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."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 bag and hefted the heavy weight onto his shoulders,.It was just as well he'd traded the extra rifle.He couldn't have carried it anyway.Also a good thing he'd spent hours training with a pack on his back during the past weeks.The man unlocked the door and Hector poked his head out."Looks okay."He stepped outside and Derrick and Ari followed him."Good luck," the store owner said as they walked past.The sound of the door locking behind them reminded Ari of his stint in juvie, only now he was being locked into an outside world that was far more dangerous than detention.They moved quickly past debris, abandoned cars and body parts, to the Rent-A-World across the street.This door was also locked, but the display window was smashed so they stepped right it through into the store.Bits of safety glass crunched under Ari's boots as he led the way inside.He paused, waiting for his eyes to adjust from sunlight to the dark interior of the building.No working generator here—ironic considering they sold electronics.Or maybe they had one but no one had lived long enough to turn it on.He held his rifle ready to pop any shambling thing that raised its ugly head, but the place seemed empty.Derrick beelined straight to the computer department, listing aloud all the things he wanted, as he searched the shelves."You lost me after 'computer'," Ari said.He followed Derrick, keeping alert for any surprises coming from the dark shadows.The encounter with the Korean storekeepers had reminded him it wasn't only zombies they needed to look out for.Frightened humans with guns could be just as lethal.Derrick studied the packaging of an air card."We won't be able to activate this, and with the power down there's no way besides satellite to get on the internet.""Just grab anything you might need and we'll find out if it works later." Ari was anxious to get back to the group.He kept running scenarios in which they returned to find the rest of their posse torn to pieces.Images of Ronnie's blood-streaked face or Lila's body sprawled on the floor haunted him.He scanned the back of the store where the shadows were deepest and Hector did the same, keeping his eyes on the street outside.At last, Ari couldn't take any more of Derrick's farting around.He stood over him as the kid shoved a package of cable and other electronic paraphernalia in his pack."Come on.Get moving," Ari prodded."We've gotta go.""Aye-aye, Captain." Derrick snapped a salute.Ari felt like kicking the boy.The smart-ass attitude wouldn't normally have bothered him, but he was exhausted and dangling by his last nerve.He wanted to close his eyes and not open them again until all this was over.Derrick zipped the bag closed, heaved it onto his thin shoulders and followed Ari to the front where Hector stood sentry.They crunched through the window glass back into the bright sunlight.Ari flipped his sunglasses down over his eyes and marched double time toward the sporting goods store.He was almost there when Hector called out, "Hey, wait up."Ari stopped and turned toward him.The older man lifted his Mets cap and ran a hand through his short, dark hair."Listen, I can't go back with you guys.I know what we said about sticking together, but I've gotta try to get to my wife and kids.My mind's not going to change by morning.I need to get started now."Ari felt like someone had added another stone to the heavy pile in his gut, but he nodded."I get it, man, but we could really use you.Other than me, you're the only one who knows how to shoot.""You're crazy! No way you're going to make it all the way across the bridge," Derrick said.Hector shrugged."I've been thinking about this 'stick with the group' thing.What's out there—" he pointed down the street "—ain't going to be stopped by a half dozen people with rifles.One guy's might have a better chance to get where he's going, sneaking and hiding.Don't matter anyway.I've got to try, for my kids." He paused then added, "Good luck."That was it.He turned and walked away, his leaving as abrupt as Deb's had been.What could a person really say after goodbye?"Shit," Ari muttered under his breath.He believed Hector was right; a guy alone with no one depending on him could probably survive longer.Ari should take his cue and cut out, go to the hospital and see if he could find his mom
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