Free SHTF (NOLA Zombie Book 0) by Gillian Zane Page A

water out of other people's baskets when they weren't looking. Two men almost came to blows when one didn't even try to hide his theft of the water.
    Most people are clueless when it came to emergency prepping. There was a water-filtration system on the compound that converted lake water into drinking water, so I wasn't worried about plastic gallon jugs. Let the fools fight over the inconsequential. When we neared the front of the store, Alicia veered off into the electronics section, heading for the DVD racks. She grabbed one of the latest releases and held it up.
    "I'm going to be so bored, can I get a few DVDs?" she asked me, giving me that ‘I'll be good look’ that I knew was only to win over my wallet.
    "There are plenty of things to do out there," I said standing my ground. She rolled her eyes at my statement and threw the DVDs into the rack. One fell on the ground and she didn't even bother to pick it up.
    "God, y'all just don't want me to have any fun!" she screamed and began marching off in the opposite direction.
    "Alicia, where are you going?" I called.
    "Away from you!" she screamed, causing people in the store to turn and stare at her.
    "I'm about done with this," I said under my breath to no one in particular. I looked around and spotted my brother and his wife. Barbara and Hank signaled from the front of the store that they were ready. Barbara held her hands up in question and I just shook my head and motioned for them to check out without me.
    "Meet me at the SUV," I mouthed and Hank nodded and got in line. The lines were about ten deep. They might not even be checked out by the time I was done with Alicia.
    I pushed my overloaded basket down the aisle, looking all over for my little sister. I didn't see her anywhere, so I hurried down each aisle looking for her. She was nowhere to be found. This was the last thing I wanted to deal with at the moment. I just wanted to move on and move out, get to the compound and settle in.
    Dealing with a teenager throwing a temper-tantrum was not something that was conducive to my plan. I got to the back of the store, turned down the last aisle and found her. She was wandering aimlessly around the baked goods section, a cookie clutched in her hand. At times she acted all grown up, like an adult, and then times like this I saw the little girl in her.
    "Alicia, we have to go. You can throw as many temper tantrums as you want once we get to the compound, just not right now." My words came out harsher than I expected, but my patience was running low.
    "You treat me like a baby. I'm not throwing a temper tantrum." She stamped her foot and I tried my damnedest to hold back the ironic laugh.
    "Fine, you're exercising your free speech. Can we do it in the car? If you haven't noticed, there is a world of shit breaking down around us, it's not always about you, Alicia. Please take a moment to look at the situation around you and realize that other things are happening."
    "You're such a jerk." She turned to walk away and I went to stop her. She evaded me when I grabbed for her and ran smack into another shopper that had been walking up to us. Alicia and the shopper went flying, both lost their footing and fell to the floor. I went first to help the person she knocked over. I reached down to help them up when I noticed the gray color of their skin.
    Damn .
    "What is wrong with you!" Alicia screamed, still on the floor, all dignity out the window. The infected's head cocked in her direction as if pinpointing her location with the sound. It began to scramble to its feet, quick, too quick.
    "Alicia, run!" I yelled.
    Of course, she didn't listen to me. She just sat there glaring at me from her seated position on the floor, as if all of this was my fault. She barely reacted when the woman, gray and ragged, threw herself on top of her.
    The infected and Alicia tumbled back, the woman now on top of my sister. Alicia tried to roll out from under the woman, but the infected woman held on