Chapter 13 (One Man Short)
Chapter 13: One Man Short
Ethan Warren
September 10th, 2022
113 days after outbreak
Minnesota
Season 1
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"Are you ready to go, Aiden?" I asked as I tied my belt around my waist.
"Almost."
We were going to the hunting store today. We were one man short, though. I glanced at Aiden, who was double-checking his gear. Despite his concerns about leaving Rudi behind, he understood the importance of our mission. Khai, on the other hand, seemed eager to escape the monotony of our current location and put her skills to use. She believed that using a sharp knife made the process more efficient and less mentally taxing.
"Come on, I've got the car filled up. There'll be enough to get us there and back. Khai smiled from the doorway. We took all the knives; we couldn't take any chances. As we loaded the car, I couldn't help but feel a sense of unease. The weight of the knives and the gravity of our mission hung heavy in the air, reminding me that there was no room for error.
The ride there was slow. Aiden tried to start a game of "eye spy," but the only thing we could spy was the dead and the depressing state of the world. At one point, we could see the aftermath of what they did to Minneapolis and St. Paul. The city was still burning, and the dead were still making their way inside. I knew the plan to burn them out sounded pointless, but I wasn't about to start a conversation with them, especially after what they did.
"There it is; we made it! Khai exclaimed. We drove into the lot; the place was overrun from the inside, but to our surprise, the outside was fairly clear. We cautiously parked the car, scanning the surroundings for any signs of danger. The eerie silence of the outside contrasted sharply with the chaos we had witnessed earlier. As we stepped out, a sense of unease lingered in the air, reminding us that even though the exterior seemed calm, we couldn't let our guard down just yet.
"Grab whatever you can: lead pipes, road signs, pieces of wood. Anything so we can clear it," I said as we searched around. Aiden said he was just going to use one of our knives. I grabbed a fallen road sign that was left on the side of the road. Khai amazed both of us by taking a hubcap off of one of the cars.
Aiden opened the door quietly. We all scurried inside, trying desperately not to make too much noise. From what we could see, there were about a dozen of them in here. We could handle a dozen.
"Okay," I whispered, "we'll start making our way towards the guns; try not to let any of them see you. If they do, screw everything I just said and kill every last one." Aiden and Khai nodded back at me.
Before we could get to our first destination, one of them looked me directly in the eyes. It made its way toward us. I backed up, but I knew that wouldn't help. Khai went at it first, and a huge smile spread across her face. We followed behind her. Slicing through every rotting head that came our way, there were a few close calls, but we all had each other's backs. No one was bitten that day.
When we were done, we all searched the store for whatever we could fit in our duffel bags. Guns, ammo, knives, and medical supplies. Not enough for us all, but enough to help Rudi. As we gathered our loot, I couldn't help but feel a sense of relief knowing that we had enough supplies to at least aid Rudi in his recovery. We knew it was just a small victory in the grand scheme of things, but it gave us hope for the future.
"What's your haul?" Khai asked.
"12 handguns, four rifles, and lots of ammo," I shared.
"I found some stuff for Rudolph. Stuff for Edin to do whatever she does. She said it can't get infected, so I found some isopropyl," Aiden informed.
"I found knives, and lots of them. Pocket and sheathed," Khai said, proudly.
"Then let's head back; we shouldn't keep them waiting longer than we have to."
We closed the door behind us so no more of the dead would get inside. Hopefully, another group of people used it to their advantage. Hopefully they weren't people that would end up causing us trouble later on.