her shoulders drop slightly. “About the virus?”
“Yes.”
She took time to assess us, taking the longest with Beverly.
“What are your names?”
I introduced us, finishing with, “Do you have a medical professional in the group?”
She looked to her right, where the hallway was filled with bodies and I knew she was contemplating something. “Are you guys some kind of commando unit?” she asked.
I had a feeling my answer would mean the difference between her being truthful with me or not, and while I don’t particularly like to stretch the truth, this meant the difference between life or death, for all of us. “You could say that,” I replied, keeping my answer as general as possible.
“Then, yes,” she said, “I’ll bring you.”
“Finally…,” Beverly muttered as she turned to the front door, but she stopped as quickly as the rest of us. “Well that’s just great.”
The front window, as tinted as it was, gave us a clear view of the street, which showed we wouldn’t be going anywhere. In the middle of our negotiations, the sky had decided to throw us a small gift.
Christina moaned. “I thought I could beat it…”
Doc shrugged. “It’s just a little snow.”
I silently disagreed. It looked like more than a few flakes, with a nice dusting already piling up on the windshield of the sedan.
“It’s a blizzard,” Christina argued, keeping her attention on the snow.
“And how would you know that?” Doc countered.
“Lou,” she muttered. “He knows when storms are coming, and he warned me about this one. Says he can feel them in his knee.”
“Arthritis,” Beverly declared offhandedly.
“Whatever,” Christina replied, drawing out an amused expression from Beverly. “It’ll keep us from seeing the Skin Eaters so I’m not going anywhere until it stops snowing.”
“The what? The Skin-” Mei repeated, but Christina cut her off.
“Skin Eaters. That’s what Lou calls them so we all started calling them…You know what, who cares.”
“She’s right,” Harrison said, disregarding the name Christina gave the Infected in favor of returning to the more important topic of whether to leave. “The sedan can’t make it through the whiteout. Not with the roads being unplowed. It was having a tough time getting down the street before the storm. I say we stay here for the night.” He swung around, surveying the store. “We have everything we need right here.”
He waited for the rest of us to agree, and then we went about prepping our new humble abode. I retrieved the ammo from the car to fill cartridges while Christina helped me, insisting on it actually. She seemed interested in learning about the weapon, which didn’t surprise me considering what she’d been going through. Then there was the wonderful duty of dragging and dropping the Infected from the hallway to the back lot. No one else seemed interested in doing it so Harrison and I begrudgingly volunteered. I’m still not sure why. Doc and Mei set up inside, laying out beds and prepping the food, while Christina propped boxes against the window to form a curtain between us and the rest of the world. Beverly helped by acting as sentry, although I had the idea it was because she didn’t want to get her hands any more dirty than they had been.
Night came fast with the clouds blocking out the sun early and the storm continuing into the night. Before long we were sitting on sleeping bags centered around a lantern acting as our provisional fire pit. We kept the light low to avoid drawing attention, allowing it to cast only to the edge of our toes and leaving our faces scarcely exposed. Doc and Mei had prepared rehydrated chicken chili for us, which actually wasn’t bad, all considering. Only Harrison chose not to eat, deciding instead to load ammo into empty magazines. That was Christina’s first clue that something was off about Harrison.
“You’re not hungry?” she asked while chewing.
Harrison glanced up briefly
“Yes.”
She took time to assess us, taking the longest with Beverly.
“What are your names?”
I introduced us, finishing with, “Do you have a medical professional in the group?”
She looked to her right, where the hallway was filled with bodies and I knew she was contemplating something. “Are you guys some kind of commando unit?” she asked.
I had a feeling my answer would mean the difference between her being truthful with me or not, and while I don’t particularly like to stretch the truth, this meant the difference between life or death, for all of us. “You could say that,” I replied, keeping my answer as general as possible.
“Then, yes,” she said, “I’ll bring you.”
“Finally…,” Beverly muttered as she turned to the front door, but she stopped as quickly as the rest of us. “Well that’s just great.”
The front window, as tinted as it was, gave us a clear view of the street, which showed we wouldn’t be going anywhere. In the middle of our negotiations, the sky had decided to throw us a small gift.
Christina moaned. “I thought I could beat it…”
Doc shrugged. “It’s just a little snow.”
I silently disagreed. It looked like more than a few flakes, with a nice dusting already piling up on the windshield of the sedan.
“It’s a blizzard,” Christina argued, keeping her attention on the snow.
“And how would you know that?” Doc countered.
“Lou,” she muttered. “He knows when storms are coming, and he warned me about this one. Says he can feel them in his knee.”
“Arthritis,” Beverly declared offhandedly.
“Whatever,” Christina replied, drawing out an amused expression from Beverly. “It’ll keep us from seeing the Skin Eaters so I’m not going anywhere until it stops snowing.”
“The what? The Skin-” Mei repeated, but Christina cut her off.
“Skin Eaters. That’s what Lou calls them so we all started calling them…You know what, who cares.”
“She’s right,” Harrison said, disregarding the name Christina gave the Infected in favor of returning to the more important topic of whether to leave. “The sedan can’t make it through the whiteout. Not with the roads being unplowed. It was having a tough time getting down the street before the storm. I say we stay here for the night.” He swung around, surveying the store. “We have everything we need right here.”
He waited for the rest of us to agree, and then we went about prepping our new humble abode. I retrieved the ammo from the car to fill cartridges while Christina helped me, insisting on it actually. She seemed interested in learning about the weapon, which didn’t surprise me considering what she’d been going through. Then there was the wonderful duty of dragging and dropping the Infected from the hallway to the back lot. No one else seemed interested in doing it so Harrison and I begrudgingly volunteered. I’m still not sure why. Doc and Mei set up inside, laying out beds and prepping the food, while Christina propped boxes against the window to form a curtain between us and the rest of the world. Beverly helped by acting as sentry, although I had the idea it was because she didn’t want to get her hands any more dirty than they had been.
Night came fast with the clouds blocking out the sun early and the storm continuing into the night. Before long we were sitting on sleeping bags centered around a lantern acting as our provisional fire pit. We kept the light low to avoid drawing attention, allowing it to cast only to the edge of our toes and leaving our faces scarcely exposed. Doc and Mei had prepared rehydrated chicken chili for us, which actually wasn’t bad, all considering. Only Harrison chose not to eat, deciding instead to load ammo into empty magazines. That was Christina’s first clue that something was off about Harrison.
“You’re not hungry?” she asked while chewing.
Harrison glanced up briefly
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