2.7

[Warning: Gore/Death]

Instead of heading to the exit like he'd asked I decided to grab some more essentials to pack in my own backpack since I'd only seen the clothing and weapons so far. I'd planned to do this anyway. It was his fault I was taking so long. I still felt sore at my core slightly, though it also tingled.

"Fuck it," I cursed, leaning on the checkout counter. I'd found water filters and a lot of protein snacks. Now my bag was feeling awfully full when combined with my spare set of clothes.

Pushing to stand back up and finally head to the exit I noticed a few leaflets promoting other businesses also in the service station area. One of which was a female clothing store. I picked up the leaflet eagerly. It boasted a wide range of DD+ underwear. No guarantee of sports bras, but anything was better than being stabbed by the wire that was poking through the stitching, ready to fully break through any moment now.

Finding a pen and paper behind the counter I wrote a quick note, that explained I was taking a detour and to meet me at the supermarket. Although outwardly I was excited to search for a decent sports bra, never appreciating how hard work it was to be a large-chested lady in my last life, inwardly, I wanted to avoid Noah and Will. Unsure if tensions would rise if Will caught on to what I had just done.

Fuck what had I just done?

They were all lingering in the employee hallway when I returned, all giving me a curious glare, I brushed an auburn curl off my face, smiling sweetly whilst looking over Tommy's shoulder at the map Noah held.

He was going over the next meet-up point after here, again North and along the coast, a popular camping site. Beside the door boxes of supplies sat, waiting to be loaded up, crowding the hallway.

I made a mental note of the map, or rather System did.

Next Noah went over the plan to clear the area around the shop and bring the jeep and truck. He ordered Tommy to stay behind with me and Jean, but let Daniel join in the fun. I felt huffed, ignoring his gloating look as I crossed my arms and refused eye contact. I hated how he treated me like dead weight. I was all the more sure of knicking off to the fashion store when his back was turned.

I wandered off to the employee changing rooms, lying on the bench, waiting for them all to piss off.

***

Now I had the Dao swords to hand, getting rid of zombies was light work. Remembering the way Hannah had struggled bitterly, using only kitchen knives to get to Ivy, I felt pity for her.

By the time I reached the store, I counted at least twelve zombies I'd managed to decapitate. I'd made sure to move quietly, avoiding the ones near the hunting and camping store. Though made sure to get rid of any besides the fashion store, the last thing I needed was to end up being trapped inside of it when the rest of the team didn't know where I was, the note only specified I was nipping out on errands and would meet at the supermarket.

Maybe I had let my mood get the best of me. Was this due to the hormones? I hated being eighteen, I missed being twenty-two.

The storefront was open, and the glass door was also wide open as if someone had left in a hurry not caring to lock it up. This was great news for me; however, it also meant it was very likely there were dead inside.

Scanning the floor I found an empty pop can. Picking it up slowly, I tossed it at the entrance, before crouching behind a car. I'd already ensured there was nothing under it. Was not going to let a second zombie catch me off guard like that.

After a short while, the sounds of groans and shuffling let me know there were certainly dead inside the store and more than one. I glanced around the carpark, happy there was none within earshot I moved to a car closer, then whistled.

The groans became more enthusiastic as the rotting corpses shuffled out through the glass doors, vacantly looking around the carpark, making me shiver. It would be so much worse if they regained their eyesight like in the dream.

Swiftly, I jumped up from behind the car, hitting the back of the neck of the overweight lady closest to me slicing right through. A scrawny, much younger woman shuffled forward, too close for comfort, and my other sword pierced directly through the eye. I kicked her back, releasing the sword, and brought it down onto the short young boy. He barely looked twelve. I gagged as it landed through his skull, crushing it.

Taking a breather I shook the dark brown blood from the sword, waiting for the sounds of more. Confident I could hear nothing else I walked up to the can at the doors. I wanted to be sure there was no more inside.

The store was not that large, the rails tightly packed, it would be awkward to swing a sword in there, though not impossible.

I kicked the can inside, it rattled as it rolled, coming to a stop at a middle-aged man's feet. He shuffled, accidentally kicking the can right back at me. I surprised myself when I giggled accidentally and he followed the noise.

I glanced backward before taking a few steps back, ready to swing as he exited the store. This whole zombie slaying thing wasn't as difficult as I'd anticipated physically, but mentally...

After double checking all four corpses were now dead dead, I went into the store. Sweeping aisle to aisle, being sure to keep an eye on my feet, grateful for the high boots that added extra protection. Ever since that first zombie crawling out from under the car I felt a paranoid fear of another catching me off guard that way.

Once happy there were no more inside I closed the front door, cleaned my blades on some random clothes, and went back to the lingerie section. There were so many bras, including sports bras, I almost cried tears of joy.

I went through all the sports bra sections, finding everything in my new size. There were too many to fit in my bag, which was already brimming full. Supplies were great, but dead weight led to you being dead. Common sense was enough to tell me that.

I held them all in my hands, unwilling to put any of them down, what if I could not find another store like this again? If only I had somewhere else to stash them.

I let out a squeak of surprise as they all disappeared from my hands.

"System, what just happened?" I asked out loud.

"You've activated your dimensional space, so quickly as well," System seemed overly enthusiastic.

"Dimensional space?"

"This is the power caused by the mutation of your soul, this is what I was working so hard on, are you happy?" System asked like a child eager for praise.

"H-how?" I stuttered, feeling flustered. This was not quite what I had in mind when I realised this world had superpowers.

"The meteorite contains an energy that I've not much information on; however, it is similar to that which I get from the souls."

Why did that sound like it ate souls?

"Eew gross, what do you take me for?" System snapped at me. I refused to apologize, serves it right for reading my mind.

Closing my eyes to think about this dimensional space it talked about I saw the bras just sitting there amongst nothingness. There wasn't even light, yet I could still see them all clearly. Their colours as bright as they had been before being taken away. It made no sense.

"Can I go in there?" I asked, vaguely remembering a web novel I had read in the hospital as Zhiyue, the male lead had a system and a space with farmland. When in trouble he would take himself and his friends inside of it, waiting for it to blow over. What luck if I could do the same.

"No." System ruined my happy thoughts.

"Then what can it do?"

"Right now it's just a random vacuum of space, which is linked and powered by your soul. The stronger your soul, the more you can do with your dimension."

"I can control an entire dimension?" I frowned, nobody should have that kind of power.

"Don't worry, nothing living is in there anyway, it takes a long time for an immortal to reach Godhood."

I shook my head, clearing my thoughts, I did not want to know all this. I needed to hurry and meet the others. Focus on the now.

"Just tell me what I can do with it right now," I straightened my back, looking around the store, feeling wary that anything could be going on outside and I'd not be aware.

"It's essentially just storage space right now," System explained, "you can use it to keep things in. But a bonus is right now time does not exist inside of it, so things like food will not decay or hot water will not turn cold."

I nodded, that was handy, especially in this world. I could get enough supplies to last a lifetime if I was quick enough.

"What could I do with it in the future?" I asked, now feeling curious.

"With enough power, you could grow your own solar system, with enough a whole universe."

I shivered, wishing I hadn't asked. Though the idea of being able to move me and everyone over onto a second, none zombie Earth would be great.

"You can never travel with the body Host, as the dimensions controller, only your soul can enter. No other soul can enter or leave."

Great, so I'd essentially leave a brain-dead body outside if I did enter it, that did not sound safe at all.

Keeping an eye on the time, I quickly roamed around the store, filling everything I could find into my space, unsure of its limit. The dimension was new, I imagined it had limitations still. Though by the end, as I glanced around the now almost empty shop I realised it was pretty big at least.

I was eager to find more to fill it with.

Reaching the rear of the supermarket, I listened out for the sounds of both living and dead. System's scan showed all of my fellow teammates were inside or in front of the building.

Just as I reached the corner to go around to the front, a zombie caught me off guard. Not only was he faster, running, but there was no fog in his eyes, which followed me as I dodged.

"Fuck you can see me," I cursed, swinging my sword and missing, which caused me to only curse again, "tricky bastard."

"There's something inside of him, in his brain, quickly cut off his head," System egged me on.

The zombie bastard swiped at my own head, making me duck and roll. He turned to follow me. As he came close, I swept my leg out knocking into his legs and making him fall to the ground. Once there I stamped my foot down on his chest, not caring as his hands grabbed at the thick leather boots. My sword sliced through the neck, cutting off signal from his brain to his body, and the clutching hands went limp.

"Can I put this bastard out of his misery?" I asked System, my sword dangling above his eyes that hungrily gazed back up, his mouth continued to snap open and closed as if he was imagining the taste of my flesh.

"Yes, quickly search inside his brain for the energy nuclei."

Frowning, I pierced the sword in, ripping open his head and almost vomiting at the sight. His skull seemed harder than with the other zombies. I also noticed his skin looked more lifelike, free of any injury. Only his dirty, torn and blood-stained employee uniform showed a hint of the turmoil he'd been through.

Barely a week had passed since the new year and impending apocalypse. Mere days since I was dragged into this world by Hannah. Now here I was stuck rummaging through brains that looked like soup.

Could I leave yet?