Chapter 5: Toys & Electronics

We locked the zombies inside the store's meat locker. There were so many of them it took most of the day to move half of what was lying in the parking lot. When we were done, there was still a lot of them left outside, including Leon, whose body we never found. At nightfall, the remainder of the zombie horde we left outside awoke and attacked the store. They couldn't get through while Shawn's magic protected the building, but they were persistent.

It was sick to think we were going to sell human meat to people. Then again, those creeps weren't human anymore, and they were more than willing to eat us. Besides, who would actually buy zombie meat? You'd have to be crazy to eat something so toxic. Still, the sight of Alick behind the butcher's counter cutting up people like glazed ham was difficult to overcome. The zombies couldn't feel anything, but it didn't stop the gore from being disturbing.

At least I was safe. That was the bright side. It was the brightest side I could turn to.

I spoke too soon. Most of the employees set up air mattresses in the receiving area of the building. Since we weren't receiving product trucks anymore, the wide-open space made for a good spot to make camp. I was getting ready to lay in my bed made off oversized clothes I stole from the clothing department when Shawn approached me with his usual cavalier attitude.

"Faith, just the woman I need," said Shawn.

"What is it now?" I said as I sat up.

Like usual, my coworkers took to the outer limits of the room to keep distance between themselves and our resident demon.

"You did such a spectacular job finding the new meat supply. I believe you'll do well at a new task," he offered.

"What task?"

"While you were away, I was forced to terminate Cindy in Toys and Electronics."

"You killed Cindy!" I exclaimed.

"Heavens no. I took her name tag and revoked her privileges. The little devil managed to escape before I could take her life," he said.

I sighed with relief. Cindy was the youngest employee at The Buy and Sell, and the sweetest. People would call her "Cinderella" because she belonged in a storybook. I never hung around the girl myself. I didn't want the harshness of my life to rub off on her, but in the apocalypse, everyone had to grow up.

"I want you to kill her on my behalf, " Shawn added.

"What!" I exclaimed disgusted by the implication that I would kill such a defenseless little girl.

I got to my feet so the walking corps couldn't look down at me while he spat trash, but he didn't adjust.

"I'm not killing anyone," I said.

"Is that so?" He questioned menacingly, but I stood my ground regardless of slight hesitation.

"Cindy doesn't deserve to die," I debated.

"Cindy has already killed 3 of my employees," he confessed.

"Cindy? Cinderella? The little blond-haired shortcake killed three people?" I asked with disbelief.

"She's hidden in the Toys and Electronics department. Anyone who steps foot beyond the bicycle rack comes back with missing limbs," he said.

He was almost laughing. I'm sure of it. He was amused by the situation and possibly turned on by the carnage.

"She's probably scared. If you want her dead so badly, why can't you do it yourself?"

He snapped, and his clawed grip took hold of my throat.

"The job of a store manager is to lead. The job of an employee is to follow. As a subordinate, you must do as instructed, or you can receive the punishment Cindy Cinderella should have," he snarled as his sharpened fingertips dug into my flesh.

He held me suspended off of my feet until the room began to spin. Only when the last strand of air was gone from lungs did he set me back on my feet. He flicked the blood from his fingers and fixed my ruffled clothes. He even straightened my name tag. Shawn was not a standard zombie, and despite his body steadily decaying, it was in no way weak or fragile. After ruffling me up so abruptly, a good patch of his skin fell off. He was down to his last layers of flesh. I doubt there was anything more than bare-bones under his clothes anymore.

"Now, go to Toys and Electronics, kill Cindy, and bring me back a souvenir," he said before leaving me.

His face, his literal face, was on the floor, and he left it there.

My fellow coworkers did nothing to comfort me. After being manhandled so blatantly, I assumed they would see I was no better off than they were. It was foolishly optimistic to think any of those assholes would feel anything for me. Especially after the job I was about to do, I knew they would never come around. I was about to kill the heart of the Buy and Sell. After catching my breath, I found my hammer and went to war.