“You two,” he said, pointing to the two nearest men. “Check out the hardware store, see if there is anything of use in there or for trade goods.” That was a trick that Thorton had come up with for towns that were reluctant to open up. Offer them something and when their guard was down, that was the moment to strike. “You two,” he said to another pair. “Head up the street and check out the grocery store. There might be something to restock with. Get moving.”
The major walked back to the second truck and talked to the men there. “You three,” he said, talking to the men who poked their heads out the back. “Run a quick check through the homes here, see if there is anything we can use. Make it quick. If it looks like it has been abandoned for a while, leave it. Go.”
The men jumped out of the truck and headed back the way they came, looking to do a quick sweep of the homes they had already passed. The men from the first truck spread out and went to their various objectives, looking to finish as quickly as possible.
Thorton watched them go and turned his head north, thinking about the surprise that was going to be waiting for Talon. He grinned and turned his attention back to his men and the town they were in. Something was tweaking the back of his mind, but he couldn’t put a finger on it. No matter, they’d be out of here in a little while anyway.
Private Ellis and Private Barnes walked quickly over to the hardware store. They liked missions like this because it gave them a chance to prove what they could do and perhaps get a chance at promotion. The building was a steel structure, with two small windows in front and two standard steel doors. The front doors were locked, so the two men walked around towards the back. Private Ellis noticed a set of skylights that were open, so if they had to, they could get in that way. Around the back of the building there was a dumpster turned over on its side and garbage was strewn all over. The ground was dark under the dumpster, like something that had been thrown away leaked oil.
Barnes reached the back door and tried the handle. “No luck,” he said to Ellis.
Ellis shook his head. “Damn. Guess that means we gotta go on the roof.”
Barnes looked at him. “What do you mean?”
Ellis stepped back and pointed at the open skylights. “We just have to get up there.”
Barnes looked and smiled at the other private. “Nice one. Course, this works out well another way.”
“What’s that?”
“Locked all around means there’s a good chance something worthwhile might still be in there.”
“Truth. Let’s get up there. Still got your cord?”
Barnes checked his pack. “’Bout fifty feet. That should be plenty,” he said.
Ellis went over to the dumpster and grunting, heaved it back up onto its wheels. He pushed it over to the side of the arching structure and stood on top, trying to reach the skylight. He was about a foot short, so climbing down, he picked up a couple of stray cinder blocks and threw them up on the dumpster lid, hitting the side of the building with a deep booming sound.
Climbing up, Private Ellis was able to reach the skylight, so he grasped the edge and pulled himself up, hooking a leg in the opening and straddling the window as he pushed open the skylight to allow easier access. Barnes pulled his rappelling cord from his pack and secured an end to the bottom of the heavy dumpster. He then tossed the bulk of the cord to Ellis, who sent it down into the gloomy interior of the hardware store.
Private Ellis slid down the rope and looked around, letting his eyes adjust to the gloom. He was standing in the fasteners aisle, with nails on one side, screws on the other and a smattering of glue on the far end. He could see a center aisle in the store, separating it from the front rows and in the rear there looked to be a small office, flanked by a key making station. His attention was distracted by the rope wiggling and the bulk of Private Barnes blocking the light as he slid through the window. He didn’t notice a dark shape move down at the front end of the store, slipping down a nearby aisle.
Private Barnes slid down quickly, landing heavily. He shook his hands and straightened sheepishly, then looked around as well. “Looks like this place has been home to just birds and bugs,” he said, looking at a row of boxes damaged by rainwater which had fallen through the skylights. The air had a musty smell and there was evidence of a decent growth of mold on the rain-ruined boxes.
“Yeah, but let’s see what we can find. Should be something good here.” He started for the front of the store. “You check those aisles over there and let me know what you find. I’m going to check the front.”
Private Ellis stepped away and Private Barnes limped slightly to the back. He discovered the battery section, so he grabbed a few batteries for his weapons’ light and flashlights. He grabbed some more for good measure, stuffing them into his pack. He moved back along the wall, passing the gardening tools and sprinklers. He found the hunting section and saw there was still some ammo on the shelves. Jackpot. He grabbed a bucket from the gardening section and started to fill it with the ammo, from shotgun shells to rifle bullets.
Private Barnes was so focused he didn’t hear the footsteps behind him and became aware only when a hand was placed on his shoulder. “Finished already, dude?” Barnes straightened up and turned around, coming face to face with a badly decayed zombie. Its skin was pulled tight around its skull, emphasizing the tears in its bluish skin. Its arms were thin, but as Barnes turned around, the hand that was on his shoulder was matched on the other shoulder by the zombie’s other hand, which was missing three fingers and before Barnes could move or scream, the zombie’s head darted forward to sink its black teeth into his face. The private cried out as the zombie hung on and bore him to the floor, tearing at his face.
Private Ellis was up front filling his backpack with seeds from a display case. These were always good for trade when they found a community of survivors and sometimes went in for goodwill. He had a handful of packets when he heard Private Barnes cry out. He stood up and shouted, “You okay?” When he didn’t get an answer he started to move towards the back but found his path blocked by a large shape moving in his direction. Ellis dropped his pack and whipped his rifle up, but just as he was about to fire a searing pain exploded in his leg. He looked down and to his horror, saw a small zombie child furiously chewing on his calf, tearing off chunks of meat and drooling blood down its little chin. Private Ellis dropped his rifle as he fought off the little zombie, throwing it bodily away from him as he fell to the ground, unable to stand on his injured leg. As he fell, he saw the little zombie get back up and head back in his direction, followed by the large zombie. Ellis pulled his knife and waited for the little bastard to get closer, determined to take out the zombie that just killed him.
Private Hook and Private Gomez ran quickly down the street to the grocery store. They didn’t want to be caught out in the open and didn’t want to get cut off without a retreat in case the zombies swarmed them. That had happened in Missouri and all of them were still wondering what to make of the change in the zombies behavior.
Reaching the front of the building, Hook checked the door before declaring, “Locked.”
Gomez nodded and they trotted around to the back of the store looking to see if the supply door was open. A quick check revealed it was locked as well.
“Ideas?” Gomez asked.