"Good work," Alex said.

"You too. How about we check out that CVS now?" Sarah said, and reloaded her shotgun.

Suddenly, Joelle slid open the Winnebago's door. She wore an angry expression on her face. "What the fuck are you doing? You've just alerted the entire town to our presence. How stupid are you two?"

"Grab two of those empty duffel bags and meet us inside," Sarah told her. "And don't worry. We'll be out of here before any more of them drag themselves to our position."

Joelle grumbled and went back inside. She returned a minute later with two large black bags.

"I can't believe you two," she muttered as she stormed over to them, "Especially you, Sarah. Don't you remember what happened in that other town? We almost died in that alley."

"But we didn't die. Almost doesn't count. Now, limp your cute ass over to this store with us so we can take what we need," she said.

"Fine, but wait until Graves hears about how you've been acting," Joelle spat. "He won't be pleased."

"Graves??? You want to threaten me with that lowlife? He had a chance to destroy a faction of the Watchers and what did he do? Trade with them. Hell, he was probably raping Candy along with the others before he left."

Joelle's mouth dropped. She quickly recovered from Sarah's words and retorted, "He would never do that. He always makes sure its okay first," she said, but didn't sound so sure.

Sarah shook her head.

"Come on, we've got work to do. We'll talk about this later," Alex spoke up.

Joelle pushed past Sarah. She dropped the duffel bags at the CVS door and walked back to the Winnebago.

"We'll return soon, Joelle. Can you make us some coffee while you're in there?" Sarah asked.

Joelle flipped her off as she went back inside the vehicle and slammed the door shut.

"Do you think she's mad at me? I was just trying to tell her the truth," Sarah said.

"She's not ready to hear it," he said. "But she was right about the gunshots bringing more of them to us. We'd better hurry up and take what we need before they start showing up."

"Yeah, I guess so," Sarah shrugged. As they reached the door they realized it was locked. "Would you do the honors, please?"

Alex nodded and lifted his rifle, bringing the butt of it slamming down into the Plexiglass. Two things occurred at the same time it connected: the glass shattered, allowing Alex enough room to put his hand through and unlock the door, and the security alarm went off.

"Shit on a stick!" Sarah screamed above the incessantly blaring siren. She grabbed the two duffel bags and raced inside after Alex opened the door.

The rancid odor of decayed perishable food assaulted their nostrils. They passed by large quantities of fruits and vegetables buzzing with flies. But to their surprise, they discovered most of the shelves were still stocked with dry goods, candies, cans, Hallmark cards, toys, and over the counter medicine.

The two of them stood in awe for a moment at a glimpse of what the past had once looked like, as neither one had seen an untouched store within the past two years since the dead had claimed the earth.

Sarah shook out of her stupor and handed Alex a duffel bag. She started with the medical supplies, and he went for the food. They swiped everything off the shelves and into the bags, not bothering to even pay attention to what they were taking. Sarah paused for a moment when she reached the aisle with the condoms, and looked toward Alex. He was cramming his bag with cans and small boxes of chocolates. She grinned and took all of the condom packs, and stuffed two of them into her back pocket.

The siren's wail continued to blare, alerting anything within earshot.

"Are you done?" Sarah screamed to Alex.

He gave a thumbs' up sign and raced toward the exit. She followed. They made it outside without any trouble.

"Let's get . . ." Sarah's mouth dropped.

The Winnebago was nowhere in sight. In the distance, they could make out hundreds of zombies shambling toward them.

Chapter 21.

"Those fucking morons," Joelle said, and slammed the Winnebago's door. "What is wrong with them?"

Candy was eating a bowl of tomato soup. She looked up from her meal and shrugged.

"I trust them," Candy said.

Joelle pressed her face to the window and watched Alex lift his rifle and bring it crashing into the CVS glass door.

A security alarm deafened the night.

"What happened?" Candy asked.

"We're in a shit load of trouble," Joelle said. "I'm going to help them." She went to the storage closet and snatched a shotgun. "I'll be back soon."

"Don't go," Candy said. "I don't want to be alone with him."

Joelle turned to look at Paris. He was lying on the air mattress next to the bathroom sleeping. The blanket covered him completely except for his head.

"I'll be right back," she said.

Candy stood up from the kitchen table and gave Joelle a hug.

"Please don't leave me," Candy cried into Joelle's shoulder.

Joelle leaned her shotgun against the wall. She wrapped her arm around Candy and held her. They stayed that way for a full minute, until the snicksnack from the shotgun being pumped made them stop.

"You stupid bitches, when will you ever learn?" Paris said. He was on his knees aiming the shotgun up at them. His handcuffs were on the floor. "Did you really think you could keep me here?"

Joelle was too stunned to respond. Her heart thumped in her chest, and her legs were getting wobbly.

"Move it, both of you," he grinned, and shoved the barrel at them.

Joelle and Candy headed toward the front of the Winnebago. Candy whined.

"Now . . ." Paris said, getting to his feet. He could barely even stand from the days he'd spent lying on the floor. He had to steady himself against the wall to keep from falling over. "Joelle, start this piece of crap and drive down the road."

Joelle broke away from Candy and sat in the driver's seat. With her ankle still in a cast she would have to rely on her good right foot to use the gas and the brake pedal.

"Start it up!" He ordered.

She twisted the key. The Winnebago came to life and she put it into gear. She drove out of the parking lot and eyed the side mirrors in hopes that Sarah or Alex had seen them. But as the CVS and movie rental store faded into the night she lost hope.

"Good, keep it steady. I don't want any problems," Paris said. "Candy, why don't you have a seat by the table, and remove your pants and shirt before you sit down."

Joelle gripped the steering wheel tighter. She almost screamed, begging Paris to leave the girl alone. Candy had been through enough already.

"No," Candy said, defiant.

Paris inched closer. "You'll do as I say, when I say. Now, take off your clothes," he demanded.

Candy locked eyes with him and didn't turn away, and then she leapt forward. Paris fired the shotgun at her but he missed and she kept coming. Before he could shoot at her again she was upon him. She knocked the gun out of his hands and used her legs to bring him to the floor. When Paris landed, she was on top of him. Candy dug her thumbs into his eyes.

Paris screamed and thrashed underneath her. He tried to force her off but every time he grabbed her wrists she pressed harder. Eventually, Candy's nails popped both of his eyeballs. Paris's cries reached another octave as she shoved even further. His legs shook like worms trying to escape from a puddle of water. Then, his screams came to a sudden halt and he remained still.

"Candy . . ." Joelle drifted. She had stopped the Winnebago and watched as the girl had killed Paris. She could've stopped her but a part of her didn't really want to. "I think he's dead," she said.

Candy yanked her thumbs out of Paris's eye sockets. They were covered in dark blood and her nails had chunks of tissue underneath. She stood up and looked down at his body.

Joelle joined her.

"I thought you were shot?"

Candy examined herself. "I don't feel shot. I feel numb though."

Joelle spotted a gaping hole in the passenger's seat. Everything had happened so fast she hadn't even noticed it.

"Let's throw him outside. I'm sure Alex and Sarah are wondering what happened."

Candy nodded.

They both took a leg and dragged him to the door. Together, they pushed him out, leaving his body for any wandering zombies to eat.

"I'm going to take a shower now," Candy said. "I need to feel clean again."

Joelle placed her hand on her shoulder. "You did the right thing," she said.

Candy pulled away from her and went to the bathroom. A moment later, the shower was running at full blast.

Joelle turned the Winnebago around and drove back the way they'd come.

"Let's get the fuck out of here," Sarah said, and ran like hell. Alex was right behind her, trying to keep up.

An endless sea of undead clogged the roads and headed their way.

"They're hundreds of them," Alex huffed.

"I know, I know, keep fucking running," Sarah said.

As they raced down the road more of the flesh eaters came out of the surrounding woods, farmer's fields, or just happened to be stumbling down the road. They were separate at first, but then converged as they pursued their prey.

Headlights shone from the darkness.

"That had better be them or we're screwed," Sarah said, gasping for air as she pumped her legs even faster.

Alex was about five feet behind her and slowing down.

"I don't care who they are, as long as they can get us out of here," he said.

The headlights blinded them and Alex and Sarah were forced off the road.

Sarah was the first to realize it was the Winnebago. "It's them," she said, running up to the door.

The vehicle stopped and Joelle opened the door. Her hair was mussed and her eyes were puffy. She let them both inside and shut the door.

"We had a problem," she said.

"I don't care," Sarah snapped. "Back up and get us out of here."

"Why? I thought we could go back to that CVS store and finish getting our supplies," Joelle said.

Sarah threw the shotgun on the kitchen table and began rummaging through the storage closet.

Candy looked out the windshield and screamed.

Hundreds of decayed corpses were illuminated by the headlights.

Candy jumped behind the steering wheel and put the vehicle into reverse.

Alex and Joelle lost their footing as the Winnebago lurched backwards. Alex toppled to the floor and was able to save Joelle from the same fate as she landed on top of him.

The Winnebago's engine squealed, and the vehicle jerked backward again, but suddenly ground to a halt.

"It won't go any further," Candy cried, stomping the gas pedal.

The vehicle's engine roared but did little else.

"Put it in gear again," Sarah insisted. She was half in and half out of the storage closet and clutching a long cylindrical object in both hands.

"Holy shit," Alex muttered, pushing Joelle off of him. "Is that a rocket launcher? So that's what was in the forbidden black box!"

Sarah heaved the large projectile weapon onto her shoulder and headed for the door. "Get off the floor and grab that box Alex. We're going to deal with these rotting fuckers right here, right now."