Chapter 4
Chapter 4
The city itself will be too dangerous but there were several shops just off the road that could help. One such shop, a petrol station right at the bottom of the ramp, is all shattered glass and overturned shelves. Still, I am able to gather some canned food, bags of snacks, bottled soda, and toilet paper from the supply closet. There are no baby supplies so I pull the pram/wagon back outside.
The building next to the petrol station is a long diner with a faded yellow roof. There are several dead still trapped inside, slapping bloody hands against the glass. Its not worth the risk so I pull the twin past it.
There are dozens of cars left abandoned after a crash caused several to be too damaged to move. Doors are left open and brown bloodstains spread from the carseats to the grey road. There are no dead moving here although there are remnants of bodies left behind.
The road opens up ahead with more shops, both standing alone and in long buildings. Some are restaurants, fast food shops, while others range from clothing to real estate. There are no dead visible, besides the unmoving remains where people were torn apart, so it may be safe to check.
The first long building is one we pass. The bakery there may have some food in the back but its dark and there may be dead inside. Its not worth the risk. Neither is the petrol station next to it thats half burnt down. Thank Merlin the petrol wasnt ignited when the building was burning!
A stand alone white brick building advertises home cooking. The glass door is shattered but there are enough windows, most broken, along the side of the building to let in plenty of light. I pull the twins with me, careful of the glass crunching beneath us as we enter. There are overturned tables, rotten food smeared on the floor, and brown blood long since rusted dry. It smells horrible but so does everything now.
I pull the girls past the mess to the grey doors leading into the kitchen. An animated head blinks up at us as we enter. The rest of its body was torn to pieces and probably accounts for most of the mess in the kitchen. There is food rotten on plates and on the long flat grill.
The fridge isnt worth it. Anything that needed to be kept cold has long since ruined, so I check the dry goods. There are large bags of flour and sugar, several bins of pasta and rice. I grab everything, passing some long pretzel breadsticks to the girls who have thankfully stayed in the pram/wagon.
We spend the day looting the shops. In the clothing stores, I get us a few changes of clothes, several clean underwear and socks, and good shoes from the shoe shop. In the restaurants, I take everything from their pantry and storage that is still good. Five cases of water bottles come from the realtor office while several bags of toys from the toy shop are shrunken. The day is hot, stifilingly so, and I soon have to raise the drapes off the girls who are both red-faced and whinning from the heat.
Its early afternoon when I pull the girls into a corner pharmacy shop to rest. It was closed up tight but an alohomora gets us inside easily. This store, set back from the road and partially hidden behind the long shop building, is mostly untouched. Even the cracked grey lot surrounding it is devoid of cars.
Once inside, I do a quick check of the building. Thankfully, there are no dead inside. In fact, it looks untouched for the most part. It's a small building, as far as such buildings here go. There are two rows of five shelves with a path to walk between them. The front has a photo area next to the checkout counter and along the back wall is the medicine area.
This could work, right? I mean, I dont really have a destination in mind. I just need something I can secure so that the girls will be safe. Maybe I can even find more survivors. This could work!
I start by transfiguring the glass door into a solid steel one. That will hold up better against the dead. Then I shrink the shelves offering makeup and cards since we wont need them. This leaves an open area that a 'scourgify' easily cleans.
The girls are grateful to be out of the pram. They did really well all day, staying put whether from fear or understanding. But they are tired, still whining with one a bit louder than is safe, so I open a few snack bags of chips and let the girls have them. At least they can somewhat feed themselves.
Now to sort through the stuff here and clear more space. I mean, we obviously dont need the cigarettes or photography equipment. If I remove the shelves and supplies we dont need then it will gives us more room to live in which will be good if I can find others.