Thank fuck. We only have room for one grumpy bastard in this group, and that role is already taken.
We sit in silence for a few minutes before Alex speaks again. “What do you think happened to her before she met us?”
I shrug. “No idea. I assume she was living with her brother before he got snatched by the Scourge. Although I don’t know how she didn’t get captured alongside him.”
“But it’s weird, right? That she shuts down anytime we ask her about herself. I tried asking her about where she lived before the world ended last night and she completely shut me down and went to bed.”
“It’s not weird if she’s trying to keep her distance.” Why she feels the need to do that is a mystery all on its own. One I’d love to solve, but I know better than to just come out and ask her, not when she’sso closed off.
Alex stares at where Ollie wandered off with a frown. “Something happened to her, though. Something dark and painful. I’ve seen the scars.”
My brow furrows. “She has scars?”
He nods. “On her stomach and back. I noticed them when she was stretching last night and her top rode up.”
My jaw clenches as a fierce wave of protectiveness and anger rush over me.
I hate the idea that someone in Ollie’s past may have hurt her, or that she experienced something so traumatic it left scars. It explains her reluctance to let down her guard around us and the nightmares that plague her sleep. We’ve all noticed the dark circles around her eyes and the haunted look she has every morning. None of us are stupid enough to mention it to her. Last thing any of us want is to ruin what little trust we’ve gained.
Footsteps pounding against the concrete floor echo around the cavernous room. A few seconds later, Ollie emerges with Harlow beside her, racing down the aisles towards us with wide, frantic eyes.
“We need to move!” she shouts, her voice tight with fear.
I’m immediately on alert, jumping to my feet with my rifle in hand. “What’s going on?” I demand as I eye the aisle behind her. Alex shoves away our half-heated food, stove and other supplies away with practised ease.
“There’s—”
Before she can finish, glass explodes from the front of the shop, followed by the screams and shouts of several people and the low moaning of the dead.
“Move, move!” a frantic male voices yells before a bloodcurdling scream filled with pain and terror. “Katie!”
Several footsteps pelt against concrete moments before three figures emerge from the dark shadows of the shop. They’re human, covered in blood, their clothes nothing more than tatters and from the abject fear on their faces, they’re running from something.
That something comes in the form of several eyes glowing eerily in the low light, sending shivers of dread down my spine. Infected. At least a dozen, if not more, and they’re all looking at us like we’re their next meal.
And if we don’t start moving, we might just be.
Big Shop of Horrors
Alex
It’s just like atthe bridge. Over a dozen zombies careen towards us with only one goal in mind; kill. Only this is worse because it’s night and these zombies are bloodyfastthanks to some weird quirk of their biology.
Meaning we need to move.Now.
I gather our stuff off the ground and stand as Rhys barks at us to get moving toward the staff area of the shop. He pushes Ollie toward the staff room, spurring her into movement. Only for her to stop a few seconds later.
“Where’s Theo?” she shouts, her wild eyes darting around the place. “He’s not here!”
“Shit. He’s probably still at the pharmacy grabbing supplies.” I sling my backpack over my shoulder as dread curdles my stomach.
“Ollie, you go with Alex while—”
Before Rhys can finish speaking, Ollie grabs the front of his shirt and drags him into a run toward the pharmacy. “We need to stick together, not split up,” she says before releasing him and sprinting off.
“Stubborn fucking woman is going to be the death of me,” Rhys growls as he races after her.
Agreed,I think as I chase after them.
