Free When They Come by Jason Sanchez

know, in a zombie-free place, wouldn’t they have taken a few things and left the store the way it was?”
     
    It was then that both friends looked outside of the store and noticed cracks in the windows that they thought were in great shape. There were traces of blood on the floor, but not enough to be a dead body. There were also torn pieces of clothing scattered around the mall.
     
    “Shit. Sometimes you need to be more afraid of the living than the dead in these kinds of situations”, Dave said.
     
    “Well, I got a C in Philosophy, so I say we just take the guns and get to the army site”, Jason said back.
     
    Dave found a few handguns left in the glass case under the counter. They were under a pile of glass which would explain why no one grabbed them in their haste. He brushed the glass aside and laid 4 of them out on the counter.
     
    “These are all nice and simple 9mm handguns, Jay.”
     
    “Good find!”, Jason said excitedly.
     
    Taking two holsters each, both friends helped each other put on the gear and stored the guns they found into them. They each took a few seconds to admire how each other looked.
     
    “We’re badass, dude”, Dave said.
     
    “You know what would make this MORE badass?” Jason said.
     
    “What? Bigger guns? A flame thrower? Oh! A bazooka!”, Dave said, practically jumping up and down.
     
    “No”, Jason said as he pulled out a gun from his holster. “Bullets. See if you can find any.”
     
    The both laughed at themselves for looking over something that important. However, their laughter stopped when the noises that they heard from earlier started to get much, much closer.
     
    Both of them knew that they had to be quiet and thus they were. They both knew what they were looking for and needed to get them fast. They didn’t know what to be more afraid of more: desperate, living humans, or hungry zombies.
     
    The gentle ringing of a bullet hitting the floor began to sound off in the store.
     
    Dave had found several boxes in almost plain sight. He then began to wonder if the last group of people that were here made the same mistake he and Jason did.
     
    Just as Dave was about to turn to Jason and tell him of his find, he saw his friend standing over him, holding a shiny, chrome, single barreled shotgun and a desert eagle handgun.
     
    “Oh, you found the bullets”, Jason said to a wide-eyed Dave. “So I guess you get first pick.”
     
    Dave, without a word, motioned towards the shotgun.
     
    “A fine choice, sir. Hold on, I found a bunch of shells in a random box behind the counter.” Jason handed Dave half a box of shells, it wasn’t much, but it was great for getting out of a pinch.
     
    Jason looked at his new toy. He had found 4 magazines full of .50 caliber bullets for it.
     
    Dave motioned towards the bullets that he had found. The friends spent a few minutes gathering the bullets and putting them into clips they had found strewn about the store. Each friend wound up with about 6 full clips each. Jason stored the rest of the stray bullets.
     
    “You never know, dude”, Jason said, pointing at his full pockets.
     
    Dave’s smile quickly faded when the noise of glass shattering and scurrying feet made themselves known practically outside of the store. Both friends looked at each other and turned pale.
     
    They heard faint voices, both male and female outside the gun shop. They couldn’t make out what the voices said, but they were definitely there.
     
    Jason went out to investigate.
     
    He saw a silhouette running at him.
     
    The light was behind the figure.
     
    He couldn’t see a face, just the form.
     
    It got closer.
     
    It stuck out it’s arm.
     
    Jason stuck out his.
     
    Dave heard 2 gunshots and a body hit the floor hard.
     
    “Jay?!”
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
Are we there