Chapter 25: Pharmacy

We were sitting around the dinner table, feeling drained but resolute, after another day of fighting for our survival. The undead had become more of a threat than ever, and we needed to find a way to get to the pharmacy without being torn apart by them.

I broke the silence, recalling the events of the day. "Did you notice how fast and agile those zombies were? They were nothing like the slow and clumsy ones we used to deal with. They could even dodge our arrows, for crying out loud."

Nana shuddered, "And they seemed to have a keen sense of hearing. Any noise we made would attract them like moths to a flame."

I nodded, trying to sound confident. "They may be smarter than before, but they're still mindless corpses. We can't reason with them, but we can outsmart them." I smiled, revealing my plan. "I have an idea. Remember that speaker I found in one of the houses we raided? We could use it to create a diversion. We could set it up somewhere far from the pharmacy, and play some loud music. That should lure the zombies away from our path."

The group looked at me with admiration, realizing the potential of my plan. It was risky, but it could give us the opportunity we needed to get the medicine we desperately need for Jenny who is sick.

We decided to go to bed early, knowing that we had a big day ahead of us. The next morning, we packed our weapons and supplies in the pickup truck and drove toward the town. We hoped that the pharmacy still had some medicine left, and that we could get there without being noticed by the zombies.

We parked the truck near a cluster of houses on the opposite side of the street from the pharmacy which is also a bit far away from the parking station of the school but also near it, about 500 meters or so. Steff and the twins they were in charge to guard the pickup truck. Me and Amy went there with just the two of us, we had to be careful not to make any noise, as the zombies could be lurking anywhere.

We managed to avoid most of the zombies on our way to the houses, but a few of them spotted us and attacked. We quickly took them down with our knives and crossbows, trying not to waste any bullets. We reached the houses and set up the speaker on the roof. We found a phone in one of the houses that we looted, in fact too many phones, it's our luck that some of them doesn't have a password, we then used it to set a timer for the music. We had 10 minutes to get to the pharmacy and back.

We crossed the street, and met up with Steff and the others who were waiting for us. We got into the pickup truck, and drove closer to the pharmacy. We parked the truck in a narrow alley, and waited for the timer to go off.

I looked out the window, and saw the town in ruins. It looked like the military had tried to rescue the survivors, but it had gone horribly wrong. The plaza was swarming with zombies, their numbers too many to count.

I heard Amy whisper, her voice barely audible over the groans of the undead. "So that's where the gunshots we heard came from... the military really failed."

I felt a surge of anger and sadness, thinking of all the people who had died. But I also felt a flicker of determination, knowing that we had to survive. I said to the group, "We've come this far. Let's make the most of this opportunity. Move quickly and stay together." I checked the timer, and saw that it was about to go off.

The timer beeped, and the music started playing from the speakers. The zombies turned their heads, and ran toward the source of the noise. After waiting for at least 3 minutes. Making sure that all of them went to the loud sound, we saw our chance, and drove towards the pharmacy. The zombies were momentarily distracted, their attention drawn away from us.

We drive the pickup truck and parked it in front of the pharmacy. We quickly entered the pharmacy, wasted no time and started grabbing medicine and supplies. We worked as fast as we could, filling our backpacks with everything we could find. Lily stood guard at the door, her eyes darting between the shelves and the occasional zombie that wandered close.

We finished looting the pharmacy, and I signaled for the group to leave. But as we were about to exit, I felt a pang of curiosity. I wondered if there was anything useful in our old school, which was nearby. The school had been used as a temporary base by the military, when they tried to rescue them. The school had high walls that protected it from the zombies, but it had also been overrun by them. Maybe there was something left behind, something that could help us. I decided to take a risk, and told the group to follow me.

The school was only a short walk from the pharmacy, but it felt like an eternity. We had to pass by the police station, which was right in front of the school. The police station was a massacre, with corpses of officers and zombies lying everywhere. The smell of blood and decay was overwhelming, and we had to cover our noses. We saw bullet holes and broken windows, signs of a desperate fight. We wondered if anyone had made it out alive.

We didn't bother looting the police station, as we already know that it's been looted since the military came here, they should have also take the useful items with them.

We reached the school gate, and looked for a way in. The gate was locked, but we found a hole in the fence that we could squeeze through. We entered the school grounds, and felt a wave of nostalgia and sadness. We remembered the days when we used to study and play here, before the world went to hell. We wished we could go back to those times, but we knew it was impossible.

We scanned the school buildings, looking for any signs of life. We noticed a group of survivors huddled inside one of the classrooms near the gate. They looked scared and hungry, and some of them were injured.

"Look, Souta," Amy pointed, her voice filled with both hope and concern. "There are survivors."

Steff nodded, her voice tinged with empathy. "Should we help them?"

I stared at the classroom, my mind racing. It was a risky move to involve more people, but if they could cooperate, our chances of survival might increase. Maybe they had some useful information or resources. Maybe they had some skills or weapons that we could use. Maybe they were just like us, trying to stay alive. I decided to take a chance, and told the group to follow me.

I made up my mind, and decided to help the survivors. I hoped they would be cooperative, and follow my lead. We ran towards the classroom, and I knocked on the door. Amy spoke up, her voice conveying a mix of urgency and sincerity.