The highway led the trio to a small town. They walked through a neighborhood first. Overgrown grass and un-removed twigs made it look like a storm had rolled through. Small houses lined the streets. Many had boarded up front windows, blood smeared wood protecting anyone still waiting out the disaster.
One of the houses had a simple message scrawled across the garage in black paint. Help us. But the boards on the front window had been torn outward. That and the cracked open front door, told them there was no one left to save. They silently passed the house and turned right at the corner ahead.
Two blocks later they were in the heart of town. Businesses and a town hall surrounded a square. Leaves and dirt had collected in the street. Bo kicked through a pile, and debris scattered across the broken glass that lined looted display windows.
A courtyard sat at the center of the square. Weeds crept up the unused benches, and cement paths were smeared with dried blood. An SUV had crashed into the tall metal fountain. The front end was flattened in several feet and the driver's side window had shattered. The shards of window on the ground were caked in blood and torn fabric.
Bo heard movement behind the SUV and walked into the courtyard. Tamsin pulled her rifle from her back, and she and Emma joined Bo in the overgrown grass. As they got closer, the crunching sound became clearer. By the time they reached the vehicle they all recognized it. They'd heard it plenty recently. Chewing.
Tamsin rushed ahead of Bo, her weapon ready. She peered around the vehicle.
A bloody skeleton lay in the grass. It was surrounded by mush that Tamsin assumed had once been organs or something. A raccoon sat next to the body. It had pulled a rib free and was gnawing at the last of the clinging tissue.
"Gross." Bo commented. The word caught the animal's attention. It growled at them, still holding the bone. The fur on its face was clumped with blood and perfectly framed its wide red eyes. Before it could take a step, Tamsin fired. The back of its head exploded into the grass. The shot echoed around them. Emma had to look away.
"We should get out of the open." Tamsin declared. They looked around the square for the best exit. Emma caught a glimpse of a grocery store sign down one of the side streets. She pointed it out to the others.
"We should look for supplies." Emma said. She started walking towards the store. Bo and Tamsin didn't argue.
Three zombies stood at the grocery store's front door. Their skin hung loosely on pronounced bones, and they hunched forward as if not strong enough to stand upright. The rest of the glass front had been haphazardly boarded up. Crooked slabs of wood could be seen through the window. The zombies stared blankly through the doors, the only space that allowed a glimpse inside.
Emma raised her gun, but Bo put a hand on her shoulder to stop her.
"Save your ammo. You won't find any for a while." Bo cautioned.
"What about you?" Emma asked, gesturing between Bo and Tamsin's rifles.
"People like sharing with her." Tamsin quipped. Emma didn't get it, but she was happy to go along with it. She hadn't wanted to share just how sparse her defenses were getting.
Bo and Tamsin shot two of the zombies from a block away. The bodies sank to the ground. The third didn't react to the movement or the noise. Tamsin walked closer and shot it in the back of the head. The glass door it faced shattered, and it fell with a thud through the store entrance.
With the rifle still at the ready, Tamsin ducked through her improvised door. Bo and Emma followed, careful to avoid the remaining glass shards in the doorway. Sunlight leaked through the spaces between the boards on the front window.
"Anybody here?" Bo called out. "We're not dead." She added helpfully.
Several shelves had been moved from their aisles to create an open space in the middle of the store. Wrinkled blankets scattered the floor of the space. A few tables had been set up off to the side. The store felt peaceful compared to the square and courtyard, but it also felt very empty.
"Maybe they got out?" Tamsin offered hopefully.
Emma's eye was drawn to the cans of fruit and cracker packets strewn across one of the tables. She walked forward and slipped some of the food into her bag. She glanced at the others.
Bo stood at another table testing flashlights. Tamsin looked up at the aisle signs as if she were looking for something.
"I'm gonna go look around." Emma announced. They hadn't been quiet about their entrance and with the door unprotected, she was getting anxious about their exit. She headed for the left end of the store. Past several picked clean aisles and a section of empty vegetable bins, she saw the emergency exit.
Emma pushed the side door cautiously open. She peered out at what she guessed was the employee lot. A lone yellow pickup sat in one of the spots. She opened the door wider when she didn't see any of the infected nearby. Most cars these days were stuck in endless gridlocks, or had their gas siphoned. But it didn't hurt to try. She liked yellow. Emma rolled up a nearby floor mat to prop the door open, then ventured out to the truck.
Inside, Bo couldn't shake the thought of the store's inhabitants. When she found a bag nearby she could strap across her body, she threw some of the abandoned supplies in.
"This place gives me the creeps." She said under her breath.
"Let's grab some stuff and move on." Tamsin said absentmindedly. She'd seen the sign she was looking for. She walked in the opposite direction Emma had gone.
Bo was drawn to the back of the store. It felt odd that whoever hid here left so much behind. Swinging double doors along the back wall led her to the supply rooms. A sweet stench drifted from a silent refrigeration unit. Bo covered her nose and mouth with one hand, and held up her newly acquired flashlight with the other. There was no sunlight back here to guide her.
She reached another set of doors and pushed one side slowly open. The room was pitch black. She swept her light through the space. A roll-down loading dock door marked the end of the building. The door was closed, but it was the padlock securing it from the inside that worried her.
She heard the rustle of cloth nearby and sharply turned her flashlight towards it. Her fear was confirmed when the harsh beam landed on a huddled group of almost fifteen zombies. They were as thin as the ones outside. Their backs were to her, but when the light landed on them one turned around.
A large gash stretched across his face. His wide red eyes almost looked surprised to see her. He took a step, sniffing the air between them. Bo took a step back but the creature had already caught the scent of life. He let out a low growl and the others slowly turned as well.
Bo backed through the door, quickly stashing her flashlight in her bag. She pulled her rifle from her back and aimed it toward the darker room.
Outside, it didn't take long for Emma to get the truck running. For a moment she considered driving off without her escorts. She still knew so little about them. It was a risk to let them travel close to Storybrooke.
A gunshot from inside the store erased the thought. She flung the driver's door open, grabbed a gun, and ran back inside.
Bo stood outside the first set of doors, propping one side open with her foot. Her first 'casualty' lay between her and the back room. As the rest moved forward she steadied her shot and fired again.
"This way!" Emma called from the side exit. Bo glanced back to see Emma waiting alone.
"Time to go, Tamsin." Bo called across the store. No answer. "Tamsin!" She tried again. She turned back to the doors to monitor the shuffling zombies. They were getting too close for comfort. Before she could call to Tamsin again, she got an answer.
"I'm here." She heard behind her. She caught a glimpse of Tamsin out of the corner of her eye. She jogged past to join Emma, clutching several bottles of liquor in her arms.
Bo backed away from the pack. She fired at the closest one. When they started to stumble faster she turned and ran after the others. She heard the waiting truck before she saw it.
Tamsin stood in the bed of the pickup. She waited until Bo ran out to the truck to aim her rifle at the door. When Tamsin heard Bo pull the passenger door shut, she dropped to one knee to keep her balance.
Emma saw Tamsin's stance change in the rearview mirror. She threw the truck into gear and sped out of the parking lot. Out of the corner of her eye she saw Bo shake her head in disbelief.
"One of them had to be infected." Bo said. "They thought they were hiding."
"They didn't have a chance." Emma replied. She'd meant it to be comforting, but when she heard it out loud it made her feel worse.
Bo watched the zombies in her side mirror as they reached the street. Tamsin fired her rifle and one of the creatures dropped to the ground. A couple of the others tripped over the body. Either they didn't know to stop their fall or they no longer could. Their heads bounced against the pavement.
Bo had to take her eyes off the mirror. She glanced at Emma, who stared at the road ahead with a crinkled brow. When a tear came to her eye, Bo knew that Emma couldn't look back either.