Philip nodded, and it pleased Kamiyo that the man had forgiven him enough to accept advice.
Kamiyo stepped over to a line of hedges and crouched behind them. “Come on,” he whispered. “Quick and careful.”
Philip and Aymun did as Kamiyo asked, and the three of them hurried towards the first of the supermarkets. It wasn’t a brand he often frequented before the fall of civilisation—too expensive to please the thrifty buying-habits of his parents. Now money was no object, so he prepared to fill his boots with whatever he could find.
The automatic glass doors obviously didn’t open as they approached, and when Kamiyo tried to open them with his hands, they didn’t budge. “Damn it.”
“We’ll have to smash our way in,” said Philip.
“That might bring attention.” Aymun looked left and right. “If the damned dwell nearby, they will hear.”
Philip scanned the car parks on both sides of the main road. “It looks clear. I don’t see what other choice we have.”
Kamiyo explored a short distance. “We should try around back. The loading bay. Staff doors. Windows even.”
Philip shrugged. “Yeah, that’s not a bad idea. Want me to check?”
“We should all go. Stick together.”
The others held no objection, so they followed the building around to the back. They passed a massive collection of trolleys, and a row of giant wheelie bins.
Kamiyo couldn’t quite understand it, but something wasn’t right. He told Philip and Aymun to keep their eyes open.
A large gate barred access to a side road leading to the supermarket’s loading bay, but a small access hatch was unlocked. They passed through it into a litter-strewn area with a single parked lorry. All the litter lay in piles around the perimeter.
They climbed a set of cement steps up onto the loading bay and looked around. Philip tried to lift one of the large square shutters, but it was locked and rattled defiantly. “Looks like we might have to go back to the smashing the doors open plan,” he said.
Kamiyo sighed. “I don’t think they’ll shatter easily. Those things are thick.”
“Then how about we try to kick in one of these back shutters?”
Aymun spoke up. “Just as noisy. We need to think about this.”
Kamiyo studied the iron poker in his hands. “Maybe we don’t need to get the shutters open. Maybe we can just… make room.”
Philip didn’t understand, but he knew enough to stand back from the shutter and wait to find out. Kamiyo stepped up and rammed his poker into the gap between the shutter and the track it ran in. The poker was too blunt for stabbing, but it was narrow enough to shove into the gap and lever back and forth. Grunting like a mule and trying to ignore the pain in his damaged hands, he worked the poker in every direction until he popped a section of the shutter out of its track. It created a slim opening, wide enough to pass an arm through.
“Wow,” said Philip. “You’d think supermarkets would have tougher security.”
“Most were staffed 24-hours a day, with security alarms and cameras too. There was no need for them to have six-inch steel doors.”
“You think you can work it any wider?” Philip patted his tummy. “I’ve lost a few pounds recently, but not that many.”
Kamiyo locked his knees. He wrenched and levered higher up the track, trying to unseat more of the shutter. Every inch widened the gap further, and after a while, Philip and Aymun pulled at the shutter while Kamiyo worked at it. Eventually, the shutter was flapping about like a towel in the wind. It was still locked in place at the bottom, and attached to the roller mechanism at the top, but there was enough slack for Kamiyo to yank open a gap just wide enough for Philip to pass through. It wasn’t the most delicate of entries, but he made it to the other side with some effort.
“Okay, I’m in,” he said from inside the supermarket. “You think you can get through as well?”
“I think so.” Kamiyo pulled the shutter aside and forced his right leg through. As he moved his weight from one side to the other, the shutter pushed back against him, causing him a mild amount of agony, but with his mangled hands, pain was something he was used to by now. He forced his way through the gap like a struggling cat, face pulling back on his skull as he forced it through. Just when he thought he might get stuck, the thickest part of his chest and skull made it inside the supermarket and he slipped through the rest of the way easily.
He found himself in darkness. Aymun was already halfway through behind him, so he grabbed the man’s arm and helped him through. “Thank you, my friend.”
“You’re welcome. Hey, Philip, what are you doing over there?”
Philip gave no answer. His eyes were wide and there was nothing visible in the darkness of the shadows where he stood. Kamiyo took a step towards him, but before he could take another, something pressed against his head and clicked. “Drop yer weapon. One wee step, pal, an’ I’ll blow ye fooking’ ‘ed off.”
Kamiyo put his hands up, remembering clearly the day he had first met Frank. Why does this keep happening to me?
37
DR KAMIYO
“Okay, okay, just take it easy!” Kamiyo was more annoyed by the gun to his head than afraid. If they were going to shoot him then what could he do about it? He was human, and they were human, which meant they should be on the same side. He told himself to have faith that things would pan out okay.
“Who are ye?” the man at his back demanded, which reinforced Kamiyo’s faith that this was a simple case of frayed nerves.
“My name is Dr Christopher Kamiyo. My friend’s names are Philip and Aymun. We’re just looking for food and medicine. We didn’t know anyone was here.”
“Well, there is, and ye fooked up, pal.”
“Why don’t you
