Grocery Store II

Gunshots rang out in the building. I had stolen the big guys gun and shot him in the head before immediately running to cover.

*Bang* *Bang*

I shot a man to my right twice with the handgun I had stolen from the big guy. Once in the chest and again in the head. His lifeless corpse fell to the ground with a thump. However, the thump was muffled by the endless gunshots which rang in my ears. He had been standing in the open and thus it was an easy kill for me.

"Two down, three to go," I said to myself as I peeked around the corner.

I could see a man with a shotgun hiding behind a large pyramid of cans. He was my next target.

Rolling out into the field of bullets I was almost shot. I ran towards a group of shelving as fast as my improved body would let me. This speed was inhuman and began to scare the Americans. As of right now only the ones with guns were attacking, but soon enough the others would have to fight if they wanted a chance to win.

As I jumped behind the cover of the shelving a bullet hit me in the leg. The pain was suppressed right away and the healing process began. I now had an angle on the man with the shotgun. Leaning to my right I took the shot and killed the shotgunner. Only two remained.

This is when the others arrived. I couldn't let them get the guns from the dead. My leg had fully healed and so I walked back out into the open opening fire on the last two men with guns.

*Bang* *bang* *bang*

The shots rang out three times before I was out of bullets. With these last shots, the last two with guns had been killed.

The men without guns charged at me seeing that I had run out of bullets.

"You'll regret this!" screamed the one in front. He screamed this before his head was punched off his shoulders with a single swing of my fist.

Next was a fat guy with a metal rod. He swung the rob at my head, but I ducked under it and leapt up with an uppercut which left his lower jaw missing. His body fell to the floor as he lost blood.

I ran at the next closest man and before he could react, I took his machete and cut his arm off cleanly. I then finished the job with a single swing of the machete to the neck.

Now two muscular men, seemly brothers, moved closer. One held a metal bat above his head and brought it down as hard as he could, while the other attempted to stab me with a knife. Seeing the two I quickly pulled the knife user towards myself, getting stabbed in the process. However, the bat did not hit me. Instead, the bat had smashed down on the others head, completely caving it in.

I was right to assume they were brothers as the one using the bat dropped to his knees at the sight of his brothers caved in skull.

I wouldn't let him suffer even if they were bad men, so I cut off his head.

Pulling out the knife from my stomach, another came close. I used the machete to stab him through the chest and threw the knife I now had into the next man's face.

Just like this, the remaining Americans died to my hand. It was an extremely brutal scene, with blood, broken bones and torn off limbs. It had only taken around ten minutes to completely wipe this group from existence.

...

The gunshots had brought the remaining dead which filled this town right to the stores front door. Because of this, the Americans weren't the last threat. But unlike the Americans the dead were much easier to deal with. firstly there weren't meant left after the Americans had entered the town and secondly they were weak.

I was currently covered in the blood of both human and undead, freeing the grocery store's residents. Alongside me were Zhang Li and the two girls. I had signalled them to come over and help free their people once the fight was over.

The people who lived here had been locked up in one of the storage rooms out the back of the store. They had tied up with rope and locked in the room. At first, they were scared as I looked like one of the people who had done this to them. Once Zhang Li and the others told them what had happened however, they immediately became thankful.

It turned out, at the beginning of the downfall, everyone in town had come to the store to hide from the dead. Those who didn't, became one themselves. The group consisted of just over 190 people. The only reason they had survived in this store is because of the size of it. In the end however, the town's residents weren't strong enough to fight off the Americans. Even though they outnumbered them, the men had taken the town peoples children as hostages. Because of this, nothing could be done.

"I am the leader of these people. My name is Chao Chen. I am endlessly thankful for what you have done for us. We are forever in your debt" said an old man who looked like a kind old grandfather.

"No need to thank me haha. Anyone would have done it" I said with a kind voice.

I had only helped them for the food, but I was starting to have other ideas after seeing this town. The town may have been small, with only 200 survivors, but it was still the most people I had seen since this all began. What if I could make this place safe. It had all the required buildings, materials and people. As I pondered this, my thoughts were quickly interrupted.

"May I ask for our saviour's name?" Chao Chen asked as he approached me.

"Of course old man, my name is Crow," I answered him.

Right at that moment he grabbed my shoulder and pulled me down to his level. He whispered, "We need to speak in private Crow."

"Alright I understand, you lead the way sir," I answered.

The old man led me away from everybody else and into a private room. He closed the door and began speaking, "I'll be honest with you crow. You are stronger than anyone else here. Without a doubt, you don't have much problem surviving in this world. That's why I must request something of you."

I nodded my head in response for him to continue.

Seeing that I was listening, he continued, "I must ask you to lead these people. They are too weak by themselves and I won't be here forever. I can tell you are a good man, so please consider my request."

I continued my thoughts from earlier. I wasn't the type of person to survive in a group. From the beginning, I had been alone. But I also knew the desperation in this old man's voice. He knew that they would all die sooner or later unless someone could prevent it. As I thought about it a little longer I decided.

"I'll do it. But you must convince them to follow me. I will ensure they survive. No, thrive." I said with slight determination in my eyes.

"Thank you Crow. I will convince them tonight when we eat" Chao Chen said as a tear fell from his eye. He was clearly worried about these people, but at the same time knew what was best for them.

"I'll be back tomorrow morning. By then I hope they are ready to follow me" I said, walking out from the room in the process.

For the rest of the day, I was going to scout out the town. I would then sleep and return by morning.

Leaving the store, I grabbed my belongings which I had given to the three survivors.

"Where are you going" asked a familiar voice. It was Zhi Ruo. She had seen me leaving the building and wanted to know why.

"I'll be back in the morning. See you then Zhi Ruo" I said giving her a smirk as I left the building.

...

The streets were empty. Not even the dead could be seen. At the end of the street I was on I could see a police station, and two buildings away from that was a mechanic workshop.

As I explored the town I came across many things which could help fortify the town. The town had been built in such a way so that there were two entrances. The industrial area was the largest part of the town. Here there was an endless supply of metal and other materials. The next largest was the residential followed by the commercial district.

The town was divided into three separate zones. The back of the town had been built against a river. The left side of the town, the industrial zone, was protected by large metal fences with barbed wire. The right side was a residential area that was surrounded on the outside with a concrete and metal fence. In the middle was the commercial zone and town centre. That was where the store was located.

If I could improve the defences which the town already had, it would be easy to defend. The town was the perfect base for me. Even if I didn't want to stay here I could always come back to rest now and again.

...

I continued to walk through the town, specifically the industrial area. The cold wind sent shivers down my whole body. The night was approaching fast and thus I decided to enter a large factory-like building. This is where I would sleep for the night.

The last three days I hadn't slept. I was tired. It wasn't my body, but my mind. Not even the AI could stop mental fatigue. Entering the building, I could see a large open workspace. In the corner, I saw an office with stairs leading up to it. Without a second thought, I climbed up the stairs and went into the office building. Each moment causing me to become more and more fatigued.

I lay on a couch in the office and closed my eyes. "Echo what's the time," I asked the AI. It was sometimes easier to ask the AI for something rather than to do it myself.

"It's currently 7 pm" the AI answered in a soothing voice.

Slowly I drifted off to sleep, not a worry in the world.

...

Meanwhile In the store sat the almost 200 survivors. They had all gathered to listen to their leader tonight. He had called a meeting for everyone to attend.

The old man Chao Chen stood up and clapped his hands to gain the attention of everyone. The building became silent. He then spoke, "As you know, this world is currently an unforgivable wasteland filled with the dead whose only wish is to eat the flesh from our bodies. I can't protect us all from this reality, but there is a person who can."

Chatter broke out between the residents once again. However was quickly silenced by the old man once again, "Crow, the man who saved us all from those bandits had agreed to protect us. All you must do is follow his command."

The crowd didn't understand. Sure he had saved them, but what made him able to lead them. Voices began letting out their complaints and worries.

"He is strong. He has been able to survive this whole time by himself. Trust him as you have trusted me. He will deliver us from the terror that this world brings" Chao Chen continued.

The people began to calm down. If that the old man had said was true, then maybe it wasn't such a bad idea. They had only survived because of him afterall.

"Now eat and rest as tomorrow he will return. When he does, every single one of you must be ready to do whatever he says. This is our way to survive. Hiding in here won't work anymore. That's already been proven." Chao Chen finished his speech firmly with these last words before leaving the main area.

These words stuck with every person within the building. It was true, they couldn't keep hiding. They had discovered that thanks to the Americans. This speech had finally opened their eyes.