Free Lost World by Kate L. Mary

have ammo. Securing the knife to my belt. I’d feel badass if the situation wasn’t so shitty it made me want to cry.
    “Everybody armed?” Parv calls out.
    “We’re all good, Rambo.” Angus spits again, and even though the nickname he’s given Parv is slightly mocking, he grins. Sometimes when he looks at her he almost looks proud. Like she’s his kid and he taught her everything he knows. It’s hard to tell what he’s thinking though, and I have even less patience for figuring out Angus than I have for figuring out myself.
    My hand rests on my knife as I turn and head for the store. “Then let’s go.”
    I try the doorknob even though I’m certain it’s going to be locked, and surprisingly, it turns easily. A bell chimes when the door creaks open, and every single one of us turns to look over our shoulders. I almost laugh. It would be ironic if the sound of that bell drew the dead. Like ringing the dinner bell, so to speak. But nothing comes charging, so I head inside. The sooner we get this done, the sooner we can head back to our group.
    “Smells clear,” I say, sniffing the air. The store is stale and stuffy, but there’s no hint of decay.
    I shove the door open the rest of the way so everyone else can come in too, then pull out my flashlight. The others are right behind me. One by one their lights come on as I pan mine around, trying to get a lay of the land. It looks like a typical small-town pharmacy. The front has a few displays with cough drops and cold remedies. Some first aid and personal hygiene stuff. Family planning. Behind the counter there are rows of pills, all neatly lined up like they’re waiting for the pharmacist to come back and fill a prescription that will cure the world of the zombie virus.
    No such luck, pills.
    Parv walks by me, holding the list Joshua gave her. “Let’s get moving.”
    I turn to follow and bump right into Jon.
    “Sorry,” I mumble, jumping back so fast you’d think his touch burns me.
    He sighs, and I swear my hand jerks forward like it’s going to hit him. I make a fist at my side and swallow, trying to hold in my irritation. My emotions are starting to get the better of me and it’s got to stop soon. I don’t feel like I’m in control of myself anymore. Like what I said to Vivian before I left. That was bullshit, and I don’t even know where it came from. Axl’s a good leader and we’re lucky to have him.
    I don’t acknowledge Jon or the awkwardness before turning to follow Parv to the back. Angus is busy loading every box of condoms into his pack, but I can’t even be annoyed. We sure as hell need them.
    The front of the store is illuminated by the sun shining through the windows, but the further back I go, the darker it gets. The rows of pills are cloaked in shadows, making it tough to read the labels.
    “Hold the flashlight for me,” Parv says over her shoulder. She’s squinting at the tiny print on a pill bottle.
    I aim the beam toward the shelves and she gets busy reading the labels. Joshua gave us quite a list, but most of it isn’t even for Jake. It’s for later, when something like this happens again. So we’re prepared.
    As if we can ever really be prepared.
    “You doing okay?” Parv asks, not taking her eyes off the shelf.
    “Oh yeah. I feel like every day is Christmas.”
    She nods, keeping her eyes on the pills. “Okay.”
    I almost smile. Parv is the person I can stand being around the most lately. She’s toughened up and really put effort into helping the group, but she’s so quiet most of the time that I tend to forget she’s around. I’m not sure if she was always this quiet or if it’s because she lost Trey, but it’s a nice change. There are people in our group—like Darla—who never shut the hell up, but it’s people like Axl and Vivian who make me really squirm. They don’t always talk. Don’t always ask how I’m doing. But they are always watching.
    It makes me feel like I live under a microscope.
    Jon