There were no windows in the store so Riku could only rely on his phone to check the what the time was.
"It's already noon huh..I guess I'll look around until Eliza wakes up." He thought as he looked at her back. He couldn't exactly see if she was sleeping, but looking back at how she forced herself to run and how she couldn't stand anymore when they were safe he didn't find it weird that she's still sleeping.
He first looked at the stairs that leads to the storage room with his bat in hand. There were zombies that tried to get to him, but they were crushed under boxes, tools and the other objects that they pushed down there. The bodies and objects made some kind of barricade that made it almost impossible to climb up unless it was a kid with incredible flexibility. Riku, who didn't want to miss the free kills smashed the heads of the zombies.
"I still didn't level up, I was hoping I'd level up after killing six." He already killed 5 zombies plus the one he has killed before when they were escaping. The System however, doesn't make life easier.
After killing the zombies he searched for anything that he could use as a weapon. The bat was useful, but it had a weakness, it wasn't made for fighting huge numbers while he could deal with 2 zombies using the bat, but if there was more than two while he could deal with them there was a risk involved and he didn't want that.
There were sledgehammers, axes, shovels and other tools, but he was looking for something he could wield with one hand. He looked for more possible weapons, but all he saw was two hatchets. He didn't know much about weapons, but he knew hatchets were meant to be used as tools. He could only wish that there was a swordsmiths or something nearby but alas there wasn't.
He sharpened the hatchets and put the hatchets on a tool belt he found before going back to Eliza. Seeing the she was already awake, eating he decided to give her the bat. She took the baseball bat without saying a word.
Riku however, knew what she felt and in the first place he wasn't a petty person so he didn't react much to her actions. Riku was eating when Eliza asked.
"Are we moving or are we just gonna stay here for a while?"
He noticed the difference in her tone now, unlike before when one could feel comfort and friendliness listening to her voice there was only coldness. Missing that old voice, he first looked at the map on his phone. Downtown was just a few blocks away, if they went all out they could reach it before it turns dark.
"I think we should just rest for today, we still have food and water that could last for a few days and we still don't know if they're outside the store. We might as well barricade a part of the store."
Eliza simply nodded, hearing that before she continued to eat.
Riku, who explored the store saw that behind the storefront security shutters were two doors and then windows. They needed only one exit so they blocked the other door and windows with whatever they could throughout the day and while they were doing this, Eliza didn't say a word to Riku and while there was no reason for her to talk to Riku. It was obvious that she was distancing herself away from Riku.
Just as they finished blocking the way, it seems like their actions caused the zombies to hear them.
Groaning sounds can be heard outside and the security shutters were shaking slightly due to the zombies that were trying to get in. Of course Riku and Eliza tried their best not to make any noise while they were using whatever they can to block the way but it is inevitable to make a noise, especially when they moved the shelves when there were no other objects that be used.
They watched the doors as they backed away slowly. When they were in the house the zombies that hears some noise would eventually go away when they can't hear any other noise or when they can't find any humans.
They waited for them to go away, but after 30 minutes it was still there and the zombies seem to be increasing instead as the shaking of the security shutters became stronger. They had no choice but to endure the noise.
They tried to find other ways to go outside, they even checked the storage room to see if it was possible to go that way, but removing the bodies and objects blocking the way would just take a long time. They used their phones to alleviate the boredom and the stress caused by the zombies, however the phones only showed depressing news such as countries that were overrun by zombies and how China and India were forced to bomb some areas due to their large population. The only saving grace is how there was still no need to use the nuclear weapons.
Not wanting to see more depressing news, Riku asked Eliza.
"So... What were you guys doing before this whole thing started?"
Eliza realizes why he was talking to her and answered.
"We were on a trip with a group of friends from college, after playing a game I had to buy some snacks and a case of beer as a punishment of losing. The b*st*rd volunteered to help me and we used the rented car after my friends decided we needed more than a case of beer. We were on our way back when we saw it. An old man attacked and bit a guy smoking, at first we joked about how he was just like a zombie until there was blood and there were more people similarly getting attacked."
"That was when we realized that we were in danger and tried to get back to our friends, but the zombies were everywhere, eventually we had to abandon our car and just like you, we decided to hide in the forest. How about you, can you tell me your story? That is if you can."
Riku with nothing to hide since she more or less knew told her his story until they met. Their talk didn't exactly rebuilt the trust they initially had, but they at least knew more about each other. Just as they were getting deeper into their conversation the lights turned off.
"I'll go check the circuit" Riku said as he used his flashlight to navigate through the dark. He tried switching it, but the lights weren't coming back. Just as he was about to tell her, Eliza interrupted him.
"The circuit didn't wo-"
"There's no signal"
Checking his phone he realized she was telling the truth, that was when they realized that the groaning noise were slowly disappearing before there was no groaning at all.
"Are the zombies leaving?"
Just as Eliza finished her question.
*BANG*
Riku reflexively covered Eliza's mouth who was about to scream.
"Kya-"