Chapter 21 – Getting into the Pharmacy
After the sound of the explosion died down, Lee peered around the side of the store, seeing nothing but burnt bodies littering the ground. That had truly been a sight to behold. The systematic extermination of a large group of walkers was something he'd never thought he'd see, and it was all done with firecrackers, Molotov cocktails, and a pipe bomb. He really needed to remember that for future use. Pipe bombs he would most likely never use because he didn't know how to make them, but Molotov cocktails were easy to make. And apparently, they worked well.
He looked back at the others. "Alright. It's clear. Let's go."
The group made their way down the street, stepping over charred remains as they went. They each brandished their individual weapons in case any more showed up. Lee, Kyle, and Kenny each carried rifles. Deacon decided on the 12-gauge shotgun he had been showing off earlier, although he decided to take Ronan's advice and hold it the right way. Reggie, Michelle, and Cassie all carried handguns. Reggie and Michelle didn't feel comfortable taking anything bigger, and Cassie felt that anything bigger would feel too bulky. She liked the freedom of movement that a pistol gave her, so she could easily switch between her gun and her knife as she pleased.
Lee and Kyle led the way, each of them taking out any stragglers that managed to escape being burned or blown up, until they reached the pharmacy.
"Alright," Kyle said, taking charge. "Cassie, get on that door. The rest of you fan out. Nothing and no one gets near that door until she's got it open."
The group formed a semi-circle around the door so they could keep an eye on all directions while Cassie got started on picking the lock on the front door. It was quiet at first, each person intent on their surroundings, looking for any movement. A runner would come flying out of nowhere on occasion and would get shot down just as quickly. Hunters would also make an appearance, but most of the time, the group didn't even know they were there until they heard a far-off gunshot and a body would hit the ground. Ronan was doing his job splendidly to the relief of the group. After a while though, walkers could be seen shuffling towards them in large groups, from every direction.
"I can't believe there are still so many of them left," Reggie remarked, looking pensive.
"Well this is a big city," Michelle pointed out.
"Cass, you want to hurry it up a little bit," Kenny said as he reloaded his gun.
"I'm trying. This lock is stuck," Cassie said through gritted teeth. She was sure she had the tumblers locked in place. The lock just wouldn't turn.
"Well get it unstuck," Deacon urged.
"What do think I'm doing?" she snapped.
Clementine looked through her binoculars, her stomach clenched in worry. She could see walkers heading towards her friends, a lot of them. If they didn't get inside soon, they were going to be overrun. Remembering that she was supposed to be searching for hunters, she swept her binoculars across the buildings, alleys, and windows, anyplace that a hunter could potentially hide. She spotted one actually sitting on top of the pharmacy roof, getting ready to jump off right on top of Lee and the others.
"Ronan, there. On top of the pharmacy," Clementine said, pointing.
Ronan set his sights on the pharmacy and saw the hunter Clementine was talking about. "Gotcha," he said as he lined up his shot and pulled the trigger. He smiled in satisfaction as he saw his bullet rip through the hunter's skull and it fell limp, hanging precariously off the roof's edge.
"Nice shot," Clementine praised, smiling. Her smile faded, however, when she heard faint growling behind her. Lowering her binoculars, she turned around and her eyes widened. Several runners were climbing up onto the roof on the opposite side. "Ronan, behind us!"
At Clementine's warning, Ronan lowered his rifle and spun around. "Shit," he muttered as he saw a bunch of runners advancing towards them fast. Knowing the sniper rifle wouldn't be much use at close range, he dropped it in favor of pulling out his pistol. Clementine followed his example and pulled out her own gun.
They both fired upon the oncoming runners, taking out one after another, but more kept climbing up. Ronan glanced behind to see how the others were faring when he noticed a couple more runners climbing up on their side as well. "Damn it. There are more coming up behind us. I didn't know these bastards could climb," he said in frustration.
"Neither did I. What do we do?" Clementine asked as she fired off another round.
"We have to get the hell off this roof," Ronan said. He quickly reached down into the box, grabbed a handful of firecrackers, and stuffed them in his pocket. Then he grabbed their last pipe bomb and urged Clementine toward the door, firing his gun as he went. He stopped in front of the door and gave Clementine a light shove. "Go, get downstairs."
"What about you?" Clementine asked.
Ronan fired his gun twice in quick succession, killing two runners almost simultaneously when they got too close. Then he took out his zippo and flipped it open. "I'll be down in a minute," he said.
Clementine hesitated a moment before turning and running down the stairs into the gun shop. Ronan waited until Clementine was out of harm's way before he lit the fuse on the pipe bomb and then pushed the button to activate the beacon. But before he could throw it, he saw a hunter flying towards him out of the corner of his eye. He quickly jumped through the doorway, dropping the pipe bomb in the process. He almost ended up falling down the stairs but just managed to catch himself on the railing.
He turned toward the door and realized with trepidation that he had dropped the pipe bomb right outside the door, and it was now completely surrounded by runners and hunters. It was too close, but there was no way he could reach it to throw it a safer distance. So, he turned and ran back down the stairs. The explosion occurred the minute he reached the bottom, and the force of it knocked him off his feet. He fell into a shelving unit and then he hit the ground, his head bouncing off the floor with a sickening thud. He felt the agonizing pain explode through his skull, and then darkness overtook him.
Lee gripped his rifle tightly and fired off several shots, killing two walkers and a runner, but more were still coming. This was taking longer than expected. He turned toward Cassie. "How's it coming, Cassie?" he called.
"I almost got it," Cassie replied.
"This is taking too damn long," Deacon said, killing two more walkers.
"Deacon's right. We need to get inside now," Kyle said, glancing back to see how close Cassie was to getting that door open.
"Kyle! Look out!" Reggie warned.
Kyle turned back just in time to see a hunter flying towards him. "Shit!" he yelled as he dropped to the ground. The hunter went sailing over him and landed just behind where Cassie was crouched. Both Deacon and Kenny turned around and shot it at the same time, blowing its head off.
"Are you ok?" Reggie asked.
"Yeah, fine," Kyle replied, pulling himself to his feet.
"I thought Ronan was supposed to be taking care of those things," Michelle said.
Kyle looked toward the gun store, his brow furrowed in concern. "I think something's wrong. I don't see them on the roof anymore."
"What!?" Lee exclaimed, his head jerking around. His worry for Clementine skyrocketed as he followed Kyle's gaze and realized that he was right.
At that moment, just as Cassie voiced her triumph over finally getting the door open, they saw and heard an explosion on the rooftop of the gun store. Dirt, debris, and several bodies were vaulted into the air almost like confetti.
"NO!" Lee cried, running blindly toward the gun store, oblivious to the dozens of walkers standing in his way.
Kyle stepped in front of him before he could get too far and blocked his path. "No, there's too many of them. You'll never make it," he said, holding him back. "We have to get inside. C'mon." He practically had to drag Lee into the pharmacy followed by the rest of the group.
Kenny hesitated for a moment, staring back the way they had come. He was worried about Clementine too, and he so wanted to go back to check to make sure she was alright. But Kyle was right. There were too many of them. So, with a muttered expletive, he ran inside and slammed the door behind him.
It turned out, they were right. The place was well-stocked. The shelves were full of all kinds of meds, antibiotics, bandages, peroxide, rubbing alcohol, everything a survivor needed in a zombie apocalypse. But somehow, none of them seemed to care at that moment. They all stood scattered around the room, exhausted and shell-shocked at the prospect that they may have just lost two people.
Lee felt like he couldn't breathe as he staggered to a wall and sat down against it, staring straight ahead. He couldn't take it. Clementine was supposed to be safe up there, safer than if she had been with him at least. Now she was…He couldn't finish the thought. He couldn't think. He felt like he was shutting down. Peripherally, he saw Kenny sit down next to him, but he didn't acknowledge his presence. And Kenny didn't say anything either so they just sat in silence.
Cassie crouched down in front of Lee, looking pensive. "Lee?" she said. He didn't react. "Lee, look at me." He still didn't move, but she continued anyway. "Look, I know you're upset and worried about Clementine. I am too, but we don't know anything yet. They weren't on that roof when the explosion occurred. You saw it. You and I both know that she is one tough little girl, and I'm sure she's ok. But right now, we need to focus on finishing this. We need you, Lee. Please."
A high-pitched alarm suddenly started going off, piercing everyone's ears. For a moment, none of them knew quite what to do as they covered their ears in an attempt to block out the sound.
"Oh great. Now what?" Cassie said to herself as she stood up straight.
"That's sounds like a security alarm," Kyle yelled to be heard over the noise.
"How is the security system still active? Doesn't that require power?" Reggie asked.
"I don't know. Everyone look around for a control panel or something. We need to get it turned off," Kyle said.
Lee was so far down in his own little world that the blaring alarm didn't even register to him. Everything sounded muffled and fuzzy. He didn't want to come back. It was safe here. There was no pain or worry, no anxiety or fear. But he couldn't stop thinking about what Cassie said. They really didn't know anything about what had happened at the gun store. He hadn't seen Clementine on that roof when the explosion occurred. She could still be alive. She could be ok. And until he saw otherwise, he was willing to believe that she was ok. He needed to because he couldn't afford to just shut down. There were still people counting on him, who needed him, and he didn't want to let them down. And what if Clementine was alive? If he just gave up, then he wouldn't be able to help her. He had to wake up.
In making that decision, the world seemed to snap back into place, and everything became so clear. He blinked and looked around. He heard the whining alarm and saw everyone looking around, presumably trying to figure out a way to shut it off. Taking a deep breath, he got up off the floor just as Michelle called to the others from the office next to the front counter. They all gathered around the office door and Lee followed behind. The office was small with only a desk and computer occupying the space. Kyle leaned down to look at the computer screen.
"I'll be damned. This place does have power," he said.
"Kyle," Lee said, taking a step forward. "Can you shut it down?"
Kyle glanced back at Lee for a brief moment before returning his attention to the computer. "I don't know. Maybe." His fingers flew over the keyboard. "Come on, come on," he pleaded, as if muttering a few words of encouragement would get the computer to do what he was asking. It was a few minutes before he finally smiled in triumph. "Got it!" The alarm stopped abruptly and he sighed in relief.
"Guess all that computer knowledge isn't useless after all," Lee commented.
Kyle gave him a sly smile over his shoulder. Lee returned the smile before turning away with a sigh, rubbing a hand over his face.
Cassie stepped up next to him. "You okay?" she inquired.
"Yeah. I just retreated inside myself for a minute there," Lee replied.
"Well, I'm glad you made it back," she said, clapping him on the shoulder.
"Thanks," he replied with a smile.
"Son of a bitch," Kyle muttered.
They both turned around to see Kyle still staring at the computer screen.
"What is it?" Deacon asked.
Kyle turned toward the group, looking pensive. "It looks like the alarm was set to go off every few hours."
"What? Why would someone do that?" Reggie asked.
"Maybe to keep people from getting inside," Lee suggested. There was a moment of silence as they all thought about the implications of that.
"Okay, I was leery about this from the start," Michelle began, "but if someone deliberately set that alarm to keep people out, then maybe this wasn't such a good idea. I mean what if whoever it is comes back? What if all this stuff belongs to them?"
"That's bullshit. You can't just claim an entire store for yourself. Now I say we just take what we need and we get the hell out of here," Deacon said. "For all we know, whoever set that alarm could be long gone or dead."
"I don't know about this," Reggie said uncertainly.
Kenny took a deep breath. "I hate to say it, but I agree with Deacon. We need these meds, and there's more than enough for all of us. It ain't like we're taking all of it."
"Yeah, but remember the last time we took supplies that didn't belong to us?" Lee said, looking pointedly at Kenny.
Kenny sighed and lowered his eyes. He did indeed remember. It had seemed like a blessing at the time when they found that abandoned car full of food. They didn't realize the consequences of their actions when they decided to take it until later, and they almost lost Clementine, not to mention Lee and Kenny almost died in their journey to get her back. "Yeah, I do," he said quietly, not quite sure what to do now.
After a moment, Kyle stepped forward. "Alright, Deacon's right. Let's gather up everything we need and get out of here fast. We didn't come all this way for nothing."
Deacon readily started grabbing supplies and stuffing them into his backpack. Reggie and Michelle still looked a bit uncertain, but they followed nonetheless. Lee, Cassie, and Kenny started to follow but stopped when they heard loud pop, pop, popping noises coming from outside.
"What was that?" Cassie asked.