The convoy of survivors turned off the highway one last time, heading to the first store they could find to replenish their supplies before reaching the coast. They drove around the city in an attempt to draw out any of the shadow beasts, but the city seemed quiet and deserted. They made their way through the parking lot, between abandoned cars, parking and preparing themselves for whatever may lie in the store.

Najia shoved a loaded clip into her gun and flicked on her flashlight. Shane, Alex, Morris, Marlon, Maru, and Sebastian prepped themselves with their own weapons and lights and together, they made their way inside the store.

Najia wandered the aisles aimlessly until she came across a toy section. She peered at the dusty packages of action figures and dolls. She kicked at a ball on the floor and it bounded into the next aisle, stopping at a container of pool noddles. She fished through them, pulling out a lime green noodle, and hunted the aisles until she found Shane staring into a glass case.

"See this game?" he said, sensing her presence, but did not turn to her. He pointed at the glass. "I cheated so hard at this game."

Najia peered over his shoulder, gripping the noodle behind her.

"So, you sucked at video games?"

Shane shrugged. "Just a bit." He turned to her just as she let the noodle whip across his chest and he grunted.

"What the hell?"

Shane ripped the noodle out of her hands and let it come down across her legs. Najia stumbled backwards, bent low, and ran into Shane, flailing wildly in an attempt to grab the noodle from him. They fell on to the floor as Najia ripped the noodle out of his arms and held it over him.

"Any last words?"

"No!" a tiny voice squeaked.

They looked up to see a young boy staring at them in horror. They scrambled to their feet, hesitant.

"Don't hurt me," the boy said softly, his voice shaking.

"No, no," Najia said quickly, dropping the noodle. She got to her knees and smiled at the boy. "We're friends. Are you alone?"

The boy glanced at Shane, then back to Najia and shook his head. "Don't hurt my family," he begged.

"You're family? Are they here?"

"Oh, they're here," Shane muttered.

Najia turned to see a young, blond man with his gun raised, pointing at Shane's head.

"Drop the weapons," he hissed.

Najia obeyed, carefully removing the gun from her jeans and placing it on the floor. She watched as the man pulled Shane's weapon out of his back pocket. She met Shane's gaze.

"We weren't going to hurt him," she said carefully. "We won't hurt your son."

"My son?" He hesitated. "No, no. That's my brother."

"Okay," Najia said slowly. "We're not going to hurt anyone. We're here for supplies, just like you."

"What makes you think we're here for supplies?"

Shane rolled his eyes. "Why the hell else would you be here? You're survivors like us."

The young man hesitated, his gun lowering for a moment. "You're not like, working for the Shadow People or anything?"

"Oh, Yoba," Shane muttered.

"Please," Najia begged. "Put the gun down before you hurt someone."

His arm stiffened and he raised the gun once more. "I know how to handle a Glock," he hissed.

"Technically, that's not a Glock," Najia pointed out. "It's an SR9."

Shane narrowed his eyes at Najia. "I don't think this is the time to be pointing out his ignorance."

"I'm not ignorant," he hissed.

"Oh, give it a rest," Shane barked at him. "If you were gonna kill us, we'd be dead by now, so quit with the tough guy act."

"Sam is the toughest guy ever!" the boy yelled.

"Big words coming from a little kid," Shane muttered.

Sam lowered his gun. "That's enough, Vincent."

"Can I have my gun back, now?" Shane asked, turning to him and holding out his empty hand.

Sam held his gaze on Shane as he shoved the weapon back in his hand.

"The lady's, too," Shane said.

Sam attempted to push passed him, but Shane held him back, keeping his hand on his shoulder.

"The gun," he hissed.

"Fine." Sam shoved the other gun into Shane's hand.

Shane held the gun out for Najia, keeping his gaze on Sam. He waited for Najia's fingers to brush against his palm before he broke his gaze and turned away.

"Where are you going?" Sam called to Shane.

"Away," Shane said simply, stepping around Vincent.

Najia's apologetic gaze met Sam's. "Are you alone?"

Sam shook his head. "There are three others out back."

"Where are you heading?"

Sam shrugged. "The coast," he said. "My dad was supposed to meet us there. He was in the army."

"Was?"

"We don't really know if there's much of an army left," Sam said. "Don't really know much of anything right now."

"We're heading in that direction, too," Najia said. "You should come with us. We should all stick together, especially if your dad's in the picture. He could help."

Sam hesitated. "Yeah, maybe." He looked passed Najia towards Shane.

"Don't worry about him," Najia assured him. "I call the shots around here."

"You're boy friend is kinda scary."

Najia scrunched her nose. "Why does everyone think he's my boyfriend?" she muttered under her breath.

"C'mon, Vincent," Sam said, holding out his hand for the boy. "Let's go get Mom." He met Najia's gaze. "We'll meet you up front."

"Stop picking up strays," Shane said when Sam disappeared around the aisles.

"We need all the strays," Najia said, pushing passed him.

They found the rest of their group waiting at the front of the store, supplies in hand.

"Najia picked up more strays," Shane said, motioning with his head toward the back of the store. "We have to wait for them."

"How many more?" Marlon asked.

"Five of them."

Marlon whistled with approval. "We'll have an army of humans in no time."

"They have a little boy with them," Najia warned. "Please don't scare him."

"Yeah," Shane added. "And his little brother is with him, too."

Najia shot a glare in Shane's direction.

Two men approached first, making their way around the corner of the front aisles, their weapons at their sides, in their hands, ready for a sudden attack. They stepped carefully towards them before smiles split their faces. Sam and Vincent followed, and a woman brought up the rear.

"Well, I'll be," said one of the men. "There's a whole lot of ya."

"And more of us outside," Marlon said, throwing his thumb over his shoulder.

"I'm Clint," the man said, pointing to himself, then around the group. "That's Gunther, Sam, Vincent, and their Mum, Jodi."

"We're going to find Dad," Vincent said happily. "He's at the beach."

Jodi pulled her youngest son towards her, hesitant.

Najia met the woman's gaze and gave her her best, reassuring smile. "We're heading that way, too."

"And," Marlon added, as if to sweeten the deal, "we've got a doctor on board, too."

Sam turned to his mother and they exchanged a wordless glance. Jodi met Marlon's gaze.

"Can he fix this?" she asked. She carefully lifted Vincent's pant leg, revealing a large gash that seemed to be at the beginnings of an infection.

Marlon pinched his lips together. "I sure hope so," he muttered.