You Can Run

It was hot. Sweat dripped down my face distractingly and I twisted my bobby pin into the keyhole of a rusted, blue door. I could have broken the door down but I didn't want to make any noise. That was the key to staying alive these days.

The door creaked open and I grimaced at the noise, looking around quickly to make sure nothing was creeping up on me. Luckily it was empty both outside and as I slunk through the door, closing it gently behind me, don't want anything surprising me from behind, the inside was quiet and empty as well.

My eyes widened with excitement as I processed what was in front of me. The store I was in looking completely untouched, food and drinks lined the shelves, clothes were hanging on rails neatly on the back wall and I could see hygiene products a plenty as well. With a drive that came from pure hunger, I grabbed and ripped open the closest thing to me, which happened to be a bag of chips.

Crunch.

The noise of my own chewing unsettled me as usually the only noise I permitted myself was breathing. I hadn't eaten chips in a long while.

Crunch.

I kept eating as I grabbed a much as I could and put it in the big backpack I'd brought with me. The happiness I was experiencing was making me tear up, I sighed through my next bite, I wasn't usually such a big baby but I could start to feel my ribs pushing against my skin as starvation started to seep in. I hadn't had a decent meal for a while.

Crunch.

I had just reached the toothpaste, swiping a few and a toothbrush when I heard it. A guttural breathing, a moan of hunger and a shuffle of feet. I felt a shiver run down my spine. I cursed quietly under my breath that I didn't clear the store before I started celebrating and ducked behind one of the promotion shelves advertising two for one on Gatorade.

Idiot, just because it's quiet doesn't mean there isn't anything in here.

I peered around the corner of my shelf and was greeted with an empty aisle. I felt the fear start to build as I didn't know where the dead was. I kept my ears wide open as I tried to locate it but it must have got tired or something as it had stopped moving.

Mustering my courage, I walked slowly in the direction I had thought the noises had come from, making sure to stick to the edges of the aisles just in case there was more than one. I gripped my knife tightly in one hand as I carried on, peering around the next corner and seeing nothing once more.

Where did it go?

A shuffle of feet behind me made a shot of panic flow through my stomach. I turned around as quickly as I could and saw a singular dead woman making her way towards me, arms outstretched eagerly for a meal. I gulped and waited for her to get a bit closer before I made my move. Her ragged dress was hanging off her emaciated body making me cringe at how close my own body probably resembled hers. She was within stabbing distance now, I dodged her outstretched hands and pushed her onto the floor. She was taller than me so it was easier for me to throw her onto the floor and get to her head that way. I had learnt from my past mistakes.

I killed her quickly, breathing in staggered breaths at the smell of her. I scouted out the rest of the store, making sure it was completely empty before I started gathering the rest of the supplies I thought I might need. I grabbed extra medicine to restock my first aid kit and made sure to mark this place on the map before I decided to take my leave.

You would think, why doesn't she stay in the store where everything she could possible need is? Well I'll tell you why.

People.

People were dangerous now. They were even more dangerous than the dead, because they were unpredictable. At least with the dead you knew they wanted to kill you, people could lure you in with their kindness, then take all of your stuff and tie you to a tree to die.

But hey that could just be my past experiences, who am I to speak for all of humankind at the end of the world?

I opened the same rusty, blue door that I had entered through and went to leave. I stopped myself before fully exiting. What if someone else was to come across this place and take the rest? It was like a goldmine in there. Nothing had been touched it was always like the twilight zone. I hummed thoughtfully to myself, now that I had unlocked the door with my bobby pins I wasn't able to lock it back up.

My thoughts darted back to the one I had killed inside, she was locked in. She must have a key! Pleased with my thoughts, I went back inside and sure enough she had the key to the door. I took it off her body with a grimace, never thinking I would be one to rob the dead but desperate times called for desperate measures.

I locked the door behind me and froze.

"The Governor wants to make sure that we have enough supplies to last the rest of the month. Where did you say that store was Nick?"

The voices were too close for comfort and I threw myself into a nearby dumpster. I immediately regretted the decision when I almost gagged at the horrific smell that the rubbish that had been festering for months was producing.

"It should just be over here." I heard, slowing my breathing right down and covering my nose with my hand to try and keep from making any disgusted noise. I heard a pounding at the door I'd just locked. "I think this might be it, but there's no sign and the door is locked."

I heard another man join in on pounding the door. "Are there any windows? Check the back. There's none here. What kind of store doesn't have windows?"

"Oh shit! Walkers!" Nick shouted. I heard the twang of a bow and the thump of a body hit the floor. I was happy they were smart enough not to use guns as that would bring more of those things down of us. I hoped to God that they didn't open the dumpster, I'm not sure that they would do but you never know.

I heard a few more twangs and a few hits of what must have been another weapon and there was silence. "Ok I think we're good now Nick, go around the back and see if there's any windows." I grimaced as the dead hadn't scared them off and they were still going to try and get into my goldmine.

There was nothing I could do but hope they couldn't pick locks like I could and that the back had no windows. I felt the thud of something against my back and wiggled uncomfortably. There was a seconds respite and something moved again. I willed myself not to scream.

I shifted my knife into my hand from its holster and waited. Whatever was moving was now moving down my side towards my legs. I bit my lip harshly between my teeth, anxious to see what it was. It wasn't the dead, I would have been bitted a long time ago, so what was it?

A rat popped it's head up in the small amount of light shining through the cracks of the lid. We stared at each other and I debated about what to do. I wasn't scared of it, there was much more to be scared of in this world, and I doubted it would make enough noise for anyone or anything to find me.

"There's no windows!" Nick shouted, I jumped slightly and the rat skittered backwards into a corner with a squeak.

Don't you ruin this for me. I snarled in my mind. I would kill it if I had to.

"How the fuck are we supposed to get in?" The first guy asked sighing. I imagined him rubbing his head in frustration.

"We can try break the door down again?" Nick suggested, his voice coming closer and a nudge against the dumpster told me someone was leaning against it.

"We tried that, we're not strong enough for that shit. We need a bigger guy like Graham."

"Let's go get him then."

"Yeah let's go." Their feet kicked up stones as they walked away, the rat and I continued to check on one another throughout my wait. I wanted those men to leave and never come back. If they were able to break into the store that was another place that I was not going to be able to use for myself. I didn't want to risk being spotted by them.

I also didn't want to lose all of those supplies.

I would just have to come back in a week when my supplies ran out and see if there was anything left for me to take.

Please, please, please let there be something left for me.

After another ten or so minutes, I didn't have a watch, I opened the lid. My eyes widened in pure fright as I came face to face with one of the dead. I must have timed that so badly as I didn't even hear it.

I dropped the lid down and felt the slams of hands on the side. I'm so stupid.

Those idiots attracted the dead over and I'm the idiot who waited for them to arrive. Stupid, stupid, stupid.

I looked at the rat in the corner and an idea, dread and guilt washed over me. "I am so sorry little guy."

It's whiskers twitched in response.

A/N I know it's been ages since I updated any of my other stories and I'm really sorry about that but I haven't been inspired for a while. I've just started rewatching The Walking Dead and this story was practically bursting from inside of me as I was watching.

Finally the Plot Bunnies have forgiven me!

Please leave a review and let me know if there is anything you want to see in this story, any mistakes or constructive criticism is welcomed!