Chapter 12: 12. Honey Buns

We were just walking past a pharmacy when someone called out to us.

“Hey! You two! Get off the streets dammit another squad of those bastards will be here soon!”

Both Grandpa and I looked behind us to see a man peeking out from inside the pharmacy motioning us to get inside.

We looked at each other for a moment and Grandpa nodded at me.

“It’s worth checking.”

I thought so too.

And it’s starting to make sense where all the people went if everyone is hiding in doors.

There weren’t nearly enough bodies on the ground to justify not a seeing a single soul nearby.

Everyone was hiding.

We made our way over to the pharmacy and after being let inside, the man that initially called out closed the door behind us and drove an umbrella through the handles.

I don’t think that will hold much but I guess it’s better than nothing.

Anyway, looking around the pharmacy, there were about 20 or so people tucked away in here, including the man from earlier.

“What the hell were y’all doing? If you got caught by a squad then that would’ve been the end for you.”

The man asked that question mainly at Grandpa who just furrowed his brows as he thought about the situation.

I knew right then and there that he immediately tossed that question out of his mind.

“You mentioned a squad will be here soon. Are they patrolling the area?”

The man looked confused and even some of the others in the building started throwing odd looks our way.

“Well where the hell have y’all been? Seems you didn’t get the damn memo that the world ended and we’ve been invaded by some fucking red aliens.”

Someone else said that.

“We came from the beach, the situation is different there.”

“Oh well shit. Then I guess you really don’t know what’s going on and it explains why y’all were just out there looking silly.

“Then yeah. After everything went to shit things went quiet for a bit then they started showing up in squads of about 3-5 and patrolling the area every few hours.

“We don’t know where they’re coming from, and we don’t know where they go. But they patrol for a few hours and then disappear to wherever. And it’s been a few hours since they’ve last shown up so they should be here soon.”

This content has been misappropriated from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.

“How do you know when they show up, and how do you know when they leave?”

Cawwww!!

The familiar sound of a giant bird could be heard and the man pointed up at the ceiling as he spoke.

“That’s how we know when they get here and we’ll hear it again when they leave. Just hang tight, grab something to drink from the fridges and help yourself to whatever food you can find on the shelves. Ain’t much though.”

We didn’t need to be told twice.

Both Grandpa and I ducked off to a corner by ourselves and scavenged for whatever we could find remaining on the shelves and in the fridge.

I ended up with a stack of honey buns and water.

Grandpa had only 1 honey bun, some jerky and water.

Not the most high quality meals, but it’s better than eating raw Little Maws.

Either way we got some food in us and started talking in hushed tones.

“We’ll wait out the squad or whatever is out there to leave, then we’ll head straight for the compound.”

“Is it wise to not wait a day or two Grandpa? What if the rotation of these squads change?”

“No matter which direction we took or how fast slow or cautious we moved, it was always going to be a risk making it all the way to the compound. Better try to risk it when we have somewhat reliable information than to potentially miss a good window.

“If we’re out there and we hear the bird then we’ll do our best to hide and figure things out. For now, let’s just rest and recover as much as we can. We’ll be doing a lot of running here soon.”

Well his logic was good enough so I didn’t see any reason to ask any more questions.

I’ll just rest and do my best not to think about the fact that my parents could be one of the bodies decorating the ground outside.

...

Caaaaww!!

The sound of the bird caused me to jump out of the nap I unintentionally found myself in.

“That’s us Freddy.”

Shaking the sleepiness off, I stood up and grabbed my spear and made sure the granola bars I tucked into my pouch were still there.

Good to go.

Everyone in the pharmacy was sitting around in their own little spots. Some were asleep. Some were awake and watched us as we walked towards the door of the pharmacy.

“I think it’s safer to see stay in here. Who knows when they’ll come back.”

A woman said to us as we neared the door.

“We’ll take our chances.”

That was all Grandpa said before we slowly opened the door and after peeking outside and seeing no immediate threat, we left.

“Shit it’s your funeral.”

I heard her mumble that as we left but paid her no mind.

It wasn’t my place to tell someone else how to survive the apocalypse, but I didn’t think waiting around in a pharmacy for who knows what to happen to you was the right way to go about it.

“Alright Freddy let’s see if those legs of yours still work. We’ll stick to sidewalks and run near places right next to or as close as possible to spots where we can duck behind or in for cover as much as we can.

“If there’s nothing close by, then we run as fast as we can to the next location that is. We’ll keep that up until we reach the compound.

“Sounds good?”

“Got it Grandpa. Try not to faint on me, you’re getting up there in age.”

“This generation has no respect for their elders boy I tell ya.”

We chuckled to each other for a moment longer and it somewhat helped to release a bit of the tension I didn’t even realize I was holding tight to.

It’s alright Freddy…mom and dad are alright…

After that last thought of reassurance, we departed in something more than a proper jog, but not quite a full sprint.

Stinking to the areas with cover as much as possible and sprinting when we needed to sprint.

The amount of bodies we saw on the ground as we ran never ceased for even a second, and I couldn’t help looking at every single one we passed by hoping I wouldn’t recognize the face.

Part of me felt selfish to think the way I did, but I couldn't help it.

I watched each and every one of them and practically tuned out the rest of the world as my eyes darted from body to body.

So much so that I didn’t even notice when Grandpa stopped running and had to call my name to get my attention.

“Freddy!”

I stopped abruptly and turned to look at my Grandpa.

“We’re here.”

Ah.

I looked out in front of me to see the familiar walls of the family compound.

Wait…is that…

…blood?