5 Chapter 5

"The market?" Charlotte questioned while giving Christopher a can of fruit. Seeing the teen in front of her nod, she gave it a thought before slowly nodding herself.

"I agree we should get to a market before it's ransacked by other survivors, but my only concern is…" She silently looked at the sleeping baby on her lap and at the child that sat next to her.

"We can't shelter them,". Though it may seem unsightly and barbaric to bring helpless children outside to the apocalypse. It's for the best to have the boy learn what to do if they're ever separated, and it's better to start planning ideas to both fight and safely handle the baby.

The concerned woman looked like she wanted to say something but reluctantly decided against it. Seeing she had nothing else to say, he got up and went to the room he picked.

The room is located on the second story of the mansion, at the very end of the west hallway. The door to get inside the room was a dark blue. The room itself was a reasonable size with a queen-size bed, a walking closet, as well as an attached bathroom. The dominant colors of the room's decor were deep gray and white, causing the room to seem warm and bright. The key attraction to the room, however, was the window ceiling that showcases the sky.

Sitting on the bed before lying down, he felt a headache coming on as well as fatigue as he didn't have a proper rest last night. The sole thought of zombies roaming around outside the house kept him from closing his eyes. It also did not help to hear the sound of the young boy crying that he tried to muffle into the blanket.

"Don't push yourself too forcefully, Niko," Lily said as she stared at him with concern. Giving her the side-eye, he got back up and began changing from his nightwear

When he arrived downstairs, what confronted him was a bundled-up big ball of clothes alongside a smaller version. He felt his eyes twitch. It became worse hearing the feline next to him starting laughing and going as far as to roll around on the floor.

"Niko! Niko! Look, look! We're armored up to face the bad guys!" The little version shouted out full of enthusiasm. The voice was muffled as even the boy's mouth was covered, only showcasing his honeyed eyes.

"..." For the first time in his life, Nikolai wanted to bully a little kid and pinched his face.

Noting his silence, the woman hesitantly spoke up, "Do you think this too much?" Yes, Nikolai thought before saying, "It's best to wear less clothing to help not to bear you down and to keep your agility to its maxed compatibility." The woman looked flustered before stiffly nodding her clothed neck. Supporting the more miniature version, they walked to go upstairs to change. When they passed by, Nikolai finally noticed an extra clothing ball attached to the back of the bigger ball. A little exposed face showed as the baby was blowing spit bubbles with little silent laughter in between.

The feline who finally got out of her laughing spur became active once again. Heaving as she laughed out "A family of clothing balls." Nikolai's headache that was disappearing appeared again like an annoying mosquito buzzing and making its presence known.

Getting out of the gated building was easier than when they entered as they found the keys on opening it.

The car was quiet as they drove through the abandoned streets, memories of when everyone was walking about as stores flourish with people were solemnly remembered.

"It's like a ghost town…" Charlotte said as she hugged her daughter closely.

She remembered how she took her little sister to the clothing store. Her little sister was always a clothing addict, telling Charlotte how "the clothes symbolize the person." The young girl liked to wear bright colors most of the time, but once sad, she took a plunge into the Gothic theme aesthetic.

A chuckle escaped the red-headed woman as the memory of her sister coming home with a face filled with piercings. Their mother fainted on the spot while their dad was bashing the young woman's impulsive nature with their older brother in the background laughing up a storm.

It's been a while since she last saw them after their fight.

"My dad liked to take me to that toy store," Christopher spoke out, pointing to a medium-sized toy store.

Following the direction, the little finger pointed; Charlotte saw a store that looked close to shambles, blood painted the interior from where they could see through the broken windows. She asked, "Oh? Where's your father?"

"He died in a car accident when I was three," the boy said softly. The memories were vague but never forgotten as his family of three was like any other happy family. Simply perfect.

Hearing him, Nikolai took a look at the boy in the backseat. The kids' eyes were filled with unshed tears. His eyes returned to the front, giving the boy his privacy.

"I'm sorry," Charlotte said before keeping her mouth closed for the rest of the ride. It took 10 minutes before they reached their stop. The store had a yellow and blue letter spelling Safeway and right next to it was Dicks.

"How convenient," Lily said, looking at the two stores. The parking lot was full of abandoned cars. Besides them, there was no moving thing in sight, but there were corpses or pieces of limbs stranded in random spots. The LA weather was still fierce and scorching, making the smell of rot more prominent. The feline made gagging noises as she quickly rushed inside the grocery store, leaving the four humans behind.

Reaching the store, the massive feline was nowhere in sight. The inside of the store was in disorder as bags and cans of food were litter all over the floor. Corpses mangled and bloodied were seen more often than in the parking lot. The store lights were flickering while The sound of air conditioning could still be detected. The feeling of Christopher holding onto his parents brought him back to the present that the adolescent boy was first witnessing what a real zombie apocalypse implied.

Not bothering to tell the boy to let go, Nikolai shifted his head to the redheaded woman, whose face was as pale as a blank sheet. "Let us go," he said before walking farther inside with the boy still clinging onto his leg.

They walked through the store, stuffing the large bags they found with canned and boxed items. It seemed the store had been with some survivors, but the survivors didn't grab much from either fear or something else.

They encountered Lily in the pet section, stuffing her big head inside a bag of cat food. She elevated her head when she perceived them and brought the cat food bag with her, evoking a comical sight.

The young boy laughed before finally letting go of Nikolai's leg and running up to the feline, shaking her head to get the bag off. Supporting the boy to get up onto the big feline, they attach the bags onto her before gathering two more bags to fill up next. They have ransacked half the preserving items in the store, leaving the other half for other survivors.

Sending everything in the Jeep, they started making their way into the sports store. "Are you sure it's a good idea to leave all the food out there in the open," Charlotte asked as she looked nervously at the black Jeep.

"It's not exactly out in the open. Unless someone purposely sticks their face to see inside no one will see it walking by plus we have Lily guarding it," Nikolai said as he stepped into the sports store.

Dick's was less messy and bloodied than the store beside it. Though there were a few bodies on the ground, it didn't arouse gagging as the other one did. Looking and listening around, Nikolai could see nothing, but he could hear the sound of dragging from the second floor. Pulling on the woman's arm and slightly kicking the boy's shoes, he made a shushing sound before pointing upstairs. The woman's eyes quivered while the boy looked confused but still didn't say anything.

Slowly Nikolai walked in. He took out both his axes as he slightly looked up to see a slowly bloody body moving on the second floor. Grunts could be heard from the dead man's gaping jaw as he wandered aimlessly. The moving body of the dead man wasn't the only one, there was also a woman. Her once youthful face no longer as deep scratch marks were all over her face, her eyes were no longer there leaving black empty holes in its place. Nikolai couldn't help but back away a little when she turned around as he saw a gaping hole in the woman's neck.

Shivers went down Nikolai's body as he clenched onto his axes. Looking over at the other two, they were also in the same state.

"Breathe. Breathe. Just imagine them like rabbits. Just breathe," Nikolai thought to himself. Slowly he walked to the escalator that was no longer working. Each step up felt like a weight tied on him, his already sweaty body became sweatier the closer he got, and his heartbeat was also quickening. When he got to the top, the man zombie was in front of him by 10 feet.

Looking at the male zombie made Nikolai shivering quake even further. Ringing sounded in his head and his breathing became heavy. The male zombie that was in front of him stopped in his tracks. The sound of sniffling can be heard as the Zombie head slowly made a full 90-degree turn. Its already broken hanging jaw broke off, leaving the entrance of the throat exposed. The zombie's grey eyes stared at Nikolai as its nose flared as it continued to sniff.

Nikolai's whole body froze. Time felt still as the dead man's body bent backward. Cracks and tears could be heard as it got into a broken rainbow bridge form. Before the teen could even blink, the twisted body started crawling to him. The speed was neither fast nor slow, but the visual caused Nikolai to make it seem faster than a cheetah.

As he stared, his whole body felt like that of a statue. The sight of the dead man's eyes bore into his own made tears fall down his cheek. Voices in his head told him to move, but his body didn't listen. When the zombie was one foot away, a childish voice shouted throughout the store.

"Niko! Move!" As though something pushed the play button, his limp right arm moved high up before using every muscle to crash down bursting the head into two making blood scattered all over his face. The scent was nauseating and the feeling of the zombie's blood made Nikolai feel like a bunch of red ants were constantly biting into his skin. The no longer clean ax dropped out of his hands as he stared down at the no longer moving body.

The sound of dropping sounded behind him. When Nikolai stiffly turned around he saw the woman's corpse slowly standing up before running towards him, again he raised his other arm, but before he could cut the woman zombie down a silver metal bat swept by crashing into the woman's head. The corpse fell from the collusion, and before it could stand back up, its head was met with blows after blows. It didn't stop before the head was utterly destroyed. Its head scattered, showing pieces of broken skull and brain matter scrambled up.

Niko stared blankly at the zombie before looking back up at the heavy breathing redhead woman. Her face was flushed. It was covered in tears, snot, and blood, making anyone who saw her sympathetic. A clang sounded in the silent store as the bloody bat fell onto the floor. Charlotte couldn't stop trembling as more tears came out. The woman slowly took steps back before falling onto her hands and knees and started puking. Right behind her was the little boy who was also trembling but was holding two plastic bottles of water he had gotten from who knows where and the wrapped up baby.

Slowly coming closer, the boy looked up at him before offering one of the bottles. Taking it, Nikolai opened it to wash his face before chugging the rest. He sat down next to the woman who seemed to begin praying. He silently listened before looking down at his trembling hands. Seeing it made Nikolai feel weak; he still remembered how he felt when the male zombie was coming at him. He felt small, weak…. Scared. The feeling made him clench his hands in agitation.

"Thank you," Nikolai said as he unclutched his hands, showing deep nail marks on his palm.

Charlotte stopped praying before looking over at him. She fell quiet before saying, "How can I let a teenager fight alone while a perfectly healthy adult stands behind them. I wouldn't forgive myself if I just watched you do everything,". A little sad chuckle was heard from the woman as she used her hands to comb through her red hair. She finally grabbed the water bottle and copied what Nikolai did. She didn't dare to grab her daughter from the boy, afraid of getting zombie's blood all over her.

After relaxing, they finally explored the store. Nikolai grabbed anything that seemed useful while Charlotte went to the archery aisle and grabbed a bow that looked stable enough to use for a long time.

When they were done, the sky took on a pink and orange as the sun was lowering. The feline woke up from her nap when hearing the door open. She was about to say something before pausing after smelling the scent of decaying blood on the two older ones.

The drive back was even quieter than the earlier drive. The scent of the blood was becoming more prominent, but no one complained. When they got inside the mansion, both of the children were asleep. The baby girl was snuggled tight in the blanket that her mother was carrying while the boy was carried by Nikolai. The feline behind them was carrying the bags.

After waking the boy up from his nap and telling him to take a shower, Nikolai headed to his bathroom. His body felt weak as he slowly stripped away his bloody clothes. When the water hit his warm-colored skin his body relaxed a little but not all the way. He stood there under the water thinking about the events of the day. The water underneath him was red and brown, reminding him that he killed somebody.

Closing his eyes he was brought back to the store where the zombie was rushing at him but instead of getting out of his spur he was directly bitten and ripped apart.

His eyes snapped open. His heart was pounding, and his hands were shaking. The feeling felt exactly like the first time his father took him hunting. The feeling of the gun recoiling in his adolescent hands as he saw the bullet shot throw the female deer. It took him months to get the doe eyes out of his head and now…

"Niko?... Are you okay? It's been an hour…" hearing the concerned voice, he quickly washed before getting out. Towel wrapped around him, he opened the door to see a wolf-sized cat sitting there looking at him with concern.

"I'm fine Li. Just lost track of time,". He walked past her and went inside the closet. When he got out again, he had on a shirt and basketball shorts.

When he went under the sheets, the feline took slow steps as if he was a frightened bird.

"You know… if you need me, you can tell me," She said softly.

"I know," Niko said. She looked at the thin back that reminded her of when he was just a child. Quietly she walked to the couch that was in the room.

"Li?"

"Yes, Niko?" She turned back to him.

"... Can you sleep with me… please?" The voice was soft and fragile. The sound made the feline heart hurt as she hummed and made herself her original size as she snuggled up to the teen.

Feeling the soft body in his arms, the teen finally relaxed.