Chapter 10 "Foodland & Goodnight"

Day 21

It was the next morning and things with Arnold were still looking grim. He hadn't been able to move at all, not even to change his position on the bed, and people were losing hope. Not only were they losing hope, they were running low on supplies. They had used the last of their alcohol yesterday on Arnold, and they needed a lot more food and bandages. Exploring the blocks surrounding their new house, Shawn and Otis discovered that they were a few blocks east of a grocery store called Foodland.

Shawn and Otis told Hershel about it and he agreed with them that they should consider getting a group together and head out to get supplies. "How about," Otis proposed, "Shawn, Seth, Lee, and I go?"

Hershel half-frowned at him. "I'm not sure that's the best idea right now. Patricia needs you, and I don't think you should be goin' around, riskin' your life when we have a constant reminder here about how dangerous it is out there."

A flash of sadness swept across Otis's face, but he pushed it back and nodded his head compliantly. Shawn looked to Otis and considered sneaking him out, but decided against it for Patricia's sake. Otis was tough enough, but Hershel wasn't wrong. "I'll ask around for someone else to," Shawn told Hershel, who nodded in response.

Shawn went to find Seth and Lee, but they weren't in their room. He went down the hallway, about to check for them in Jessie and Amanda's room, but heard voices in the living room and followed them. There, everyone was gathered around in the living room, playing board games they had found in one of their rooms. Shawn sighed, slightly angry about having to ask everyone together. He entered the room and smiled to Beth, who was the first to notice him, but she only half-smiled in return.

"Everyone," he said, attempting to get their attention, "Otis and I found a supermarket down the road, and we need to get a group together to go and scavenge for supplies. Does anyone want to volunteer?"

Lee and Maggie raised their hands instantly, eager both to help out and to get out of the house and its gloomy atmosphere. Seth kept his head down, acting as though he was focused on the cards. Hesitantly, Robert put his hand up, as well. Lily noticed and decided, Why not? putting her hand up as well.

Shawn was obviously disappointed. Seth was upset for some reason and he felt that Maggie, Robert, and Lily weren't exactly the best people to bring along. Maggie because he was his sister, and Robert and Lily because they weren't really very strong members of the group. "Maggie, no," he said.

"Shawn," Maggie told him, glaring, "I don't care what you say, I'm going. I can handle myself and you know that."

Shawn shook his head, frustrated. "Robert, Lily, are you guys sure you should be going?"

Robert raised a brow at him, "What's your problem with me going?"

Shawn's eyes widened slightly, and he shook his hands rapidly. "No, no, it's nothing like that," he said, trying not to come off as offensive. "It's just, I'm not sure that you'd be a good idea to bring along, if I'm honest. Especially you, Lily."

Lily raised her own eyebrow, but with an actual fury brewing inside of her. "What the fuck is that supposed to mean?"

"It means that I'm not sure you're fast or focused enough," he said after a brief, shocked pause. He bit back though with a flat, "Plain and simple. Sorry."

Lily looked back down at the board game, her face twisting in anger. Robert glanced at her, and looked to Shawn, giving him a look that said "you just fucked up."

Shawn ran his hand down his face and groaned loudly. "Fine, whatever. You four, get ready to go. Empty out a backpack for each of you, make sure your shoes are tied tight, get any weapons you feel you're capable with or may need, and be ready in ten minutes."

Shawn was sitting at the wheel of the white car with Lee sitting right next to him in the passenger seat. "I don't know about this," he said to Lee.

Lee shrugged in response, "Well, you never know. They might be useful. Even if not, it wouldn't hurt to get more people to be capable of this kind of stuff. We can't just rely on Seth, Arnold, you, me, and Otis. Especially with Otis's wife being so fragile and Arnold in the shape he is."

Soon, Maggie joined them, just on time. She sat right behind Shawn with her empty backpack in her lap. "Seth said we should try to find more knives," she said out of the blue. Shawn nodded to her in the rear-view mirror, and he looked to the house to see Robert quickly walking to the car, climbing into the seat behind Lee, doing the same as Maggie with his backpack.

"Where's Lily?" Shawn questioned.

"She's takin' a piss," Robert stated bluntly. Lee smiled to himself and Shawn nodded, an odd expression on his face.

"She couldn't have done that earlier?"

"Excuse her for having a bladder," Robert retorted, getting annoyed with Shawn.

Lily came from the front door of the house, zipping up her pants. She got in through the passenger side, pushing Robert into the middle.

They took off just as a walker approached who had noticed Lily enter the car. It scratched at the trunk of the car as it departed, blowing dust into the poor, undead creature's face.

From the house, Seth was watching through the window. He felt an awful feeling in the pit of his stomach. I should have went, he thought to himself. But I have to prove myself. Prove that I can be useful, and not just get people killed. Too many people have died under my watch, and that's going to change. These people can finally look up to me, and Hershel will finally trust me. Seth didn't comprehend the amount of respect many people in the group had for him. He was the strongest person physically, and he has helped them survive and adapt tremendously. Without him they would have no defense and very little knowledge of many things about the way this new world works. Though he hasn't exactly proved to be great as a protector, he has been wonderful as a teacher and motivator.

They made it to the supermarket in only about five minutes and were met with a few walkers as they approached, which were quickly dispatched of within a few shots by Lee and Shawn. Lily attempted it, but missed horribly, instead shooting a stop sign, which made a loud clanging noise. Robert stared at the hole in the sign and remembered something Seth had told him about walkers being attracted to noise.

Before they entered the stores Shawn laid down a plan. They would go in, split into two groups, and explore as two units. Robert smiled to himself, "Well," he said, "I think there might be a change of plans."

Shawn lifted a brow at him. "What do you mean?"

"You'll see."

They entered together, Shawn first, then Lee, Robert, Maggie, and then Lily. Lee was about to separate the group, him taking Lily, while Shawn took Robert and Maggie, when Robert told them to stop. He lifted his gun and pointed it up to the metallic ceiling and pulled the trigger, taking everyone off guard, the sound sharp and shrill almost deafening. Then, a dozen walkers materialized from the aisles as Shawn realized Robert's plan, giving the teen a proud smile. "That's genius, dude," Shawn said, suddenly feeling better about bringing this group along.

Shawn and Lee dispatched of the nearest, most threatening walkers, and then they focused on trying to teach the other three to shoot. Maggie was quite the natural, taking down three walkers with ease. Robert got the reloading and shooting part down well, but his aim was quite off and it took him a few tries to put down two walkers. Lily, however, was just all around pretty bad with shooting and Lee and Shawn had to put her walkers down for her. The best she had managed was getting one in the neck, but that wasn't enough to take it down.

Slightly frustrated with herself, she holstered her gun and did her best to forget about it. Lee patted her shoulder kindly. "It's alright. You'll get better at it," he smiled to her. "It just takes practice. Besides, this place is safe now. You don't need it any more."

Lily looked at him, frustration blatant on her expression. "Good," she said. "I don't want to shoot ever again." She detached her gun holster off of her belt and handed it back to Lee, who frowned at her, but nodded understandingly.

Though Shawn wanted to insist that Lily keep the gun, Lee was right. This place was safe. So instead, he made a new plan. "Since this place is clear, we can all split up solo and get the place covered in half the time. The sooner we get out of here and get the supplies back to the group, the better.

They all departed, headed in opposite directions. Robert went for the household and medical supplies, Maggie searched the entrance and front counters for reading material and weapons, Lee headed for the foods section to find canned foods and not-yet-expired goods, Shawn went to the vegetables looking for seeds and fertilizer, and Lily went to the refrigerators and the back rooms for useful things employees might have left behind and the stockroom.

Robert's search proved to be moderately fruitful. He found no peroxide or alcohol, but there were plenty of pills (including aspirin, antidepressants, and ADHD medication) and bandages, as well as other things like toilet paper, plastic silverware, paper plates, shampoo, and deodorant.

Maggie found many things that she thought could be useful, such as magazines and small books for when things get boring, cigarettes, pocket knives, lighters, matches, batteries, a few flashlights, fabric hair ties, rubber bands, and candy.

Lee's search was not the greatest. He found many canned things, but he was hoping to find other things, such as mostly-fresh bread loaves, but it seemed like the day that this place was abandoned was probably the day before their stock would be replenished. There was very little food at all, and what was left was either spoiled, moldy, or hardened. He did manage to find a large amount of spices and enough canned and nonperishable foods to last out the rest of the week, though.

Shawn's search went about as well as one would expect. Going to the fruit and vegetable section, he was met with a whole lot of nothing and disgusting. Just like Lee had found, it seemed as though the food that expired quickest was looted early, and what was left was shriveled and rotten. He did find many seeds, though, which would make his father very happy.

Lily's exploration of the store was the most interesting, though. She was in the freezer section looking for things that could still be good, since the electricity was still on here. Looking through, there was still some good sodas and energy drinks, which she put into her bag, thinking they could be useful, and grinning devilishly at the energy drinks. After she put in the freshest drinks, she continued down the freezers, looking at the foods and their expiration dates, when she found something that caught her attention. Faygo. She smiled from ear to ear and shouted very loudly to the group: "Faygo! Guys, I just found some fucking Faygo!" In the toiletries section, Robert was smiling, shaking his head in her direction.

She grabbed a few bottles and put them in her bag, as well. She opened one for herself and began drinking it immediately, not wanting to miss out a second longer on getting her first taste in what felt like ages of her favorite soda. She continued down the aisle and grabbed some frozen meats and cheeses to add to the collection, as well.

When she got to the end of the aisle there was a fork, forcing her to choose to turn either left or right. To the right was Shawn, inspecting the vegetables and fruits. To the left was an almost-hidden door that lead into a back room. It wasn't much of a door, though. They were thick plastic strips hanging over a doorway, through which many boxes could faintly be seen. Drinking her Faygo happily, she went inside to the dim room. She looked around for a light and eventually found it by dragging her hands across the dark wall. In the now way-too-bright room a desk sat, with many boxes and sacks lying around it. On the far end of the room was another door.

She went for the desk and pulled out a drawer. Inside were many pens and paper, which she quickly bagged. In the drawer below was the same thing, and she nearly overlooked it before she thought to look under the paper. Below the paper was a brown leather holster with a white handle sticking out. She grabbed it and examined it, unsheathing the blade. It was a sharp machete with a riveted back side. It had the initials "W. E." engraved on the lower part of the hilt. She smiled thoughtfully and attached the holster to her pants pocket.

Feeling much stronger and safer, she went to the door at the end of the room and swung it open carelessly. The room was pitch black, and she repeated her last method of using what little light there was to search for a light, running her hands across the walls. Unbeknownst to her, something was attracted to the bright light she had just let into the room. When she made it back to the doorway, she sighed and turned around, peering into the darkness. Then, two women in blue shirts that read "FOODLAND" in bright red letters emerged, pale and stumbling. One had a huge hole in her neck, dried blood on her skin and clothes, and large parts of her hair clumped together nastily.

Panicking, Lily scrambled to get her new blade back out of its holster. She was afraid of using the machete with two of them in front of her, so close to one another, though. Unable to get it with her fidgety, panicked fingers, Lily cussed under her breath and turned to run away, but she tripped on her bag and her Faygo spilled out onto the floor in front of her, soaking her shirt. She yelled for help, and in an instant one of them fell on top of her and bit into her left shoulder. She wailed in agony and felt the weight of the other one plummet against her legs as it too began to eat, ripping into her right hip. In her pain she really wished she had not given her gun back.

Shawn came in first and was shocked to see Lily lying there on the ground, her blood pouring out of her body, mixing in with Faygo that was still dripping out of the bottle and onto the floor. He bit his lip and raised his gun just as Robert and Lee entered. He looked to Robert and lowered his gun, focusing on the younger boy's expression.

Going through Robert's head were many emotions. Loss of the best friend he's ever had. Agony for witnessing it. Guilt for making everyone let their guards down by drawing out walkers. Fear of the future without her. But most of all, an awful, heavy feeling of suffering for not being able to do anything to help her. On the floor, she was looking at them, her eyes begging as she was unable to yell, already looking lifeless. She blinked and attempted to speak, but was too weak and shocked to. Robert wiped at tears he didn't even realize were falling, and raised his gun. Maggie entered behind them. "What's going on?" she asked Shawn, who looked to her and shook his head at her as she looked past Lee and Robert's heads to see Lily, lying on the ground in a puddle of her own blood with two walkers eating away at her.

Robert killed the walkers with ease, taking both down with only three bullets. He approached Lily, who followed him with her eyes. She closed her eyes and clenched her lips, anticipating him to shoot her. Robert cringed and covered his mouth and nose, seeing her blood and guts pouring out of her body around her, and her looking so ready to die. The tears fell like they never had before and he raised his gun again. Robert was now blubbering as he struggled to see Lily through his tears. She, too, was crying. He closed his eyes and pulled the trigger, hitting her right in the forehead. Robert opened his eyes, making sure he got her, and he did. He fell to his knees and sobbed into her back, wailing like a small child. He looked at her forehead and saw the hole he had just made. "No," he whispered to himself. "Why?"

He was soon hit by the awful smell of the undead walkers by her, and he angrily pushed himself up to his knees, and began firing wildly into the walkers, hitting each one another five times each before Shawn grabbed him from behind and took the gun, shushing Robert and bringing him into a hug.

They left about thirty minutes later after having a prompt funeral for Lily behind the supermarket. Her body was too gross and mangled for them to easily transport her back, especially since they only brought a car. Robert made sure not to forget Lily's bag and the machete she died with. He took the machete for himself and no one argued with him over it.

They made it back to the house with five bags, four people, and tremendous mourning. Lyrik saw them as she was looking through the windows and held her hand over her mouth. As they made their way to the house, a handful of walkers approached and Shawn and Maggie took care of them as Lee and Robert carried the bags in.

After carelessly dropping the bags in the livingroom, Robert headed for his room, which he shared with Lyrik and Lily. He sighed as he entered and saw her bag full of clothes. In the living room, Lee explained to the group that walkers sneaked up on her and took her down before they could help. Lyrik began to cry as she listened to the story and she ran to her bedroom to talk to Robert.

When she entered, Robert was sitting in Lily's bed, holding the white-handled machete and one of Lily's shirts, crying onto them. Lyrik only cried harder as she made her way to him and wrapped her arms around him. He wiped a tear and looked at her. "Lily was ambushed," the boy said, "We were stupid. We split up, all five of us. We thought the whole place was safe, and that we'd all be okay on our own. But we weren't. She went into a back room, and she just...went down. There was two of them."

Robert was bawling once again, struggling to breathe and speak. Lyrik's tears were beginning to pour, as well. She loved Lily, and she had such great memories with Lily. But Lyrik was mostly concerned for Robert, because she knew how close the two were. Losing two of his best friends in such a short amount of time was tearing him apart, and she knew it. They both hated the idea of carrying on without her.

Back in the living room, Robert and Lyrik's crying could faintly be heard, and it really set the tone of the whole house. Seth couldn't help but feel guilty for Lily's death because he refused to go, all because he was afraid of getting more people killed. Maybe if he were there, he could have kept them on their toes. Maybe they would all still be alive. He was finally beginning to see, though, that no one is safe, whether it's his fault or not.

Seth went to Hershel and volunteered for lookout duty that night, who nodded solemnly in response, his mind more focused on Arnold's wellbeing. Hershel went in to check on him and found that he was still asleep again. He sat next to Arnold's bed in a chair they had brought in and opened up to Arnold, half-hoping he wasn't able to hear him. "Things are rough around here. I don't know what we're gonna do about it, either. People just keep on dyin', and I don't know what to do. Maybe I can help train them with theirs guns. Keep a better eye on 'em. I don't know. And now that you've...been bitten...I just… I just wish that everything could be easier. I don't know how we've all carried on so casually. Half of Seth's people are gone and he's hardly managing it. Robert's pretty much in the same position. Lost two of his best friends. People he's had around him for most of his life. We all lost Annette… And I'm afraid that I might die, soon. I'm old, and not exactly a bodybuilder like Seth. If I get cornered, that's it. And I don't know what everyone'll do if that happens."

Shocking Hershel, Arnold responded. "It'll be okay," he said weakly. "We have strong people here. I know I'm not long for this world, but-"

Hershel interjected, worriedly, "Arnold, you know I didn't mean-"

"Hershel. It's alright. I know I'm dyin'. What matters now is keeping everyone prepared and ready to deal with this. Keepin' everyone together and functioning. No matter who goes or what happens, y'all gotta stay strong. Don't give up." Arnold opened his eyes to look to reassure Hershel, and saw that his uncle was crying.

He lamely raised his hand and wiped a tear off Hershel's cheek, who jumped slightly at the sudden touch. "Go get someone strong to watch over me," Arnold said. "When I turn, I don't want no one to get hurt." Arnold looked into Hershel's eyes, serious as stone. A last thought, Arnold added, "Do it quietly." Hershel's eyes reflected greif. He nodded and rose to his feet, leaving his nephew alone.

Lee entered the room a few minutes later, assigned to watch and put down Arnold should the time come. It was awkward at first trying to talk to one another, as the two weren't that close, and Lee was there only to kill Arnold when he reanimated, but eventually, Arnold fell asleep, and the awkward small talk was finally over.

Though Lee managed to stick it out for longer, he was running on less sleep than most other people in the group. He had been constantly volunteering and then put on watch, only managing to get about two hours worth of sleep in the last two days. When it got quiet, and all he had to keep himself occupied was to watch Arnold get the sleep he himself so desperately desired, he could hardly stand to keep his eyes open.

By the time he had awoke, it was too late. Arnold had turned, and was digging into his chest, tearing out organs, and Lee could not speak. He was in agonizing pain, crying wordlessly. He couldn't even let out a yell, or a scream, or a noise of any sort, and soon he blacked out. The last thing he saw was dark red blood; all over him, all over Arnold, all over the room.