been parked like on a normal day. We turn left onto a street. The whole block is made up of the supermarket. The road has over turned buses and wreckage everywhere. People must've been desperate for supplies and took to reckless measures, all for themselves.

We push open the doors that would normally open automatically themselves. Inside, it smells of rotten fruit, meat and dairy products; practically anything that could go off, has.

Darryl has made a list of food we need: vitamins, canned goods, and preserved items. We stock up on granola bars from a far aisle, but most of the packaged food has already been raided.

A massive crash makes my heart leap up to the moon. "Sorry," Will whispers, his face in a mask of surprise. A display of cans go flying across the aisle. Out of instinct I leach onto Aiden, who in turn curses with the situation.

"Emma, Sadie, Will, Jackson!" Aiden yells. "Get back!" We all huddle at the back edge of the aisle, catching sight of a swarm of biters, all squishing into the line. When I turn around, there's more, coming from the other end, trapping us.

"We don't have enough ammo," Sadie starts to whimper; Jackson wraps a protective arm around her waist. I raise my gun; the others do the same. I go close to the aisle, right against the shelves and climb, raising myself up and helping Sadie pull her weight. The boys hold up the swarm, then join us.

We get up, all of the supplies in hand and tip toe along the top, towards the exit. Just as we are at the end, Sadie slips. She lets out a strangled scream, her hand dangling over the side. Will and Jackson act quickly, stabilizing her, preventing her from falling. She is crying out, attracting all of the swarm to our destination.

"I'm bit," she moans, then, as Will pulls her up, we all get a look at her infected, mangled arm.