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“Homeopathic pharmacy? Only if you’re looking for glass bottles to throw at the zombies.” Dr. Myers’ voice crackled, amused in my ear. “Pass that one by, Runner 36. 4 tried to go in one of those once and brought out such random things...totally useless.” I kept going, but I made a mental note of the building. The ministry’s book had said to use any skills acquired to help your community and I had a few I hadn’t shared yet. I was a bit shy to reveal some of my skills now; the first few months after the outbreak had led to some highly unpleasant situations and I was hesitant to risk anyone thinking I was some kind of crackpot. Especially as that Runner 8 seemed intent on using me as zombie bait every chance she got and Janine seemed to view me as fairly expendable. To be fair, though, Janine did seem to view everyone as fairly expendable, and I honestly wondered whether she had any actual attachment to anything that wasn’t an armament.
“Two shamblers to my left, avoiding.” I swung right and started to zig zag, looking for a way to get out of their eyesight or put a barrier between. Ah - a fenced gate for a small takeaway restaurant. Looked as though it was shuttered and locked, but it was plank so I could scale it. “Found a gate, going up and over.”
“Careful, 36, follow the protocols. You don’t know what’s in there.” I was already halfway over the fence, and I nodded, then realized nodding didn’t carry over the coms. “Roger, Doctor. Don’t worry, it looks locked down. Not sure I’ll even be able to get in.” This was a row of buildings, the pharmacy was at the start of the row but apparently this had once been a sort of central hub of local shops and takeaways. I checked the back door to the restaurant - as I suspected, it was locked. However, looking over I noticed a set of slightly rickety looking stairs leading up toward the roof. “Some fire stairs I think, going to see if there’s a second floor entry.” The metal stairs creaked, but they held as I began to ascend. I felt my pulse quicken - if the second floor of the takeaway was an apartment, there was a good chance I’d be greeted by zoms at the top of the stairs. I might get lucky and the owners would have been on vacation or have been evacuated, but likely not. I braved myself to be ready to kick in if need be as I reached the window.
My heart was beating rapidly and I cautiously peered in the window. “Ehwaz Tyr!” I exclaimed thankfully before I could stop myself, seeing the obvious outlines of tables and chairs with cloths through the window. This must have been a very successful takeaway, large enough to need second floor seating. Peering through, I saw what might even be the outlines of a bar. Perhaps a room for private parties or catering? In any event, my chances of zombie attack were greatly lessened. “What’s that, 36? I didn’t understand what you said. Repeat, please?” The doctor’s voice, concerned, cut through into my ear.
“Um, looks all clear. Going in.” Exclamations in Norse were probably not a great plan, I reminded myself. Most religious practices had gone by the wayside and my personal thoughts that we might be in the middle of Ragnarok, especially since they were mainly flavoured by reading a lot of mythology books and remnants of talks with very drunk anthropology students during my senior year of undergraduate work, were probably not a good way to be accepted in Abel. It hadn’t helped I’d been on holiday, coming back to the small village I’d lived in as I child to visit relatives when everything went grey. The window was locked, so I carefully lifted myself back on the bars of the fire stairs and swung my legs into the glass, praying my makeshift leg wrappings would keep the glass from cutting me. Even small cuts could be horrible now, considering. I carefully wrapped a rag round my hand and broke the worst of the edges off, then stepped inside. The zoms below were starting to mill around, but that didn’t mean there weren’t any in here or that I might not be stuck in a shelter in place situation overnight.
It was dim and dusty in the mid afternoon sun, but no telltale groans so far. Somehow I still usually ended up being sent out unarmed, having to rely on my wits and whatever makeshift weapons I could find on the way, because honestly I think Janine usually forgot about me and the armory assumed everyone had a personal weapon they carried all the time. Even the one fellow who did the radio show still carried his cricket bat around with him from before his arrival, so I was a bit peculiar in not having something of my own to just haul along. I looked around, trying to see if there was any evidence of zombie activity around me.
I spied tables laid neatly for lunch or dinner service, menus proclaiming “Contemporary Indian Cuisine.” A look behind what appeared to be a bar area at first revealed a sight that made me want to shout with joy, but since I was in stealth mode, I made a bizarre sort of grunt. “36? Are you alright?” Maxine sounded slightly harried and concerned. “Oh, Doc, it’s fine...I just found a tea bar.”
“You found what? You sounded hurt, as though you’d crashed into something or twisted an ankle.” I grinned. “No, I just found a tea bar. Literally looks as though there might be fifty kinds of tea here, lovely things from standard breakfast tea to Earl Grey to ooh, some kind of Oolong and Darjeeling...”
“36, have you got a concussion of some sort? A head injury? Why are you going on about tea as though you’ve found a long lost lover?” I opened the tin canister of loose leaf Darjeeling and inhaled. “Because, Doctor dear, I have. I think while I’m waiting for the zoms to lose interest I may even have a cuppa.” I set the tin back in place and continued around the room. The wallpaper was hideous, some sort of modern take on paisley in atrocious colours. The curtains were actually orange sari cloth...it felt like some kind of bizarre outtake of a Gordon Ramsay show. I carefully pulled aside a curtain to find a dish area, and a narrow pass-through leading through to a prep area. There were various dishes, some tins of food and spices - I noted specifically turmeric, I knew it was good for many things including dye and as an anti-inflammatory- but I kept going to see what else I might find. I knew I would probably have to bunk here for the evening, as it would take some time for the zoms to lose interest and disperse. A door at the Back of the pass-through was marked office; I tried the door, Half expecting that it would be locked. It was, but as I turned I happened to glance up and see a key fob tucked at the top of the door frame. Surely not - but then again, I had once worked in a small shop with an elderly owner who did this very thing, insisting that the door must be locked at the end of The day but was terrified of losing the key. It was worth a try. The fourth key on the ring opened the door.
“By Odin’s Eye!” I couldn’t believe what I was seeing. I’d expected sort of a typical office mess, probably random files, perhaps abandoned briefcases and an adding machine or a computer, maybe filing cabinets and catalogs of restaurant supplies...but not what I saw in front of me. “36? Is everything all right? What’s going on? We haven’t got cams, you have to talk to me here, I’m getting Sam...or maybe Janine...I don’t know what to do...”
“Doc, it’s fine...I just...I found something really good.” A smile spread across my face. There was a note letting Jenna know that “I’m headed over to the station because the convention is tomorrow but I’ve got your stuff laid out. Don’t know why you aren’t answering your texts but you let your battery die all the time, you need a new phone. Anyway, meet me at main concourse - I opted to dress as Ryu again, keeping it old school and simple. G.” This was going to be a great haul - not exactly what Maxine had sent me out for, but definitely something interesting.
I woke just before dawn from habit, stretching out and checking my feet and shoes just as a precaution. I gathered everything together, surveying what I would be carrying back this time. So nice. I peered out the window, and it did look like the zoms had lost interest and moved on. I carefully set things out the window, again wrapping my hands to climb through, then used my paint pen to mark the building. We’d definitely need to come back here. I’d have to watch myself on the way back, I was definitely loaded down. I shifted everything into position on my back, adjusted the straps on my pack, and set off at a steady pace back toward Abel in the pale morning light.
“36 - you made it back! Always glad to see you home. What on earth...is that...it is! How?” Sam was staring at me as I came in and slowed to a walk headed toward my usual unloading spot in the coms shack. I’d dropped off the medical supplies already and left the orange sari cloth - it was bright but might be useful - and now had some things for Sam. “Don’t thank me, thank whoever Jenna and G are - were. They left these there in the office/pullout couch room. You can look, but they’re mine. I love swords.” Probably part of some kind of anime limited edition something from the slightly wincing look on Sam’s face, but they had a nice balance and they were actually just a decent whetstone away from true usefulness. “These are for you though. You know I don’t watch these things but I know you and the Doc and 5 and some of the rest of you lot are into it. These were there too. Enjoy!” I dumped the random assorted dvds I had found there for Sam then headed over to the showers.
“36? The Doc and 5 were standing near my table at the mess a few days later. “May we join you? Please?” My mouth was full, but I nodded. I noticed 5, looking a little oddly at me, was holding two of the DVDs. “Hey, you lot liking those? I just grabbed a bunch of different ones, the only one I’d heard of was that Totoro thing.”
“Um, well, about these...” Doc looked at 5, who glanced around slightly uncomfortably, then laid the films on the table. One had some kid and a cat on it, the other had a group of random women and some weird looking tentacle monster. “Not my thing, Doc. I know you’ve tried to get me to come play your game and stuff but I’m just not into that stuff. You don’t have to say thanks, I saw those movies and figured it would be great for you, some change from the usual. You guys don’t have to try to include me in your movie night.”
“So you didn’t know what you were picking up, and you didn’t give these out to anybody but Sam, right?” I nodded, my mouth full again. I’d learned to eat fast, the food was sometimes interesting textures or flavours and besides I seemed to stay hungry. “Well...I guess you didn’t mean anything by it then...” 5 had this look, a bizarre mix between about to laugh and a sort of dirty joke face is the best way I could describe it. I was utterly confused. “What do you mean?” I looked from one to the other, Doc looking relieved and 5 now doing a bizarre winking and leer at me, looking ready to laugh.
“Well, you brought several films that are considered anime classics, like this one, it’s called ‘Kiki’s Delivery Service,’ but then...” Doc noticed 5 and the comic routine. “Stop it, 5, you know you were just as concerned as I was, be a little mature here.” At the word mature 5 lost it entirely and started doing a shimmy routine and laughing. “Honestly - you - I brought you instead of Sam to avoid having this sort of comic routine during this discussion. Go on, then, go see Mr. Yao and reassure him, I’m sure you’ll both have some kind of running joke from this incident.” I still didn’t get the joke, and now half the mess was looking as unobtrusively or as obviously as they cared to at me and the Doc. “Look, some of these films are very good films, family oriented entertainment. Others are perhaps a little more suited for adults than children, but then some of them...” she picked up the one with the tentacle monster and the women...”some of them are not meant really for anything other than uh, stimulating...um...are you familiar with a genre called hentai?” I was still lost and some of the people in the mess were leaning in because the Doc was actually starting to look a little flustered. “Sorry, Doc, told you I don’t watch this stuff. I liked the swords I found and grabbed the films for Sam and 5 and you because I thought you’d like them. The most I watched would be like Ninja Turtles.” Doc was trying to be delicate, which was always kind of funny. “Well, you basically may have accidentally brought in animated, uh, well, drawn...Well, it’s pornography. But in a cartoon.”
Now I was laughing. “Oh man...so Sam or 5 thought I was...” then I looked at Doc...”wait Doc, you didn’t think I was....for you...” I finished laughing and wiped my eyes, I’d been laughing so hard. “Ok, first of all, no worries, I did not know what I was bringing. Second, I’m not trying to break in on Sam and 5, they’re a great pair, and you and Paula are great together, we talked about this when you insisted on my mental status check, I am naturally a loner...” then I saw her curious gaze. “What, you didn’t catch that Sam and 5...” I started laughing again. “Maybe we should all go to the takeaway and have a movie night a little more often around here. Come on, Doc, I’m not sure what exactly is in the food but I brought back real tea, grab a cuppa and we will talk about what’s been happening lately.”