Chapter 3: Exploration

                                    

                                          
We arrived at the Walmart parking lot around 10:30. Whoever was inside didn’t care how their cars were parked. All the cars were astray. Zane tried to park in front and Flynn stopped him.
                          
            “Whoa! Dude! We can’t just park out front. What if someone takes the car? Drive around back!” He said.
                          
            Zane drove around the building and parked really close to the back door. Luckily, no one else had the same idea. We all got out of the car. Zane popped the trunk. Then he opened the tool box and grabbed a razor blade. 
                          
            “Whoa, serial killer much?” I joked.
                          
            “If people see us, they’ll assume we’re defenseless kids and they’ll try to steal our stuff.” Zane leaned in close and whispered: “We have to be armed.” 
                          
            He handed Flynn a crowbar and trusted Dani with his pellet gun. She hesitated to take it from him. Her eyes looked worried and I could’ve sworn I saw some tears forming. I was going to ask her if she was ok, but she grabbed the gun and walked away with her head down. 
                          
            “I-I can’t…” She trailed off as she dropped the BB gun. 
                          
            “What?” Flynn asked.
                          
            “I can’t shoot it.” 
                          
            “It’s just a pellet gun! Our families are gone! This is a life or death situation! And you’re going to be a baby about a BB gun?” Flynn insisted.
                          
            She looked down and picked up the gun. Flynn walked away. Zane stood beside her and put his hand on her shoulder.
                          
            “It’s ok. Just imagine you’re playing Call of Duty.” He said and smiled. 
                          
            “I don’t know…” She said worriedly.
                          
            I smiled at her reassuringly. Zane closed the trunk and we approached the back door of Walmart. Zane double checked the car doors to make sure they were locked. As soon as we got through the back-door, the lights were flickering on and off. Almost like I was in a horror movie. 
                          
            Zane lead us through the storage area. Then we gathered in the shoe aisle and he started giving out orders.
                          
            “Rora, you’re with me. Flynn you can go look for food with Dani.” 
                          
            “How the hell am I supposed to carry all that?” Flynn asked.
                          
            “Shopping cart, dumbass.” Zane rolled his eyes.
                          
            I checked out some shoes while Flynn and Zane planned out where we’d meet up again. The plan was to meet back here in 20 minutes. 
                          
            “Flynn and Dani, I want you both to go clear out the food section. Grab anything and everything you can possibly fit in the cart. Meanwhile, Rora and I will go grab all the weapons and ammunition as we possibly can.” Zane ordered.
                          
            We all agreed. 
                          
            “Ready? Set? Go!” Zane said.
                          
            He and I, ran straight to the sports/fishing section because that’s where the guns and weapons were. 
                          
            “Look for a cart.” He said.
                          
            “What it’s not like there will be a random cart in this section.” I replied.
                          
            I turned and found an empty cart. “Wow.” 
                          
            I headed to the next aisle and found some pretty big knives. I settled for a sturdy machete that had a sharp blade on one end and a row of pointy teeth on the other. I grabbed a scabbard for my machete and a few knives. I was looking for some sleeping bags when I heard Zane shout my name. I quickly ran over to him.
                          
            “What? Are you insane? People will hear us!” I said.
                          
            “I found the jackpot!” Zane called out.
                          
            Zane used his elbow to break the glass cabinet display that held 4 pistols, a rifle and packs of ammunition for both weapons. I peeked around the aisles to make sure his outbursts of noise weren’t attracting any unwanted company. We tossed all the materials into the cart. 
                          
            “So when are-“
                          
             “ZAAANNEEEEEE!!!!” Flynn shouted.
                          
            We ran towards the sound of the scream and desperately pushed the heavy cart. We went to the frozen dessert aisle. We saw that there was no more ice cream left. I sighed. Then we saw two guys fighting over the last container of ice cream. Wait a minute! Not just two guys! One of them was Flynn!
                          
            “Give it to me! I had it first!” Flynn yelled.
                          
            “I don’t care!” The other guy tugged it really hard and Flynn almost lost his grip.
                          
            I looked over and saw Dani pointing the BB gun at the stranger but she wasn’t shooting. She was shaking and she looked terrified. 
                          
            “Dani! Do something!” Flynn desperately shouted.
                          
            She gulped. Then she closed her eyes and pressed the trigger. Flynn let go of the container of ice cream and grabbed his foot.
                          
            “Ouch!” He shouted. 
                          
            Before we could react, the guy was gone; and so was the last container of ice cream. I walked over to Dani and she was a mess. She was shaking and crying. She dropped the gun and it clanked against the floor. I gave her hug and promised that everything would be alright. That was a promise I couldn’t be sure of because I had doubts, myself. 
                          
            “I hate to ruin a good moment but we’ve gotta hurry up and clear out the pharmacy. It’ll have medicine just in case we get sick.” Zane said.
                          
            We all ran towards the pharmacy. I grabbed Neosporin, Tylenol and a few first aid kits. Dani grabbed Band-Aids and a few Ace- Wraps. Zane kept watch. Flynn grabbed rubbing alcohol. Then the carts were full and we decided it was time to leave. When we got back to the car, the ice cream stealer was there.
                          
“Not this son of a bitch again.” Flynn said.
                          
            The ice cream stealer was trying to break into our car. He was weak though, and he couldn’t smash the windows in. 
                          
            “Hey, you!” Zane shouted as he pointed a loaded gun at the guy.
                          
            The guy looked at the gun, dropped everything and sprinted for his life. Flynn jumped up in excitement.
                          
            “Awesome! We have the ice cream now! I think its cause I scared him off.” Flynn said overconfidently.
                          
            Zane and I put all of the food and drinks in the trunk but we kept the weapons in the backseat. Dani and Flynn got in the car. I turned to Zane.
                          
            “I’ve gotta hand it to them. They got 4 cases of soda and 2 cases of water. Oh, and I saw strawberry Poptarts somewhere in there.” I said happily.
                          
            Zane and I got back into the car. Flynn turned on the radio to see if there was any reception. It was just all static. He switched channels until we heard a broadcast stating that there were recent sightings of the undead creatures in Lake County. Everyone needed to have an emergency evacuation. Flynn shut off the radio and we sat in silence. I glanced over at Dani. She was a nervous wreck. 
                          

                          
            “The worst part is, we live in Lake County.” She said.