Akira cautiously pushed the shopping cart through the broken stockroom door.
The warehouse behind it was much larger than he expected.
Towering metal shelves stretched from floor to ceiling, lined with hundreds of cardboard boxes. Many had been ripped open during the initial panic, but plenty remained untouched.
A satisfied grin spread across his face.
"Jackpot."
He started searching one pallet at a time.
A box marked Canned Beans.
"Not bad."
Into the cart.
Another labeled Mixed Fruit.
"Better than starving."
Clunk.
A third contained canned peaches.
A fourth, canned corn.
Akira scratched the back of his head.
"Dammit..."
"Am I supposed to live on beans and fruit?"
He continued digging through another stack.
Nothing.
Another.
Cleaning supplies.
Another.
Paper towels.
Another.
His eyes suddenly widened.
"Holy macaroni!"
He reached into the box and triumphantly pulled out a can.
SPAM.
"Finally!"
"Meat!"
He quickly counted them.
"One... two... ten!"
Ten cans of Spam disappeared into the shopping cart.
"Now we're talking."
Satisfied, Akira wheeled the cart farther into the warehouse.
The deeper he went, the darker it became.
Only thin beams of sunlight slipped through high windows near the ceiling.
Rows of shelves created narrow corridors filled with long shadows.
Akira instinctively rested one hand near his holstered pistol.
Something didn't feel right.
Then
"GRAAAAH!"
A figure burst out from behind a shelf.
It wore the tattered red vest of a Costco employee.
Unlike the slow walkers outside, this infected moved with terrifying speed.
The runner slammed into Akira, nearly knocking him off his feet.
"Shit!"
Years of police training kicked in.
Akira planted his feet and shoved the runner away with all his strength.
The zombie stumbled backward just enough.
Enough was all he needed.
His pistol was already in his hand.
Bang!
The first bullet tore into the runner's forehead.
It staggered.
Bang!
The second shot ended it.
The body collapsed between the shelves with a dull thud.
Akira bent over, taking a deep breath.
"Fuck..."
"That was close."
His heartbeat pounded in his ears as the adrenaline slowly faded.
After confirming there were no more runners nearby, he holstered his pistol.
Then he noticed something.
On the very back shelf Several pristine cardboard boxes sat untouched beneath a layer of dust.
Curious, he walked closer.
His eyes fell on the printed label.
TWINKIES
For a moment His brain stopped working.
"Oh my God..."
"Oh my God!"
He practically sprinted toward the shelf.
"There they are!"
"The holy grail!"
Five unopened boxes.
He immediately lifted one down and tore open the tape.
Inside
Row after row of individually wrapped golden sponge cakes greeted him.
Akira let out a long whistle.
"Damn! There have to be at least eighty Twinkies in one box." He looked at the remaining four boxes "And I have five of them."
Four hundred Twinkies.
He couldn't stop grinning.
"This... This is the greatest supply run of my life."
Without wasting another second, he carefully loaded all five boxes onto the shopping cart, making sure none of them would fall off.
He admired his treasure for a moment before chuckling.
"If Tallahassee ever found out I stumbled across five unopened boxes of Twinkies."
"he'd probably challenge me to a duel."
Akira laughed to himself as he pushed the now heavily loaded shopping cart toward the stockroom exit.
"Sorry, buddy."
"Finders keepers."
Completely absorbed in thoughts of weeks' worth of Twinkies, Akira failed to notice a faint voice echoing somewhere near the front of the warehouse.
"Did you hear those gunshots?"
"Someone's in the store."
Several frightened survivors, who had been hiding inside the Costco offices for days, stared toward the warehouse door with a mixture of fear and hope.
-----
At the back Akira pushed the heavily loaded shopping cart out of the stockroom with a satisfied smile.
Five boxes of Twinkies.
Canned beans.
Fruit.
Spam.
For once, a supply run had gone far better than expected.
"Today's a good day."
The cart rattled softly as he guided it through one of Costco's wide aisles.
Then
Two figures cautiously stepped out from the opposite end.
They froze.
Akira froze.
For a split second, both sides simply stared at each other.
Then
"AAAH!!"
The two women screamed at the top of their lungs.
Akira's eyes widened.
He immediately raised a finger to his lips.
"Shhh!"
"What the hell are you both screaming at?!"
His voice was loud enough to be heard by them, yet restrained enough not to echo throughout the warehouse.
"You want to get eaten?!"
The girls instantly covered their mouths.
Akira let out an irritated sigh before looking them over.
Both carried battered metal baseball bats.
The younger one appeared to be a high school student.
She had short brown hair, violet eyes, and lightly tanned skin. Her school uniform was dirty and wrinkled, showing signs of days spent hiding.
Beside her stood a woman in her mid-twenties.
She had shoulder-length pink hair, striking green eyes, and wore what looked like an office suit beneath a dusty jacket.
Both looked terrified.
The younger girl instinctively hid behind the older woman.
"P-Please don't kill us"
"We didn't mean anything by bumping into you," the older woman added nervously.
Akira blinked.
"Kill you?"
He frowned.
"Why would I waste bullets on living people?"
The two exchanged uncertain glances.
Akira studied them more carefully.
Brown hair, violet eyes, tan skin, School girl uniforms.
Pink hair, green eyes, office lady.
His brain began turning.
Wait.
Those hair colors.
That isn't exactly normal.
He had a nagging feeling he'd seen them somewhere before.
Anime?
A manga?
Maybe a game?
The faces seemed familiar.
But he couldn't quite place them.
Better not jump to conclusions.
There was always the chance they were simply survivors with unusually colorful hair.
Before he could think any further
"Grrrraaaah..."
A low groan echoed from the next aisle.
Then another.
And another.
Akira's expression immediately changed "Great." He glanced toward the source of the noise.
Several slow walkers had begun shambling toward them.
More emerged from behind shelves after hearing the girls' scream.
"They heard you."
The younger girl's face turned pale.
"I-I'm sorry..."
Akira pinched the bridge of his nose.
"Save the apology for later."
He grabbed the shopping cart.
"You two follow me."
"And don't do anything funny."
The older woman nodded immediately.
"We won't."
Without another word, both women hurried over and grabbed the sides of the cart, helping Akira push its heavy load toward the front entrance.
The three moved as quickly and quietly as possible.
Behind them, more groans echoed through the warehouse.
One walker became five.
Five became fifteen.
The noise of shuffling feet steadily grew louder.
Akira looked over his shoulder and muttered,
"That's exactly why people don't scream in zombie movies"
Then he sighed.
"Guess reality isn't much different."
Together, the three survivors pushed the cart toward the shattered front entrance, hoping to reach the Hummer before the growing crowd of walkers closed in.