Chapter Text
Minute swore to god, if he saw one more zombie’s body flying towards him, he was going to shit his pants. Leo, for whatever reason, was very good at aiming the slingshots. And since the zombies didn’t have great core strengths to even stay still, the bodies just fell as they lost balance. And frankly, towards Minute’s direction on three different occasions.
Minute yelped as he dodged the body that fell right in front of him. Its top and bottom teeth smashing together and the hands—underneath the nails, there was blood and flesh—swinging towards Minute. He held his breath, took a step back to get away from its reach.
And he raised his hands and smashed its head with a baseball bat. Blood splattered everywhere as the horrible sound of the skull cracking echoed through the grocery market.
“Leo, please!”
Minute whisper-cried—though he knew it would do absolutely nothing since the smack on the zombie's head was loud. Voice shaky from almost tearing up and adrenaline. Leo chuckled.
Unlike Leo, who had already been quite used to smashing zombies’ heads as if they were watermelons, Minute’s hands were never steady. He swallowed the bile seeping out of his esophagus down forcefully. Did he not feel any guilt or something? The sharp acidic taste never left him alone for too long. At least he wasn’t alone. At least he had someone to keep him steady. He should focus on them more than the surroundings. The teenager thought as he wiped the sweat off of his forehead. trying to ignore the blood dripping from his baseball bat.
Clown peaked his head over at the end of the isle, gesturing those two to come over. Leo and Minute quickly walked over. Minute mummured something about how gross he felt but Leo only laughed it off.
How was he laughing everything off? Does he not care?
“Can’t you two be more quiet?”
Clown hissed as he was packing two 1L water bottles into his bag and passed one each for the other two. He quickly turned his back to pull down his mask–Minute and Leo both attempted to look at his face but failed miserably–and put a piece of gum in his mouth.
“Do you want every single zombie in the store to chase you two down and gut you out?”
Leo tapped on Clown’s shoulders telling him to relax. After all, not a lot of zombies remained inside the grocery store, they barely saw some. A lot outside of the store more than inside. Which was quite ironic since Minute was so used to corresponding zombies with night time, avoiding light. All the zombies from games and horror movies, always associating the zombies with darkness.
Yet, these zombies seemed to love light. As if they were moths flapping their wings beneath the street lights in the middle of the night, the zombies were eager to step closer to the light.
The grocery store’s lights were mostly off, someone must’ve flicked the light switch when they were running away. Or zombies accidentally pushed them. Either way, zombies left the grocery store making them robbing it much easier. Minute wiped the bottom of his nose. Also, Clown and Leo were very efficient at robbing the store.
Minute had stuffed granola bars in his bag—or someone’s bag they found just abandoned on the road. He always thought that using a hiking bag for high school was a bit extra but he would not complain now. He had to dump out textbooks, a laptop, and a binder. Whoever owned this bag must’ve been a year younger, he recognized that chemistry textbook. Hopefully they were alive. And maybe not missing their backpack as much.
Minute shoved the plastic water bottle into the side pocket.
“Minute,” Clown tapped on his left shoulder before throwing him a few bottles of medicine. Pills clanking inside them.
“Oh, thank you—urgh,” he barely grabbed them. Pain killers, cold & flu pills for future purposes and… iron pills. Leo probably told him. Minute smiled, very grateful since his own iron pills were left inside the school.
And goodness, he did NOT want to go back to school. Nope. Not again. Never. Minute shook his head before packing the pills in the front pocket along with some gum.
Leo sniffed as he rubbed his hands right above his lips. Leo had packed some beef jerky, canned food and small packages of cereals. He was actually chewing on some right now. Clown packed some necessities such as tissues, first aid kits and alcohol for sanitation.
“Wait,” Minute called before Leo and Clown could leave. He chuckled nervously, “I kinda need to use the washroom..?”
Even when the world ends, the body continues to excrete wastes. Minute let out a little chuckle when Clown sighed lightly.
-
Thanks to the fact that Minute actually had worked in this grocery store for a part time job, he quickly navigated through the back of the store. Leo even decided to grab some cash from the cash. Some idiots still want money even when the world ends. Who wants money when the world ends? Minute wasn’t too sure. Meanwhile Clown grabbed basically all the cigarettes and vapes from the shelves.
“You... smoke?” Minute asked.
He had seen many people smoke or vape—heck he was in a high school. It would be weirder if he had never seen people doing that. They always had an unpleasant smell on them. Something that makes Minute gag, he always had a sensitive nose. Clown hardly had any scent at all other than blood.
Also, his voice sounded completely fine. No wheezing or breathy at all. Why was he even packing them in the first place? Maybe he started smoking not so long ago?
“No, but I used to. There are people who would go crazy for these, though. Similar logic as Leo. But nicotine is more irresistible.”
Clown replied, readjusting the mask he was wearing. Minute blinked for a moment before nodding. He knew people who would smoke in the middle of a zombie apocalypse? People are probably too busy running for their lives and just staying alive. Where were the ideas from Leo’s and Clown’s head coming from? He did not know. Did he care to ask? Not really. They looked like they knew what they were doing. (Leo was very skilled at opening the cashier machine for some reason)
Also, why would he ask those to Clown? Leo seemed to be completely chill with him and yet, Minute was still slightly scared of him. Anyone would find Clown intimidating! Clown didn’t say anything mean at all but this feeling that he would be judging for asking dumb questions was, a lot.
“Alright, let’s dip. We have everything we need,” Leo brushed the hair out of his face, “not too heavy right?”
Minute nodded as he fixed the strap in his bagpack. Clown gestured to leave from the isle and in his other hand, the grip on the fire axe was firm. Minute held onto the baseball bat tighter.
Most of the zombies were stacking up on top of each other towards the windows or the entrance. They had entered the grocery only about an half an hour ago and there weren’t as many in the entrance as before! They even killed a few but they were still a handful of them.
Leo quickly grabbed one of the small boxes of baking soda isles and dumped out the powder and filled it with a few pebbles he had picked up from the streets. He closed the box and carefully aimed the sling shot to the ceiling.
The box was launched, hitting the light the box burst opened, spraying the pebbles everywhere. The zombies immediately picked up the sound, turned their head around and lazily ran towards the pebbles rolling on the floor. Chasing them with noises Minute wished he only saw in the movies. Screeching mixed with the smacking sounds of teeth cluttering. Growls sounding animalistic and yet so human
With another shot, the zombies were pretty far away from the entrance door with only few remaining who could not move due to their limbs mostly being detached to their body.
The trio quickly hopped over them and was met with the bright sun shining at them. Ew, Minute thought. Ew ew ew ew ew.
He did not need to see what a half skinned person’s face looked like. He did not need that outline of facial muscles without the layer of skin, covered in blood in his memories.
“Quick, we don’t know where the zombies are going to be popping out of. Let’s go. Let’s see if we can find a place to sleep for the night.”
Clown ordered as they started to walk under his lead. Leo pulled out another beef jerky and chewed it as he trailed behind.
“We could go to my house? I mean, it’s pretty from here and…” Minute suggested, Clown nodded, telling Minute to guide them. And maybe I can see if my parents are okay.
“Uh, so…” Minute asked, “How are you guys so calm about this?”
“We’re from Nabern.”
Minute’s head turned quickly, trying to look at Leo who replied and almost tripped over. Nabern, a city known for its luxury resorts and casinos. Similar to Los Angeles down in California, Nabern was pretty filthy rich of a city.
However, everything was cut off when a patient was dropped off by the EMS in its main hospital. The news spread quickly as the suspected drugged victim was throwing a rampage of biting the nurses and doctors. The patient showed quick weakening in the bones as well as the blood turning into a greenish colour. But no updates after. People quickly lost interest.
People called him a zombie for a patient to be active and very feral and inhumane. However as the patient was suspected of heavy drug use, no one really took him seriously. It was common to call people smoking weed in the streets zombies and there were things such as drug towns or aka zombie towns.
And that was two weeks ago. No more news were told from Nabern, none about that crazy guy.
“So basically, you know about the ‘zombie patient’?,” Leo asked, putting quotation marks around the zombie patient. Minute nodded. His friends were talking about that guy saying it was the start of the zombie apocalypse. “Apparently he was actually a zombie and people in the hospital and EMS got bitten or something and then it spread everywhere. The government shut the city down. Not able to go in or go out. The news were shut down, the fucking internet went out when I was so locked in in a game.”
Clown chuckled, continuing with what Leo was saying, “but of course, it was the government doing it so it was pretty damn easy to snoop around. I guess until the FBI got involved. Leo and I were smuggling a few people out of the city. The city was still somehow a city, people demanded money from the government for causing distress but blah blah blah. Idiots who thought that money would be protecting them from money.”
Minute couldn’t believe it. This happened in one country. When the news about the ‘zombie patient’ went off about two weeks ago. Nothing was heard about Nabern since and no one made a distress call or anything. Could the FBI and the government just shut down a city like that? Without anyone else knowing? If it was like a different country, somewhere far, Minute would have maybe believed it but it was Nabern! The spa city!
“Yeah, unbelievable!” Leo moved his hands sarcastically. Beef jerky package now back in his bag, he yawned, “but yeah, if we look like we are being too ignorant or like too chill with killing zombies, we are not psychopaths don’t worry. Humans adapt, am I right?”
Minute wondered if he would one day kill zombies with no fear like Clown did. He wondered if he would be able to come up with a solution for zombie related issues like Leo.
He wondered if he wouldn't gag at the sight right in front of him later. He thought.
Staring at the streets covered with blood and crashed cars and lost limbs that’ll never find their owners again.
At least he was able to focus on the conversation more, keeping him distracted.
“What was it like living in Nabern anyways?” Minute asked, swallowing the acidic taste of bile once more. Looking at the sky rather than the floor.