Ahead was the Walmart and it was filled with abandoned cars. He pulled in but saw but a handful of zombies congregated in the lawn section. He slowed his vehicle, moving toward the entrance. He pulled right up to the doors and shut off the engine. He could hear soft music playing from the speakers.
“Where are we?” Shay asked, pulling her thumb from her mouth. She looked rumpled and her hair was wild but she no longer had that stunned look about her. She was in the moment and present.
“We’re at Walmart, darlin’. Now, I’m goin’ to go get a few things. I want you to stay in the truck,” he said, turning around in his seat. Shay’s eyes widened and her mouth trembled.
“Don’t leave me. Don’t leave me,” she whispered in a panic. Her large honey brown eyes filled with panic and she began to twitch in the back seat, pulling and tugging at the seatbelt.
“Alright, alright. Calm down.” Holding up his hand, he looked around to make sure there were none of the creatures around.
“I’ll carry you on my back. No matter what, you keep quiet. I don’t know what’s in that store, but if you see one of them zombies, just whisper in my ear. We gotta stay quiet, okay?”
Shay nodded, tears sliding down her face. Reggie tried to smile reassuringly but he failed miserably. He checked the AR-15 and slipped two mags in his back pocket. He checked the Berretta and sighed. He would need to swing by the gun shop and pick up more ammunition.
“When I get out, I’ll open your door and give you, my back. Climb on and hang on, okay?” he said softly. She nodded and got up on her knees as Reggie opened his door. Other than the music, it was quiet. He could hear the soft groans and mutterings of the zombies but they were far away from them. Quietly, he opened her door and turned his back to the child. He felt her climb onto his back and her thin legs encircled his waist and her arms nearly choked him. He pulled slightly at her arms locked around his neck and swallowed.
He shut the doors quietly and walked to the entrance and pulled the door open. He sniffed the air and detected the scent of decay.
“Baby girl, keep your eyes closed. There are things in here I don’t want you to see,” he whispered and he felt her nod. There was music playing in the store and he moved in silently. He was glad the power was still on since the music would mask his footsteps. He went to a checkout station and picked up a handful of plastic bags. If he could find cloth shopping bags, he’d use those too. He moved slowly to the children’s clothing department. Though Shay was thin, she was still heavy and he had to pull her arms away from his throat as she kept a stranglehold on him. He could feel the sweat trickle down his face.
He could hear moans but didn’t know where they were coming from. The progress was painfully slow, he just wanted to get in and out. At the end of each aisle, he looked around and saw several bloated corpses. Thankfully, there weren’t many flies buzzing around. He let out a sigh of relief when he got to the little girl section. He wasn’t sure what size Shay wore but based it off his son. He quickly grabbed colorful shirts, dresses, shorts, pants. He found the socks and underwear and grabbed different sizes there. His eyes were constantly moving and his heart was painful as it beat with fear. Had this been what his wife felt before the end? Had she been struck sick or had she been attacked?
He’d been sent out of town to work; he was only to be away for three days. When the news hit about the virus, he’d headed straight home but the roads had been choked with panicked drivers. He’d called home and Marney had assured him all was well. He’d gotten as far as Montgomery when the roadblocks had been put up. The National Guard and the police were trying to stop the spread but Reggie had been out of his mind. He had backtracked and gone through woods and farmland and after half a day, got back onto the highway. By the time he arrived home, all was lost. His wife and boys had been wandering around, the undead. No matter how desperately he wanted it and thought it over and over, he could not change the horrific outcome.
He shook his head, bringing himself back to task. He had four bulging bags of clothing and he moved toward the shoe section. He stopped abruptly when he saw three zombies. Their faces were rotted and the skin sloughing off. One of the zombies was dragging a length of intestines behind. Gouges of flesh had been torn away from all three; it was as though something had tried to chew their way through them. He stood for a moment watching them. Then backed off, he would have to go another way. He could hear Shay’s soft whimpering and hushed her softly. He patted her arm and moved back. Going down another aisle, he made a wide circle and made it to the shoe section. Cautiously, he moved to the little girl shoes and looked around and listened. The moaning was farther away.
Looking down at her small foot, he chose a pair of shoes and placed it near her foot. The size looked pretty good so he dropped it into the bag. He moved down the aisle and picked out several
