Roger glanced at Candy then nodded. “I’m sure they’d appreciate that.” He pulled the door open further and muttered a quick good bye to Candy. “I’ll get with the gate guards and we’ll spread the word.”
“Let them take their vehicles. I’m sure some would benefit from being driven even if it’s just a little.”
“Curfew?”
Hatcher shrugged. “Half hour before dark. I want to know everyone is safely back before the threat can present itself.”
“On it.” Roger took off down the hallway and Hatcher glanced after him.
“I hope this isn’t a huge mistake.”
Carol wrapped twine around the blade handle, securing it to the long dowel rod she’d discovered. She knew that it would be a nearly useless weapon in her hands, but it made her feel safer knowing that she had something that could inflict some damage and still maintain a small bit of distance.
She kept a quick pace as she cleared the campus and reached the tiny car that she and Andre had driven along the coast. She hung her spear out of the rear window and struck out into the city. She really hoped to find easier weapons to use and possibly preserved food, as her pantry was beginning to run lean.
The day was young. She planned to allow herself as much time as she might need to locate what she wanted and still have time to haul it to the lab before the daylight was gone. She ignored the early morning chill and drove with the window down to get as much fresh air as she could.
She stopped at the first pawn shop she came to and rubbed the dirt from the window, peering deep inside. It had enough ambient daylight that she really felt it safe to enter. She tugged at the door and wasn’t surprised to find it locked. She stepped back and tried to imagine breaking in.
Bars mounted to the interior would prevent her from entering, even if she could break the glass. A quick check of the perimeter found the rear door as secure as the front.
She cursed to herself as she made her way back to the car. “Maybe I could tie something to the door handles and pull it off with the car?”
She glanced up and down the deserted street, hoping to find something that would fit her need. She spied a small pickup with a grill guard mounted to the front. She felt the corners of her mouth curl into a smile as an rebellious thought ran through her mind.
She searched the small truck and found the keys in the console. It didn’t want to start right away but after the second try, the engine belched, backfired and came to life.
She backed the truck away from the curb and angled it across the street, the front pointed directly at the main doors of the pawn shop.
She eased the front tires over the curb and revved the engine. She popped the clutch and nearly screamed when the rear tires hit the curb, bouncing her into the air just as the front of the truck buckled the doors to the pawn shop.
The truck bounced back toward the road and one of the shop doors came with it, securely attached to the grill guard. The little truck engine died and Carol stepped out, her head still spinning slightly from the jarring experience.
She quickly grabbed her spear and turned a slow 360, her blade at the ready. Once she was convinced that neither the infected nor the authorities were coming, she stepped over the broken door frame, glass crunching under her feet.
Moving into the interior, she slipped off her sunglasses and it only took a moment for her eyes to adjust to the light. She quickly made her way to the firearms counter. A myriad of signs were posted declaring that the pawn shop must adhere to all state and federal firearm laws. Notices of waiting periods, ammunition sales, magazine restrictions and required documentation were prominently posted.
Carol didn’t care about any of it. She ran a hand along the glass case until she found what she was looking for. The revolvers were light, easy to operate and from what little she knew of handguns, reliable.
She quickly made her way to the back of the display and found the cases locked. A quick glance around the pawn shop and she found a box of hand tools. She picked through the numerous implements until her hand wrapped around the grip of a short handled sledge hammer.
It made quick work of the glass top.
She gently removed two matching revolvers and brushed the broken glass from them. A quick inspection told her they were both .38 caliber. She found the ammunition on a shelf behind the counter and grabbed four boxes. She slid them into the pockets of her vest and gave the shop another brief once over before working her way back to the compact car.
As she sat behind the wheel, her entire body still shaking from her breaking and entering, she gripped one of the revolvers and fumbled with a box of ammunition. She loaded the weapon as quickly as she could then started the engine.
“Who would have thought I’d ever need a gun to go grocery shopping?”
Simon entered the grocery store just minutes before the sun crested and turned the night into day. He made his way through the numerous aisles and grabbed a fresh bottle of brown liquor to wash down more of the bitter pills. His throat was so sore that it hurt to swallow, but he knew the pills would help.
Pills always helped.
He walked along the inner perimeter of the store and noted that many of the people who had been curled into a
