as if ecstatic. And even more shocking were his eyes. His pupils were enormous, and they glowed as if illuminated from within.
Feeling an instinctive wave of revulsion Cassy bent over to put the child down. She tried to maintain hold of his arm, but he was unexpectedly strong and twisted from her grip and scurried away toward the front of the store.
'Hey!' Jesse called out. 'Come back here!' Jesse started after the boy.
'He's infected,' Cassy yelled.
'I know,' Jesse said. 'That's why I don't want him to get away.'
Running down the aisle in the half light was not easy for Jesse. The soles of his shoes still had traces of olive oil, making traction difficult. On top of that were all the cans, bottles, and boxes of scattered merchandise.
The boy seemed to have no problem navigating the obstacles and reached the front of the store well before Jesse. Positioning himself before one of the broken windows, he raised his chubby hand and opened his fingers. A black disc immediately levitated off his palm and disappeared out into the night.
Jesse reached the boy out of breath from all the slipping and sliding he'd been doing. He was also limping slightly from a bruise on his hip. He'd taken a fall near one of the cash registers and had collided with a can of tomato soup.
'Okay, son,' Jesse said, trying to catch his breath as he turned the boy around. 'What's the story. Why are you in here?'
Sporting the same exaggerated smile the child gazed up into Jesse's face. He didn't say a word.
'Come on, boy,' Jesse said. 'I'm not asking much,'
Cassy came up behind Jesse and looked over his shoulder.
'What did he do?' she asked.
'Nothing as far as I can tell,' Jesse said. 'He just ran up here and stopped. But I wish he'd wipe that smile off his face. I feel like he's mocking us.'
Both Cassy and Jesse saw the headlights at the same moment. A vehicle had turned into the supermarket's parking lot and was coming toward them.
'Oh no!' Jesse said. 'Just what we didn't want: company.'
It was immediately apparent that the vehicle was coming at a high rate of speed. Both Cassy and Jesse instinctively took several steps backward. A screech of tires against the asphalt heralded the car's sudden halt directly in front of the store. The high beams flooded the interior with blinding light. Both Cassy and Jesse held up their hands to shield their eyes. The child ran toward the light and disappeared in its glare.
'Get Nancy and get out the back of the store!' Jesse forcibly whispered.
'What about you?' Cassy asked.
'I'll keep them company,' Jesse said. 'If I'm not back at the rendezvous location in fifteen minutes, leave without me. I'll find another vehicle to get back.'
'Are you sure?' Cassy questioned. She did not like the idea of leaving without Jesse.
'Of course I'm sure,' Jesse snapped. 'Now get!'
Cassy's eyes had adjusted enough so that she could just make out indistinct figures climbing down from either side of the vehicle. The headlights' intensity still precluded seeing any details.
Cassy turned and fled back into the depths of the store. Halfway up the aisle, she turned momentarily to see Jesse stepping out through the broken window, heading directly into the blinding light.
Cassy ran as best she could and purposefully collided with the grate separating the pharmacy section from the market. Gripping it with her hands she noisily shook it and called out for Nancy. Nancy's head popped up from behind the pharmacy desk. Nancy immediately saw the light coming from the front of the store.
'What's going on?' she demanded.
Cassy was breathless. 'Trouble,' she said. 'We got to get out of here.'
'Okay,' Nancy said. 'I've got everything anyway.' She came from behind the counter and tried to push through the hole in the mesh. The cut ends of the wires had other ideas, and she was snagged.
'Here, take this,' Nancy said, handing her sack of drugs to Cassy. Using both hands she tried to extract herself. She found it was not easy.
The light coming from the front of the store was suddenly dramatically augmented. At the same time a whooshing sound commenced and rapidly increased. When it reached earsplitting levels it cut off with such suddenness that its concussive effect knocked some teetering merchandise off shelving.
'Oh no!' Nancy moaned.
'What?' Cassy demanded.
'That was the sound when Eugene was consumed,' Nancy said. 'Where's Jesse?'
'Come on!' Cassy yelled. 'We have to get out of here.'
She put down the parcel Nancy had given her and tried to pull back the edges of the wire mesh. Flashlight beams began sweeping around the inside of the store.
'Go!' Nancy cried. 'Take the package and run!' 'Not without you,' Cassy said, struggling with the stiff wire.
'All right,' Nancy said. 'You hold this side, and I'll push the other.' Working together they were at last able to free Nancy.
Nancy grabbed the bag of drugs and together they began to run along the back of the store. They didn't have a specific destination. They were merely counting on the store having a back entrance. Instead all they found was an interminable frozen food bin.
Reaching the far corner, they turned into the first aisle and headed forward. They thought that by running along the periphery of the building they'd eventually find a door. But they didn't get far. Ahead a shadowy group of people rounded the corner. Most were carrying flashlights.
A simultaneous whimper of fear escaped from both Cassy's and Nancy's lips. What made the group particularly frightening was their eyes. They glowed in the dim light of the store like distant galaxies in a night sky.
Cassy and Nancy simultaneously reversed directions only to be confronted by a second group coming from behind. Huddling together they waited as the two groups closed in on them. When the people were close enough for the women to see their features, it was obvious they were equally divided between male and female, elderly and young. What they had in common was their glowing eyes and their plastic smiles.
For a few moments nothing happened except the infected people completely surrounded the women and pressed in on them. Cassy and Nancy were back to back with their hands clasped over their mouths. Nancy had dropped her bag of drugs.
Terrified at being touched, Cassy screamed when one of the infected people suddenly lunged for her and grabbed her wrist.
'Cassy Winthrope, I presume,' the man said with a short laugh. 'This is indeed a pleasure. You have been missed.'
Pitt drummed his fingers on the steering wheel of Jesse's van. Jonathan fidgeted in the passenger seat. Both were anxious.
'How long as it been now?' Jonathan asked.
'They are twenty-five minutes late,' Pitt said.
'What are we going to do?'
'I don't know,' Pitt said. 'If anybody was going to have trouble I thought it would have been us.'
'As long as we kept smiling, nobody seemed to care what the hell we did,' Jonathan said.
'Stay here!' Pitt said suddenly. 'I got to check on that supermarket. If I'm not back here in fifteen minutes, drive back to the cabin.'
'But how will you get back?' Jonathan whined.
'There's plenty of deserted vehicles around,' Pitt said. 'That won't be the problem.'
'But ... '
'Just do it,' Pitt snapped. He climbed out of the van and quickly descended the bluff. He emerged from the trees on a deserted street and set out toward the supermarket. He estimated he had about six blocks before he'd have to turn for the final block.
Ahead an individual came out of a building and turned in Pitt's direction. Pitt could see his eyes glowing.
