Free After the End by Bonnie Dee Page B

little farther. "Hurry up. Come in."
    Derrick and Hector entered first while Ari scanned the street one last time, then he followed them into the store. With its shuttered windows, the interior was even darker than the sporting goods store. But Ari noted the hum of a small generator which was keeping the refrigerated cases cool. A woman with her black hair in a loose ponytail stood behind the counter, staring at them. Beside her was an older man with white shot hair pointing a pistol at them.
    The younger man who'd answered the door also had a hand gun. He let them see it, but didn't hold it on them. He bobbed his head in greeting. "Any news about what's going on?"
    "Zombies," Derrick piped up and Ari cringed at the word, which still sounded preposterous. "They've overrun the city, and from what we heard on the radio, the rest of the country is under attack, too."
    One dark eyebrow shot up. "Zombies?"
    "Take a look around, man. Do you have a better explanation?"
    "A virus or some other disease infecting people. Maybe a terrorist chemical attack that hits the nervous system and makes people go crazy. But zombies? Come on." The man holstered his gun. Ari noticed the old man behind the counter didn't.
    "That's what I said," Hector added. "A virus."
    The store owner nodded toward the shelves. "Go ahead and get what you need, but we're accepting cash only today."
    "Are you kidding me?" Hector's voice rose. "We're in a crisis and you're worried about money?"
    The man exchanged glances with his family members behind the counter. The old man rattled off some more Korean. The muzzle of his gun never faltered, remaining trained on the customers.
    The younger guy frowned. "I don't want trouble, but we can't just give stuff away."
     "I've only got about twenty bucks." Ari cursed himself for not collecting cash from the others. It hadn't even occurred to him.
    "I don't have anything," Derrick said. "I left my wallet in my jacket pocket and my jacket's with my sister."
    Grumbling in Spanish, Hector fished in his pocket and pulled out a few crumpled bills. "I was going to cash my paycheck at the bank so all I've got is this."
    Ari mentally added up all the food they'd need to feed the group, not only for tonight but possibly for several meals more. A little over twenty bucks wasn't going to cut it. "I'll make you a deal." He set his rifle down, leaning it against a shelving unit, and took the spare rifle off his back. "A trade. You give us supplies. We give you this rifle. Trust me, you're gonna need more protection than a couple of handguns can provide."
    "You have to sever the heads from the spinal cord," Derrick added a helpful tip, "either cut them off or shoot through the back of the neck. Head shots don't work. They'll just keep coming."
    The store owner accepted the weapon, examined it, and nodded without conferring with his father this time. "All right. Take what you need."
    Ari collected perishables from the coolers first. He had a feeling before this was over they'd be eating a lot of canned foods. As he packed the items into one of the knapsacks, Ari asked, "How long ago did this start happening?" He wanted to know if the timing coincided with the attack on the subway.
    "A few hours, I heard a car crash outside and my wife called 911," the man said. "It didn't take long to figure out there was something more than an accident happening. The power went out and people were running and screaming. I locked down the shop right away and we've been in here ever since."
    "Mama!" a child's voice called from the back room. The woman murmured something to her husband in Korean and left through the door behind the counter.
    "Where's the rest of your group?" the shopkeeper asked.
    "Down the street in the sporting goods shop. We were on the subway when it was attacked." Ari shoved a bag of apples into the nearly full knapsack.
    The man nodded. "The national guard or somebody has to come soon."
    "I don't know. Could be awhile." Ari zipped the