The Virus by Lee, Damien (summer books txt) 📕

the handle. The door swung wide, revealing a wide-eyed trucker on the floor.

“Shit!”

Glen fumbled with the shotgun as the zombie tried to grab him. He pulled the trigger, obliterating the creature’s head.

“Are you okay?” Amy gasped, running to his aid.

“I’m fine.”

With the blast still fresh in their ears, they fell silent, listening for any sounds of approaching undead. Seconds passed, with no noise other than Glen’s rapid breathing. The shotgun shook in his trembling hands. Amy looked past him into the driver’s cab.

“Looks like we’re in luck.”

“What?”

“This one has keys.” She pointed to the key chain dangling from the ignition.

“Oh, it has more than that!” Glen gasped. He reached over and grabbed the lighter from the footwell. He held it into view triumphantly.

“Glen, Frank was right; we need your head in the game. Don’t be lighting up a joint when there’s work to do. Let’s get as much stuff as we can and get out of here.”

“Relax,” Glen mumbled, the cigarette clasped between his lips.

He lit the end as they returned to Elaine and approached the shattered storefront. Various food products and other goods littered the entrance. They tread carefully around the discarded items as they stepped onto the threshold.

“Look at this place,” Glen said, eyeing a pile of discarded electrical items. “Why would anyone steal a TV?”

“Some people have no common sense,” Amy replied.

They continued, cringing as their footsteps echoed around the silent supermarket.

“So, shall we get a trolley?” Glen suggested, looking around the vacant space.

“May as well.”

They each retrieved a shopping trolley from the entrance and approached the aisles.

“Remember, we need to get sensible things. Don’t go getting bread and milk. Check the dates on everything. If it expires within six months, we don’t want it.”

“Alcohol’s hardly sensible,” Elaine grumbled.

“I know, but I think your life will be easier if you get Frank what he wants.”

“Can we get going?” Glen whispered, blowing a cloud of smoke into the air. “I don’t like being here.”

“Okay,” Amy nodded. “Make sure you don’t get any dairy products. Look for tins, jars, cereals, vitamins, biscuits, and sweets.”

“Sweets?” Elaine frowned.

“Yes. They’re a valuable source of sugar and have a long shelf life. They’ll give you energy.”

“I doubt Frank will appreciate that.”

“Call it nurse’s orders. And make sure we raid the medicine supply. Bandages, Paracetamol, Aspirin, Ibuprofen, anything you can get.”

“Can we please get moving?” Glen urged. He pitched the trolley forward, wheeling it down the first aisle and out of sight. Amy and Elaine followed, both choosing different aisles.

Amy scanned the trashed shelves, knocking tins aside that littered the floor. She wrinkled her nose at some of the can’s contents.

“Pepperoni in spaghetti?” she mused under her breath. She replaced the item and walked on. She smiled as the line of baked beans came into view. “Now we’re talking.”

She held out her arm and scooped every tin into the metal basin. She immediately regretted her decision. The metallic clamour echoed around the entire store, ringing in her ears. Elaine gasped in alarm from the next aisle.

“Are you okay?” She hissed.

“Yeah.”

Amy continued down the aisle, placing the rest of the tins in the trolley one at a time. She reached the end and turned down the next aisle which seemed to stock cereals. She filled the trolley with a variety of boxes as Elaine followed her.

“Cereal?”

Amy looked back at her. “Yeah.”

“How long do they last?”

“It’s dry food. It lasts quite a while.”

She turned back as Elaine began filling her trolley with the scattered boxes. Amy continued, zigzagging around the discarded items.

“Why did they throw the boxes around?” She pondered as she turned into the next aisle. Seeing that it was mostly bread products, she moved on to the next, where she saw Glen stood in the middle of the aisle.

“What are you doing?” She hissed, looking at the powerless freezers in front of him.

“What?”

“This is the frozen food aisle.”

“So?”

“So it won’t be frozen anymore. We can’t eat it.”

“We could still take it back?”

“Glen, when the power is down there’re no freezers. If it was winter, we could keep it outside, but we’re in the middle of summer.”

“I suppose you’re right.”

“Of course I’m right, now hurry. I thought you wanted to get out of here?”

“I do.”

“Then let’s fill the trolleys and go.”

She turned away, leaving Glen behind. He watched her disappear before heading to another aisle. He had already filled most of his trolley, but he knew what he still needed to get. He made his way to the savoury aisle, scanning the semi-occupied shelves.

“C’mon,” he whispered, his eyes roaming the shelves.

Finally, he found the empty box of Cheddar Bites. He let out an exasperated sigh as he checked the rest of the shelves.

“Damn.”

He made to turn back but stopped when his gaze fell on the storeroom door at the end of the aisle. He knew it was risky, but the thought of never tasting his go-to munchie snack again made his heart ache. He approached the door cautiously, looking back to see if the others were close. There was nobody near.

He pushed the door, surprised as it swung inwards. With a final look over his shoulder, he left his trolley and stepped into the dark confines of the storage area.

Ceiling-high metal shelves filled the entire room, each occupied by boxes. Glen walked on, conscious of the noise his footsteps were making in the echoic area. As the endless procession of boxes continued, he began to realise the enormity of his quest. He reached the far end of the row, where more aisles came into view with another line of unopened products.

“Great.”

He begrudgingly turned back to the main store. It was then that he saw the