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

line again and I’ll break your legs.” She made her way down one of the aisles, duly followed by Tina.

“So how are we gonna do this?” the teenager asked.

“Let’s look for a trolley or something. Then we can wheel it to the van and load it in the back”

“Then what?” Simon grumbled. “Leap out of the window Dukes of Hazard-style?”

“Got a better suggestion?”

“Yeah, let’s turn back the clock and not break the fucking window!”

“Idiot.”

Lisa motioned for Tina to follow her. The two women walked to the end of the rows with Simon in tow. He had his head tilted back, pinching the bridge of his nose with his thumb and forefinger.

It was when they reached the far wall that Tina spotted the trolleys in the corner. “Something like that?” she offered.

“Exactly.”

Lisa made for the row of trolleys but stopped short as a plank of wood swung through the air in front of her. She took a step back as the assailant stepped into view, swinging the board with greater ferocity.

“Get back!” the man snapped.

Lisa aimed the rifle at his head. “Drop the wood or I’ll blow your head off.”

The man stared at the trio, his eyes darting between each of them before he lowered the plank to his side.

“Who are you?” Lisa demanded.

“Adam.”

“Well, Adam, I’m Lisa. This is Tina and Shithead.” She motioned to the pair behind her.

“You’re not one of them?” he asked.

“Nope.”

“Have they bitten you?”

“Nope.”

“But I’m guessing you’re the ones who set off the alarm?”

“You got one right,” Lisa praised. “It was the only way we could get in.”

“You need a place to hide?”

“No, we need supplies.”

“Oh, great. So you figured you’d go looting through my store and to hell with the consequences?”

“This is your store?”

“It is now. I had to kill my dad. He was bitten.”

“I’m sorry to hear that.”

Adam shrugged his shoulders, but Lisa could tell he was concealing his sorrow.

“Look, we need supplies. It’s the only way we’re going to survive.”

“I would’ve thought food was the most essential.”

“We’ve got another group searching for food.”

“Another group? How many of you are there?”

“A few.”

“Really?”

“Yeah. We’ve got a farmhouse out in the countryside. If you give us some supplies, you can come with us.”

“What do you need?”

“Anything we can use to barricade the house.”

Adam nodded, looking around at the shelves surrounding them. “Okay, you’ll need wooden planks and nails to start with. We’ve got a few nail guns here as well.”

“Sounds good to me.”

“We’ve got soldering guns, angle grinders, drills.”

“We don’t have any electricity, or at least not for long.”

“Oh, right.” Adam’s eyes quickly scanned the rest of the warehouse. “There’s a load of sandbags left over from the floods last spring?”

“We’ll take them. Lead the way.”

The trio followed the young man as he rushed down one of the aisles. He stopped halfway, motioning at the series of planks.

“How many of these will your car hold?” he asked, turning to face Lisa.

“We’ve got a Transit van, so we should get a lot in the back.”

“Where is it?”

“Outside. We’ve backed it up to the window so it’ll be easy to fill up”

“But judging by your expression, there’s a problem?” Adam muttered sceptically.

“Yeah. There are tons of zombies surrounding this place. We’re going to struggle to drive it away.”

He nodded, his gaze drifting to the side as if lost in contemplation. “Okay,” he said after a brief silence. “We’ll fill the van first and then see what we can do afterward. He stooped down and retrieved a few boards from the shelf.”

“Good. Shithead, go get a trolley.” Lisa turned to face her bloodied companion.

“Get it yourself.”

“What did I tell you about stepping out of line? Go get a trolley!”

Simon glared at her before trudging towards the back of the store. When he returned, they filled the metal container with the planks.

“Okay,” Adam said once the trolley was full. “Lead the way.”

“You two start filling another trolley.”

Lisa left the pair and retraced her steps back to the passageway with Adam and their goods in tow. She stopped at the door, trying to establish which way led to the van.

“Do you know where you’re going?” Adam asked.

“Nope, I came in through the top window, but it should be near here.”

“The only window leading outside is in the room to your right.”

Lisa turned towards the door which stood ajar. With her rifle at the ready, she kicked the door wide and burst into the empty room. The alarm blared louder than ever, but the sound of the zombies outside was even more prevalent. The back of the van blocked out most of the light from the window as she turned to grab the trolley. The shattered glass crunched beneath their feet as she helped push the planks over to the window.

“I’ll jump in the back, you pass the wood through.”

Lisa stepped onto the window frame and climbed into the back of the van. Sensing her presence, the horde started to pound the sides, filling the echoic space with metallic thuds. Lisa dragged the boards into the back as more of the undead creatures joined the fray.

“Hurry!”

Adam passed the rest of the boards over. He stepped aside as Lisa jumped back in.

“How many are out there?” he asked.

“Too many.”

She stepped back over to the door as Tina appeared with another trolley filled with wood.

“Where do you want this?”

“Leave it there, take this one back and fill it up.”

Lisa took the trolley from the teenager and wheeled the empty one back into the corridor.

“How many more do we need?”

“I’d say two more before we start on the rest