Remy's teeth sank into a double-chocolate brownie as he examined the zombie's innards with a fire poker he found in Home Decor.
"Well, damn," he muttered to himself, as he fished out a half chewed ear with a diamond stud earring from the expired creature's stomach. "At least we know what happened to Julio..."
He shoved the rest of the brownie into his frowning mouth in one bite before wiping his crumb covered fingers on his pant leg.
Julio went missing after he volunteered to go on a supply run at the Walmart in Mohegan Lake after Quentin Quire and a few of the other children came down the flu. Fevers were high and their medicinal stores were low. Julio insisted he go alone because it was faster and that he knew the backwoods of Westchester County better than anyone else. He slung an empty knapsack over his broad shoulders, gave Remy his brightest smile, and took off on his motorcycle.
But that was three days ago.
An entire three days went by before Ororo and Hank finally let Remy go after Julio. He found his friend's motorcycle dashed to bits against a parking lot planter - and scraps of Julio's scarf lying in a long trail of blood and viscera stretching from the cashiers stations to aisle two. It lead Remy to a zombie feasting on a indistinguishable pile of mangled flesh by a chip carousel.
Remy sighed.
He kicked the creature's severed head away as Julio's brilliant grin flitted across his mind. His friend had come all this way. He might as well finish what his friend started and get back to the boarding school before sundown.
So, the Cajun hooked the poker onto his belt before grabbing a shopping cart. He wheeled it down the aisle, tossing in as many decadent snacks he could find. Oatmeal pies, Snow Balls, Cupcakes - each sugary treat found its way into his cart. Remy always had a sweet tooth and desserts were a rare commodity, given that people ate only what they could grow.
As he turned onto the spices aisle, hoping to find some curry power for his Cajun chicken recipe, he found a little girl filling her already overstuffed hand basket. She was a pale, scrawny thing. Her dusty pastel sweater hung from her boney slight shoulders; her straw colored hair swung limply from her head.
Remy cleared his throat. The girl froze. Slowly, she turned to look at him.
Remy's hands fell away from the cart's push bar as he reached for the poker at his hip as he searched her stoic face for signs of life.
"You a zombie or...?" he asked, his fingers wrapping around its handle. The girl gasped. She dropped her basket and began to run.
"Daddy!" she screamed as she dashed down the aisle. "Daddy, help!"
"W-wait a minute, kid!" the Cajun cried, giving chase. "Remy won't-!"
His knees hit the linoleum just as something whizzed past his head. It knocked down a shelf, causing boxes of bouillon cubes and soup cans to clatter to the ground. Remy yelped, tripping over his feet onto his rump just as a shadow loomed over his pliant form.
"Friendly!" he shouted, scooting backwards to avoid another blow. "Remy is friendly!" He tucked his head between his knees and held his hands up. "Please, God, don't kill me! Ah got brownies!"
"I'll give you five seconds to speak," he heard someone hiss above him. "And prove to me you're not a zombie or I'll take your damn head clean off."
Slowly, Remy raised his head. His eyes followed a pair of the longest legs he had ever seen. They led up to a wiry torso draped in an over-sized, worn out hoodie. Under the flickering florescent light, Remy could see the man was wiry with sharp cheekbones framing his aquiline nose and bright eyes. His hair was silver, white but his face was far too young to be an old man.
"God, you're beautiful," he muttered, his wides eyes devouring the stranger's handsome features.
"What?!" the silver-haired man snapped. "Answer me!" He glared down at him, pushing the girl behind him with a free hand while tightening his grip on the bat with the other. "If you've been bit or try anything, I'll put you down!"
"Ah ain't no zombie!" the Cajun hollered. "Ah ain't been bit and Ah ain't do no biting unless asked! Please, Remy just gathering food..."
The silver-hared man exhaled a shaky breath. He handed his bat off to the girl before helping the Cajun back on to his feet.
"Um, the name is LeBeau. Remy LeBeau," Remy explained as he righted himself. "Used to teach art history at the Xavier Boarding School for the Gifted. Now, Ah scavenge. And you are...?"
"I am Pietro and this is my daughter, Luna," the silver-haired man said. The girl peered at him from behind her father's legs. "We mean no harm. We were only looking for clean water..."
Remy frowned.
"What about a place to sleep for the night? Food?" he asked, folding his arms. "You two look like you need it..."
Pietro bit his lip. He shook his head.
"No, but-"
"You mo' den welcome to come," Remy offered, cutting him off. "There quite a few o' us still livin' at the boarding school in Salem Center. Won't hurt none to have a few extra hands to help out." Pietro's eyes lingered on Remy face.
"Fine," he conceded, taking the bat back from the girl. "But I swear to God, if you try anything..."
"You two welcome to leave any time you want," he replied, holding his hands out in a placating gesture. "And Remy promises, if he give you any reason to use your bat, den feel free to use it."
They worked together, clearing out the pharmacy and frozen and instant foods sections just as the sun was about to set.
"A man can't live wit out good saffron," he said firmly as Pietro's raised a brow as Remy upended the last of the McCorkmick boxes into his cart. "Civilization might be crumblin' but that doesn't mean we can't cook like it not!"
Six shopping carts later and they were ready to return. Pietro sat in the front. Luna wedged herself between the cartons of Sudafed and the bags of wild rice as she scrambled into the back of the packed SUV.
Remy lingered outside of the truck as he pulled piece of Julio's scarf from his pants pocket.
"So sorry, Julio," he whispered to himself. "Had Remy gotten here sooner..." He tied the scrap onto the truck's antennae before climbing into the driver's seat. Then, he drove away - with Walmart and what was left of Julio in the rear view mirror - and onto the open road.