Give me fuel, give me fire, give me that which I desire!
Metallica is screaming in my ears as the general store comes into the view of both Rose and I. We're walking slow, practically at a standstill as my eyes dart around towards the building that tower around us. They've gotten taller since we started walking, which tells me that we are getting further into the city. For some reason that makes me feel sick to my stomach.
As my eyes come back around to the store, I notice Rose is just staring at me. I give her a confused look and her mouth begins to move. The way her lips are moving match the words of the song and I give out a chuckle. She doesn't; she looks slightly pissed, so I pull the headphone from my right ear.
"Why do you have that so loud?"
"I don't know," I lie, "It clears my mind." She gives me a confused look. It's the kind of look that tells me she's told a lie or two-million in her time, thus allowing her to know when others lie to her. "Is that what you wanted to ask?"
"No," She says as she looks toward the store. "I was just wondering if you knew any secrets about this place; like back entrances and stuff. Cause we don't really have the recourses to deal with any of those infected freaks."
"I don't think there are. I've only been here a few times with my dad." My heart skips several beats when I say that word, "dad". I think of the gun, the screaming, the cold. I see my brother in the bathroom, the blood running from his palms, but I blink it away, I try to blink it all away.
"You ok?" Rose asks. I look at her, not sure if there are tears in my eyes or not and nod my head. "Good, cause I have a good feeling about this." Her smile is beautiful. It makes me smile and oddly enough, my cheeks ached from not smiling in so long. Rose's hand stretches out from her body and begs for me to take it. I do, and I let her lead me through the parking lot of the grocery store. Her hand feels like it used to be soft, like it used to be loving and kind, but now it feels cold. It feels like its empty.
"I have to be honest," Rose began. "I feel rather odd not knowing a thing about you. I mean, I know we just met, but you're the first person I've seen in so long. And you're just a little girl."
"Hey, now!" I kid. "I'm almost fifteen. I ain't no little girl no more." She chuckles and I force one as well. We walk in silence for a moment longer before I add, "I'll tell you a bit more while we are keeping our tigers at bay."
"Keeping our what?"
"Our tigers." Even after I repeat it I can tell she doesn't quite get it. "Well I don't know about you, but I'm as hungry as a tiger right now, and when my tummy roars it sounds like a tiger." She smiles again and I'm grateful. "But yeah, I'll tell you my short story and you can tell me yours." I give her a smile and she continues hers for a while longer until we reach the front doors.
They look locked from where we stand but that doesn't stop us both from shaking the handles. A large chain, with a lock tucked deep in it somewhere, rattles and we both stop, looking at the glass, both thinking the same thing. Rose begins to look around for something to break through, but I think quicker.
I wrap my fist in some of the shirt that hangs down below my waist and punch through the brittle material. I feel a sting of pain and...
"All you need is love"
It's late. I try to look at the clock but my eyes are too tired and blurry to see, so I just crawl out of bed and head for the door. The hallway looks darker than normal. I can't quite figure out why, and I hardly even notice as I walk towards the bathroom. It's three doors down and when I reach it I realize why its so dark. The night light that stays on throughout the night to insure easy maneuvering isn't shinning through the bathroom door. And that's because the door's closed.
It's never closed, I think to myself. So I knock. It sounds hollow and deep, but there's no reply except for the sound glass makes when it slides across linoleum. I knock again and this time I hear my brother speak. He's been crying, I can tell. Now I'm awake. Now I'm fully awake and opening the door.
It's a mess.
Rose jumps as the glass breaks and a small shard pierces my skin. Nothing major, but it does sting. I shake the memories from my head as I pluck the glass out of the shirt and bring my hand into the light. Rose takes a hold of it and inspects it, like a mother would. She dubs it safe enough and helps me break the rest of the glass away.
She climbs in first and I follow close behind. The place is dark, lit only by the windows at the front of the store, and it sounds deserted. We sit still and scan, our eyes going from the dairy side to the canned goods section and back to dairy before we decide to move.
"Grab whatever." She says and heads towards aisle nine. I smirk and saunter towards aisle six, 'chocolate and candy'. Normally I would complain that chocolate and candy are technically the same thing, but at this point I don't really care. I just want another crunch bar, possibly one of those over-sized Hershey's. Who am I kidding? I'll take five of everything, please?
I think my eyes are watering as I begin to grab anything my little hands can grab from the shelves. Using the Metallica shirt, I make a little basket, quickly filling it with milk chocolate treats and a couple dark ones too. I eagerly tear open the first Crunch bar I come across and swallow it down in a few bites. It feels heavenly traveling down my throat, so I grab another and tear it open.
"We need a bag or something!" I hear Rose yell, her mouth full with one food or another. I yell back an agreement and finish up the second Crunch. I scoop a few more assorted treats into my shirt before I spy a cart at the end of the aisle. I drop what I'm currently holding and rush over to it. A smile lights my face as I fill it with fattening goodies.
It's about seven o'clock when we hear the first roar.
For the longest time, neither of us move. We stay corned near the back of the store until Rose finally stands up. She looks at me and mouths "I'll be back." But for some reason all I hear is "I fucked her." I blink a few times in amazement, but Rose goes off anyways. I hear it repeat in my head, "I fucked her, I fucked her, I fucked her" and it continues until I hear Rose squeal out of horror.
The words disappear from my head and I dash towards the front of the store. She's standing there, he back to me with her hands covering her mouth. I run up next to her and look out the glass doors. I almost squeal too.
What do you think is outside?