The Past(1)

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"Jackie. Jackie? JACKIE… you there?" A calm and reassuring voice snaps her out of her thoughts as a handsome blond man taps her on the shoulder.

"Oh! Sorry, James…" She hangs her head low and realizes she zoned out during an important time.

"That's okay! You said you were taking some advanced classes at school to be a pharmacy tech, right?" The smiling man continues, not minding her absent-mindedness. "I want you to see if you can get anything from old man Joel's down the street. Take Mike, Bruce, and Jim with you."

He smiles at the young lady and releases her shoulder before turning and continuing his directions for the people in the packed lobby. "Karen, Frank… …Grocery duty."

The outbreak is in the beginning stages, and everyone in the apartment complex is panicking. It wasn't until James appointed himself leader that people finally calmed down. With such a large group, it will only take a single person to screw it up for everyone.

Jackie's mind begins to wander again as Jame's orders are barked out. 'They're eating people… The TV says they are actually eating people! Are we really going out there?'

"Garret, you take your crew to get some weapons. There will surely be others with the same idea, so be careful! No risks!" The self proclaimed leader finished splitting the groups as he gave out the last assignments.

'Weapons? Why do we need weapons? Can't we just stay here until the Army rescues us?' The naive girl hadn't ever considered protecting herself.

"Listen up! You each have your job, and our survival will depend on you! These creatures are scary, but they move slowly. We can overcome them. Stick together, and everyone will make it back home." James is standing on a makeshift barricade of furniture as he attempts to rally his forces.

"Yeah, right! You're sending us out there to die while you stay in here alone!" Mike's gruff voice echoes from the crowd.

'Does he really wants us to die?' Jackie couldn't help but ponder Mike's accusation.

"I won't be staying here! I will be gathering supplies to reinforce this barricade, and I'm doing it alone. If you'd prefer, we can switch assignments…" James' counter instantly shut Mike up as he wasn't willing to offer himself for a dangerous assignment. "That's better, now get out there and keep your eyes peeled!"

The crowd begins to shuffle out the door in individual groups. Makeshift clubs and sharpened broom handles fill their hands. The tension was high, and nobody made a sound. There is a sense of security in large numbers, but it is only temporary.

The instant they stepped outside, the atmosphere changed. No longer did they have walls protecting them as they entered the war zone.

Cars zip by, unaffected by speed limits, and gunshots ring out in the distance.

"Dumb asses, going deeper into the city… That's where it started!" Garret is the first one to speak.

"But, didn't the TV say they had a safe zone set up? Shouldn't we be heading there too?" Jackie may have been the youngest on this excursion, but she didn't understand why the adults demanded they stay there.

"God help me, there's an idiot here too… Just try not to get anyone killed, little girls." Garret scoffs as he avoids answering her inquiry.

The groups begin to head in their own direction, toward the sporting goods store, grocery store, and gas station… the men and women split into groups of four or five before they disappear into the chaos of the city.

The young redhead hesitated before she left the awning of her apartment building.

"Don't worry, we'll be okay. We're heading away from the city center, after all." Jim reassured her as he placed his hand on her back, turning her toward him. "Plus, you've got us!"

Jim stood before her with a broom handle that had a knife duct-taped on the end of it. The makeshift spear gleamed in Jackie's eyes as she looked at her companions. Mike carried a wooden bat that he had driven nails through, and the muscular but quiet Bruce wielded two large knives in his hands.

"Jackie, be careful. I know I'm asking a lot." James steps through the doorway with a pistol in his hand, "Take this. You don't have many shots, but if you need to use it, do it."

"What the Hell? Give that to me!" A sudden outburst is heard from Mike as he attempts to take the gun from James' hand.

A loud slap bounces off the short man's face. "Are you such a pussy you'd take a gift from a small girl?" James' suddenly stood chest to chest with the older man and aimed his pistol toward his head.

"T-thank you." Jackie's delicate hands reach out and wrap around the firearm.

She didn't like fighting and didn't want to see the situation escalate.

"Mike, calm down and give her a break. It won't even be useful, but it will calm her down." Jim's reassuring voice once again calms the situation.

James' takes a few moments to explain the weapon to the young girl. He ensures that if she needs to use it, she will be able to at least fire. There is no time or ammo for target practice, so this is the best he can do.

"Alright, stay safe! The medicine might be the most important thing on our list today!" the blond figure shouts as he disappears down the street.

Holding the pistol in her hand, Jackie found a new confidence. She isn't confident in hitting a moving target, but at least the noise would alert others to her. If for some reason, they get separated, it would ensure they could find her.

"Let's get this over with," Mike sighs as he glares at his youngest companion.

The small squad of four begins their journey. It is a short journey to the pharmacy, but it couldn't be considered safe. As they maneuvered down the sidewalk, they felt a constant eye on them. People hiding in the buildings surrounding them, the speeding cars, everything felt like a threat.

There is even the occasional pedestrian running down the street, just looking for somewhere safe to rest.

'There doesn't seem to be any signs of the creatures… Just panic. Is it really as bad as they said it was?' She can't help but doubt the reports after being outside.

"Chin up, eyes open. You don't want to get hurt because you were lost in thought." Jim is leading the group when he glances back and notices Jackie looking at the ground as she follows.

Nobody seemed to pay attention to them after seeing they were armed. If anything, they consider them stupid for heading away from the established safe zones. It isn't long before the small family-owned pharmacy stands before them.

The windows are shattered, and the sales floor is a mess. It looks as if the building had been picked clean of anything significant, as the empty shelves in the front of the store gave little hope.

"Well, we made it… Go inside and get the medicine," Mike grunts as he stands next to the door of the establishment.

"Alone? Aren't you coming with?" Jackie freezes in place.

"You're the one with the gun. You know what the important pills are. We'll keep the entrance guarded." The man is unwilling to move as he states his point of view.

Bruce nods firmly as he stands next to Mike. Their friendship before the incident seems to allow him to trust the old man entirely.

"Let's just get this over with and get back…" Jim sighs as he glances at Mike and Bruce, knowing he can't convince them to change their mind.

"I'll come with you." Jim's back disappears into the eerie store, leading the way.