SHTF (NOLA Zombie Book 0) by Gillian Zane

and his arms reaching, I knew I had seen enough. The shit had hit the fan. I needed to get the fuck out of there. I yanked Alicia off the floor and began to run. It was time to face facts; it was the fucking end of the world.

Fourteen

Selfish Mother F*****
    C OSTCO was officially a war zone . It was utter and complete chaos. Shoppers were screaming their heads off and running at a full sprint to the front of the store. The ones that hadn't witnessed the scene from the back didn't need an explanation to panic; they just took off for the exits.
    I watched as opportunists took advantage of the panic and threw things into their baskets that were definitely not provisions. They didn't care who they ran over as long as they got “theirs.”
    I saw two men push a woman out of the way as they made a dash with a sixty inch television. She fell to her knees and I reached down and pulled her up, handing her the purse she had been carrying.
    "You okay?" I asked.
    "Yeah, assholes," she muttered.
    "You need to get out of here, ma'am, there are infected in the back." Her eyes got huge and she nodded, went straight for the exit, pushing her basket in front of her with all her unpaid items.
    "Is that what that was?" Alicia asked. She was jogging alongside me stunned, in a state of shock.
    "Yes."
    "So, this infection really is a zombie virus? I thought it was just like a metaphor or something."
    "Seems it's rather literal." I shrugged as I pulled her out of the way of another group of looters. We ducked behind a display as a group of shoppers lost control of their baskets and they came barreling in our direction. When I peered out from behind the protective barrier, I realized the cause for their alarm. More infected were shuffling behind them.
    "Come on, this way."
    There was a side exit that I had just noticed. The inside of this store was a death trap. Between the shoppers gone mad and the infected, it would be almost impossible to get out of the front doors.
    "Where's Hank and Barbara?" Alicia asked.
    "Hopefully by the SUV." We passed through the home improvement section to get to the exit and I noticed a bin of multi-tool shovels. I grabbed two, handing one to Alicia by the hilt.
    "What am I supposed to do with this?" she asked.
    "Defense," I shot back and I saw her face go pale, but she gripped the tool with white knuckles.
    I didn't stop. I just slammed into the exit door, hoping that it would be unlocked. An emergency alarm sounded, but the door slammed open without an issue. The bright light of day had me blinking in rapid succession to acclimate my eyes to the change in light. I looked around and took stock in my surroundings. We were on the side of the building, but actually closer to where we had parked, near the interstate. I pushed the cart in front of me and reached back with a hand to keep Alicia behind me, staying close to the concrete wall in case we were spotted.
    "So are they sick, or are they dead like real zombies?" Alicia asked in a whisper.
    "I have no idea, Leesh, that guy had his guts ripped out. I don't know anyone that can live through that. That's not a living person with a virus."
    "And a bite? Is that what does it?" I turned to her and she was gripping her arm protectively, against her body.
    "Did that woman bite you?" I asked, stopping short, remembering her cry of pain. I held the shovel tightly against me, instinctively and her eyes got big and she shook her head rapidly.
    "No, she just sort of scratched me." She moved her hand to show a bright red scratch down her arm. “She had nasty long nails, will that turn me into a zombie?"
    "I don't think so, Alicia, you're fine." She nodded shakily and I turned back to face the parking lot. Scanning the lot I saw our SUV in the back and what looked to be Barbara and Hank loading supplies into it. "Fast, I need you to be fast, Alicia...let's run to the car and get out of here, okay?"
    "Okay," she said and we both sprinted across the parking lot, Alicia faster than