24 Allan, Juan, Jenny, and Bert - Solution

I placed the thought in a corner of my mind then I continued on.

The South Supermarket was a medium-sized establishment that sold a variety of goods. It wasn't as large compared to the other establishments located deeper in the cities but it looked big because of the fast food restaurants and other structures around it.

With that said, its parking area at the front had a small driveway to the side that could lead to the back where its main purpose was to receive deliveries or the exclusive parking space for the workers.

It didn't take long before I finally saw the supermarket in full view but the roll-ups were down and a bunch of zombies were banging against it. At the same time, a few stragglers noticed my presence and I was suddenly their early dinner.

I immediately pulled out my AR-15 and aimed at the closest one as I flicked the safety off. It went down before it could even take a step and I flicked my rifle to acquire my next target.

Each bullet just went straight to their head and a small puff of blood would form as soon as the projectile exited the other side. Seventeen zombies were now down on the ground and I pulled my blade out for the few remaining walkers.

I only needed to push a few inches of my blade through their skull—and after a short bit—the confirmed kills increased by eight.

'50… 56 if I include everything. There's a lot here compared to my place...'

I walked to the roll-up and shouted with a hushed tone, "Allan! Allan! Are you fucking there?!"

No response.

"Allan—"

"Holy shit! Did you do that?!"

"Where—"

"Up here! Look up! Can you see me?"

"Hey! Friendly here. I'm looking for someone, his name is Allan. A short guy, skinny, brown skin, and short hair," I said, glancing at his uniform.

'Isn't that the store uniform?'

"I— ah, I think he's the guy downstairs. Alright, go to the back and wait for me by the white door!"

"Why can't you just—"

I was about to tell him to just open the roll-up since I already cleared the area but he was already gone. I would have to traverse the path to the back but when I took a quick glance, there were a lot more deadheads looking for their meal.

'Shit!'

With that said, some of them were already heading in my direction so I pulled out my rifle once more. I wanted to just use my wakizashi but they were in clumps and one swipe in the wrong place would end me. The only saving grace was that I brought a rifle with a suppressor or else the swarm at the People's Park would've come for me as well.

I was firing several shots but the magazine I had on ran out of bullets.

The bolt locked to the rear so I pressed the mag release and placed the used mag back in my vest. I pulled out a fresh one and stuck it in the mag well before I slapped the bolt release. It chambered another round from the new magazine and I was back in business. Bodies just fell to the floor with bullet holes as I waited for the door to open.

I killed sixteen more deadheads before I heard a click from the door. I saw the same guy I talked to earlier and he was beckoning me to get inside fast.

"Quick! Before they come back!"

I wasted no time as I dashed through the place then I heard the door being locked behind me. After that, the guy placed a few barricades on the door as an extra measure while I got a closer look at the situation inside.

There were a few people still in their uniforms and two security guards holding their guns at the ready. The male guard was pointing a pump-action shotgun at me while the female just had started to holster her revolver. They were with a few other civilians in the immediate vicinity and they numbered a few dozen.

The female guard walked up to me, "Are you military?" then she turned to her partner, "Hey! Put that down! We should be happy that someone came here! Bert—"

The male guard scoffed as he put his gun down, "Happy for what?" He was mumbling something under his breath though I couldn't pick it up, but I turned to the female guard that asked me a question.

"No, not exactly. Do you guys know a guy named Allan here? Ah—" I replied promptly but I immediately spotted the fucker I needed to save.

"SKY?! DUDE! HOLY FUCK! YOU CAME! I THOUGHT— SHIT! YOU REALLY CAME! HAHAHAHAHA!" Allan exclaimed as he sprinted towards me.

The employee I talked to earlier and the female guard I was just talking to breathed a sigh of relief but the male guard right behind them was still on guard. I didn't put it to mind as much but he was looking a little too exhausted, mentally and physically.

My attention was brought back to Allan as he started to shake my hands almost violently.

"Shit, dude! I thought no one was gonna come here! Fuck! I— We— Shit! I gotta tell—" Allan started to stammer so I waved him off as I took a closer look at him.

Allan was wearing civilian clothes and aside from his duffel bag he hung on his back, he was holding an aluminum bat that looked like it was recently wiped. He still looked like the same person I met in college but even though he looked so happy right now, stress was present on his face because of what happened.

"Calm down, dude. I'm here. What happened here though?" I said as I looked around once more.

The supermarket was still teeming with supplies and all of the lights were turned on. However, a few of them were flickering on and off and I could see a few blood splatters across the wall.

Aside from that, everyone—around 30-ish people—was seated in the food court though some of them made use of this supermarket's mattresses so they could lay down more comfortably. A few seemed to want to talk to me but they were either too scared to stand up or just waiting for the right moment.

"Ah— It's all a blur, dude. I—"

"I could tell you what happened," the guy in the store uniform that I spoke to earlier walked up to me and he lit a cigarette.

"Okay then, lay it on me," I replied.

"It started when the sirens rang. Most of those things came from the expressway and some came from the streets near the park. An ambulance crashed in the City Hall next to the People's Park and people gathered near the crash site. I was smoking on the roof when I saw everything go down," he said as he puffed a smoke.

"I just heard a crash, then people started running. I didn't know what to do but I had to go somewhere and this was the closest place," Allan added.

The guy continued, "Anyway, I saw the crowd scatter when I spotted a few guys wearing those EMT suits charging towards them. I thought they were crazy but I dropped my cigar when I saw one of them take a chunk of a bystander's neck. I didn't wait for shit as I ran down and closed all the entrances to the supermarket. A lot of people managed to come inside before it fully closed but a few came from the back as you did."

"I see. So, is this all of you?"

"No, we actually had a lot more people yesterday…" Allan replied, looking down.

The guy added, "One of the guys that were bitten entered the backdoor where you came from. We focused on closing the other doors at the front but we forgot the one that is accessible for the delivery guys… We didn't notice that he was here until it was too late."

"The bastard actually hid in one of the stalls and we found him a little too late. He killed and… infected… more than half of the people here before we managed to shoot him. And the others… they… you know..." the female guard chimed in, shaking her head while reliving what they experienced while they were here.

"Wait. Where are the bodies?"

"We placed the guy and the other ones he killed in the freezer. But, what we didn't know is that those who were bitten could turn into one of those things in an indeterminate amount of time. Some people hid their bites and it got ugly when the ones that got bit turned. I— I killed a few of them when they—even the ones that hadn't turned yet—attacked us but some of them escaped outside. We barricaded the door and stayed here ever since," the guy said as he puffed another smoke.

"Hey, dude… A-Are we leaving? How about them though?" Allan asked loud enough for everyone to hear him.

"Yeah, I'm thinking about that…"

Everyone present showed dissatisfaction when they heard that and I caught the male guard, looking a little more distressed than usual. It was the look of someone so irritated that anything he heard—even if it was not directed at him—would set him off. However, he just huffed and checked on the barricade while the female guard gave him a worried glance.

'I can't just leave them here and I'm sure they wouldn't just let me leave with Allan easily...' I thought to myself as I walked in front of them.

"Here's the truth: I only came here with my bike that I parked a block away from here and only two people could fit in it. Don't get any ideas because I'm not parting with my keys. You'll drop faster before any of you could even bridge the distance between us, trust me. Here's what I suggest though: I saw a few delivery trucks in the back and other vehicles parked at the front, but before that, you need to decide among yourselves…"

"What were we deciding on?"

"Staying here or going outside. If you stay here, you have a lot of supplies and you could barricade the door and wait it out if you want. If you preserve your food and water, by the looks of this place, you could last maybe a few months or even a year depending on how many of you stay. But if you go out, I could help you get in the trucks or possibly to your own vehicles to drive to a different location."

Everyone started to talk amongst themselves then I turned to the guy I was talking to earlier, "Hey, you. You know where the keys for those trucks are, right?"

"Yes, I do have the keys for them. Right, my name's Juan by the way, not 'You'."

"Juan? I'm Sky, and you?" I turned to the female guard, "I can't believe we haven't introduced ourselves after talking so much already."

The female guard chuckled, "I'm Jenny, nice to meet you. He's—" Jenny tried to introduce the male guard but he was just glaring at her, forcing her to stop right then and there.

'That guy's gonna be a problem...' I thought to myself.

I just let out a faint smile before I said, "Nice to meet you two… too... A-Anyway, I cleared most of the dead at the back and I have a few more mags for my guns. What's your situation with weapons? That's a .38 Special, not a .357, right?"

"Yes, I have four more bullets for my revolver and… Hey, Bert! How about that shotgun?" Jenny looked at the male guard wearing a frown.

"None of your fucking business."

"..." everyone else just became so fucking quiet as they turned to us.

"Bert..." Jenny didn't know what to do.

"I'm fucking staying here and all of you should too. It's a fucking mess outside and you want to go out?! Hah! Do you think you're fucking heroes? Give me a fucking break!"

"Bert!" Jenny started to frown as well as Allan.

"What?! And who the fuck is this guy even anyway? He just came here and he acts like the freakin' CO of this place! We've been doing well here since yesterday and we could do more for the days to come! We just need to clear that place across us and we'd be fucking set! Didn't you see that a DDR Camp was almost erected in the City Hall?! There would be a ton of weapons there!"

I shook my head, "You can't even get out of this place and you're planning to tackle a much bigger problem?"

"WHO FUCKING ASKED YOU?!" Bert suddenly came up to my face.

"That's a legit question. Your shotgun when full could probably hold up to 8 shells and Jenny's revolver only had 4 bullets remaining. What are you gonna do after taking down 12 deadheads from that swarm? There are at least a few hundred of them and counting. Oh! Are you planning to use your nightsticks or do you have cuffs—"

"SHUT THE FUCK UP! YOU'RE GETTING ON MY NERVES, YOU FUCKING SMART-ASS! DO YOU WANNA FUCKING GO?!"

Bert was this close to taking a fucking swing at me but Juan got between us at the right second.

Juan shouted at the top of his lungs, "BERT! HE'S HERE TO FUCKING HELP US AND YOU'RE ACTING LIKE A KID! CALM THE FUCK DOWN! WHAT'S GOTTEN INTO YOU—"

But Bert shoved him as he roared, "FUCKIN' LET GO OF ME! WHAT IS EVEN OUT THERE?! THOSE FUCKING DDR CAMPS?! FUCK ME! ONE WAS BEING BUILT RIGHT NEXT TO US AND IT DIDN'T EVEN SURVIVE A DAY! GIVE ALL OF THEM A WEEK AND ALL OF THEM WOULD GET OVERRUN! THEY'RE ALL GONNA DIE! WE'RE ALL GONNA DIE! YOU HEAR ME?! WE'RE ALL—"

Jenny interjected, "How can you be sure?! We've been here since it started—"

"HAHAHAHAHA! LOOK AROUND! IT'S THE END OF THE FUCKING WORLD! WHAT'S THE FUCKING POINT?! DO YOU KNOW WHAT WE SHOULD DO RIGHT NOW?! THIS!"

All of a sudden, Bert pointed his shotgun at everyone and he was wearing a deranged look like something snapped inside his head. His eyes had now a different shade and he'd probably unload on anyone that tried something funny.

I could probably draw my pistol and put him down when he wasn't pointing his shotgun at me but it would be at the cost of someone who was right in front of it. I had only met most of these people but there was only one person that needed to die right now, and it wasn't among the people by my side.

"What?! Cat got your tongue, you fucking smart-ass?! TALK! WHY AREN'T YOU TALKING?! HUH?! AND JUAN! THE FUCK D'YOU THINK YOU ARE?! LETTING THIS SMART-ASS IN HERE?! I OWN THIS FUCKING PLACE, YOU SHOULD'VE TOLD ME FIRST! Ahahah… this is so fucking funny… What am I even doing here? Shit… There was supposed to be a game today and I'm stuck watching over these fucking civs… Fuck! Fuck! FUCK! It's like a fucking nightmare! A nightmare… right… it must be… I can just… yeah… I should—"

Before anyone could react, Bert placed his shotgun in his mouth and pulled the trigger.

A loud ringing noise assaulted our ears as his head scattered on the floor like a Pollock painting. Bits and chunks of his head were in random directions but the majority of them were on the barricades he was checking earlier. A pool of blood had started to form beneath his body as it flopped down, stunning everyone.

'Fuck!'

Screams and cries came from the group of civilians behind me, and Allan couldn't help but vomit at the sight. Juan was still clutching his ears while one of his eyes was partly open but Jenny was kneeling on the floor, sobbing right next to Bert's body. Her uniform was getting stained by Bert's blood and Allan had to pull her out of her position.

No one could believe what just happened and everyone just decided to take some time off from our conversation.

'Everything around this place definitely heard that… I need to pass a bit of time before going out...'

After a while, Juan and I cleaned the mess while Allan helped Jenny with moving Bert's body into the freezer. Everyone wasn't talking to each other not because we were still in shock but because no one just didn't know what to say. Despite that, Allan made sure to try and keep talking to Jenny because she was the most affected out of everyone.

After we were done, I left them alone for a moment though Juan was accompanying me.

I looked at my watch and it had almost been an hour since I left the compound. I grabbed the radio from my belt and I tried to contact Oscar.

-

*bzzt*

"Oscar, copy?"

*bzzt*

-

*bzzt*

"Old man, this is Sky. Copy?"

*bzzt*

-

No response.

'I should've brought the Sat Phone.'