A School Apocalypse

Chapter 18

Edit: June 28th, 2017.

"They're dead. They're all fricking dead!" Jada says hitting the dashboard.

"Just forget about it. That was a long time ago. Get over it."

"A long time ago? That was a few months ago!" She hisses at me.

"Um, no. Technically it was last year." I point out, purposely getting on her nerves. "Why are you suddenly thinking about everyone else? We're alive now. That's all that matters. Cross the others off your mind. They're some place else."

"I don't care. I never stopped thinking about what happened to them. If they all are alive or not. Never. But it being this long without a response, they all are dead."

"They could have lost their GPS and can't contact us. And how would you know that? Did you see them die? Have you seen them lifelessly walking the streets with a disturbed face and rotting meat as their perfume, and dangling out of their mouths?" I snap at her. The place goes dead. No birds chirping, no crickets being annoying. No body talking. I think I went a little over the line, but I ignore that feeling. I think she's being ridiculous.

I put the gas cap back on and shut the little door for it.

"I'm gonna see if there's any food inside. You guys get ready and I'll be back." I sigh, grabbing out my katana. They nod and fire up the vehicles. I walk to the extrance and immediately get blasted with cold air and a very bad stench. It smells like sardines and rotten fish. And flesh, but that, I've started to get used to, nasty enough. I see some outdated crackers, candy, chips and a few bottles of pop, water, juice and energy drinks remaining on the shelves. I store them in a grocery bag and walk to hygiene. There isn't much, but enough for me. I grab toothpaste and toothbrushes and all that 'fun' stuff people use. I open the door to leave but stop when I hear empty glass bottles move from the storage room. I look back and stare at the hall leading to the source. Should I go or check it out?

"Are you okay? What do you see?" Parker asks, walking up to me and looks through the aisles.

"I just heard bottles moving around from the back... probably just the wind or something." I shake the idea from my head.

"Well let's go see," Parker says, and without me even thinking he's walking to the entrance doors.

"Parker, we really don't have to do this, they're not a threat." I say, trotting up to him. He ignores me, doesn't stop, and I look back at Jada. "We'll be right back," I sigh to her, and she nods. I run back up to Parker, who is already waiting at the room door.

"Let's just leave whatever is in there and go." I whisper to his ear, gripping my katana.

"No, let's see what's in there. Maybe there's a whole bunch of stored food that haven't reached their due dates! This could be a jackpot." He whispers back.

"Well then let's leave the jackpot for somebody else. We have plenty already, that are still good, and haven't got to their due date yet."

"You know, Alex, you said maybe I should take over. The captain seat? This is what I'm doing, to keep my group safe. But here you are, acting all bossy again. You can't give me the seat without me showing what I can do."

"I know what you can do," I mutter. "We've been best friends forever."

"Yeah, so stop acting like a best friend for a few minutes while we clear this out. If we do this, we can save ourselves even longer."

"If you want the seat, have it." I give up. He's not going to back down. "But seriously, Parker, seeing what's behind that door won't determine if we're safe or not! It just shows how likely we're going to die if you open it. Let's go!" I say the last part with a tug to his arm, but he remains planted, and I groan.