4 Mad Grit

"There you go," Amanda smiles hopefully. She replaces Leo's crude salves on his stomach and left shoulder.

"'Botany is stupid'" she mocks. 'Just use bandages.' Botany just saved your life. Well, I did but with the help of botany. I'm gonna search this Costo for medical supplies. Don't die on me."

Leo lays on a futon in an office of a Costco. It's a miracle he's alive. Two shots to the gut and one to the shoulder; any man would have died from blood loss, but Leo was knocked out.

He'll recover. Hopefully he will. Amanda unlocks the door to the office and leaves.

The place is less trashed than she thought. Sure, stuff is on the floor, but the shelves are still in place. Not everything's looted, that's an added bonus; Let's just hope there's some medical supplies left.

"Get inside!" A man yells from afar.

"Come on! They're getting closer!" Another yells. Amanda hears grunting as its gates are closed and barricaded.

"Oh my god… oh my fucking god…" one gasps for breath.

"Jesus… fuck dude! We fucking made it!" Another cheers. This isn't good one bit. Now, she can't just go about; she's gotta sneak her way around.

"Search the place for medical supplies and food," one commands. Four voices total echo about. Now she's on a timer; she needs those medical supplies before they do.

She's at the dairy section right now; the pharmacy should be somewhere nearby. Amanda quietly wanders left, through the ransacked isles, voices drawing near and far. She spots a special section across the store, but at her angle she can't figure out what it is.

"No time for doubts," she assures, "Do or die."

"Hey guys! Over here!" Someone calls from across the warehouse. This is her break. She silently sprints over to the section but slips on a wet spot, landing hard on her side with a loud thud.

"Bernd you fucking clutz," one of them laughs. Thanks Bernd, for being a clutz and keeping Amanda's cover. Amanda gets to her feet, her shoes squeaking annoyingly.

"Whoever's doing that: fuck you," a german voice calls. Time to ditch the shoes. Amanda sits down on a pallet and takes off her browned high-top sneakers.

Her blistered and bruised feet are now exposed, but that's a cost she's willing to pay. Hopefully there's still some shoes left. It'd be even better if they were her size.

Amanda tiptoes the final stretch to the section. Of course, it's the optometrist. She swears to herself and turns back.

Down the hall she spots a couple of people; a guy and a girl are inspecting the office door.

"You think we can knock it down?" The girl asks.

"Let's look for the key first; if not, knock the fucker down," the guy declares. Great, if Amanda wasn't running out of time already, she is now.

Her feet patter to the center of the warehouse. Thankfully, she guessed correctly, and the clothes are right here. Amanda throws on a mahogany hoodie and some black socks to compliment her navy long-sleeve and jeans.

Further down the direction she's facing is the pharmacy. Finally! It's time to get the supplies and go. Hearing nobody nearby, she makes a run for it.

Nobody spots nor hears her when she gets to the pharmacy. Voices echo from behind her, closing in; in a panic, Amanda vaults the front desk and hides beneath the counter.

"We already checked the pharmacy right?"

"Yeah, picked clean except for a singular emergency aid kit. What luck am I right?"

Fucking hell! She needs that medkit for Leo. No matter the cost, she'll get her hands on it.

"We're trying to bust open a door by the dairy, it might be a backdoor we can escape through," he continues, "if you can find something to wedge into the door that'd be great."

"Alright, tell Q I might've seen a crowbar here in the pharmacy before looking for other stuff," the other replies. They split off in their own directions. Amanda hears him wander into the backroom, kicking stuff along the way.

The coast is clear; time to move. She shuffles out from under the counter and spots a now open door on her right. It must be the door he entered through.

Amanda quietly steps up to the door, but an odd dense fog covers the room and limits her vision. The dirty olive green fog seeps out of the room slowly like a snail leaving its shell. She feels lightheaded, tired even.

Wait a minute… spores! Amanda swings the door shut and covers her mouth with her hoodie. The keys jiggle in her pocket; maybe one of them locks the door. She pulls them out and sees three keys.

She knows which of them goes to the office, but the other two are a mystery. Ehh, fifty-fifty are good odds; besides, there's no time to waste. She tries the first key and it actually works.

"Hey guys! I'm still in here!" He calls.

"Come on dude there's spores in here and my filter is running out!"

"Guys…?"

"Guys…?!"

He keeps yelling for help while Amanda walks off. So long as the door's locked, the possible crowbar is no longer an option. The door is also metal; nothing's knocking it down, inside or out.

Amanda sneaks to the optometry, getting a sightline on the office door. The other three guys are crowded around it, presumably waiting for their friend. Maybe she can get to the office through the back, the way she entered.

Liking the idea, Amanda makes her way to the front gate. Upon arrival, the sound of groans and grunts greet her with a horrible stench of sweat and blood. A horde of infected wander the parking lot and nearby the gate.

It's way too many to power through, but definitely enough to break the gate down if she's not careful enough. Perhaps that's all she needs. With a risky plan, Amanda smiles in fear and courage.

She bellows out an ear piercing scream, echoing through the warehouse and surrounding mountains. In an instant, every one of their eyes lay on her with pure rage and conviction. They scream out as the closest dash in her direction, fortunately blocked by the gate, but it won't hold for long.

Amanda sprints to the pharmacy, knowing they'll be running past the optometry. To her demise, the door is knocked down from its hinges, like it was hurled away. A bloody trail leads to the center of the warehouse.

"There's no way…" she mutters, shocked by what it may be. A girl screams from the gate's location, the sound of metal collapsing and crushing echoes through the warehouse. Just as Amanda thought, a brute is inside.

Brutes are infected on the third stage of four. Their entire bodies are covered with layers of protective mushroom heads. The lumbering beasts are the result of a year of infection; now, they are in search of a place to die so that the rest of their nutrients feed the mushroom in their head.

The loud noises and screams are bound to draw even more attention. The clock ticks as Amanda evades flying debris on her run for the office. As she runs voices of pain and hate fill the air.

She finally makes it to the office, struggling to rip the keys from her pocket. In her panic Amanda drops them and swipes them back up. She spins the keys in her hands and finds the right one, jamming it into the lock and turning.

"Help!" One cries. Amanda spots them on the floor, leg broken, desperately reaching for her aid. In their other hand is a medkit.

Amanda goes into autopilot, swiping if from them and running back. She swings the door open as the infected approach the optometry where the group holds out. One by one they get torn apart.

"Don't leave me…!" He pleads. Amanda's running out of time she doesn't have.

"I'm sorry," she manages before slamming the door shut, leaving him to die. His screams shake her to the core as she tends to Leo's wounds.