DarkC
-KMC THREAD KILLER-
Thankfully for his lighter pack, Lawrence was able to easy descend to the alley floor. He had left a few valuables behind, but stubbornly decided on travelling light, and carrying a wallet; if nothing else, it would serve as identification if his body was ever found. The backpack he was wearing now was no survival backpack; already three years old, the straps needed constant loosening and the zippers sometimes kept sticking. Hopefully there would be a brand new one, preferably hiking brand, waiting for him in the mall.
If it already hadn't been ransacked, that was. Maybe he'd find other survivors too. If there was only the undead, well, at least he could stock up on supplies and gear. The only things that he intended to keep were his weapons, his light pants, and his heavy duty hiking boots, everything else was either too weighty or hampered movement too much.
Drawing his weapon and a flashlight, he crept forward and made his way down the alleyway. Knowing that the zombies would be able to see, he decided for the time being to keep the light off and let his eyes adjust. The darkness worked well for him; however, he knew from his training that the human eye is especially sensitive to movement and light in the dark.
Lawrence reached the end of the alley without incident, and needing to get his bearings took a peek into the main street. Down the hill he could see the mall looming like a beacon up ahead, but the movement around it suggested that a direct approach would be a very bad idea. He'd have to check it out from the outside, and that meant cutting around through the suburbans.
Thinking that cutting through the buildings would be better than avoiding the main streets, he entered the first place that seemed empty, a small bar and grill restaurant that he used to eat at on Friday nights. The moment he entered he regretted it; a putrid stink of death wafted under his nostrils and nearly caused him to gag. Tough as he thought he was, he hadn't hardened his gut completely to the gruesome scenes strewn around the streets. Half eaten corpses, bodies with missing arms or legs or even heads. One more reason to avoid the main avenues.
Maybe there was something useful here. At the very least maybe he dig up some smaller bottles of wine to fashion some Molotov Cocktails.
A pang of sadness nagged at him. He had met good people here, even taken home a lady or two. Maybe Allan, the former Navy SEAL turned head chef, had survived, maybe not. The revolver that he had kept near the cash register in case of emergency was gone, Lawrence took that as a good si -
"Unnnnggh." A soft, gurgling, feminine moan from the corner.
Shit, Lawrence swore silently, turning to face the sound and pointing his gun into the blackness. The flashlight clicked on, revealing a long, slender pair of legs...a pair of legs that happened to have a sizable chunk out of one and a gash across the other. Shifting his grip, the light revealed a bloodied face of a waitress with hollow eyes and a tentril of spittle trickling down her chin, reaching for him from ten meters away.
"Maria?"
She did not answer.
Steadying his shaking, he steeled himself and took careful aim. Because he had eliminated a handful of zombies did not immunize his inherent fear of them.
The FiveseveN recoiled with a loud POP, punching a neat hole through Maria's forehead and exploding her brain tissue out the back, spraying blood all over the back wall. The once-cheerful waitress instantly slumped to the floor. Despite the known lethality of a headshot, Lawrence kept the gun aimed at her temple, trembling.
It was one thing to put infested strangers down...but having to shoot people you had met, talked to, shared your problems with and cared about...that was a different thing entirely.
"Be at peace." he whispered. He would have said something else, but decided that it was pointless symbolism anyways. She was dead, she wasn't going to hear shit.
Swallowing hard, he started out the back door.