Days passed, however, nothing too interesting seemed to occur. The world had fallen silent. The internet, which was once buzzing with information and panic, had also died. Without communication, the group seemed lost. They were getting weaker as their rations grew slim.
Brie sat in the office chair of their new hideout. She spun around slowly, deep in thought. Soon enough, the power in this place would run short and they'd be engulfed in darkness, but how long did they have? Brie wanted to leave. She longed to find a group surrounded by protection. That usually happened in the movies.
"Adam?" She pressed a foot to the ground and halted her spinning briefly. He turned his head from where he was sat, carving into the floor with a pocket knife. Below his hand, he'd drawn tally marks of the days that had passed. He finished his line, cutting through and marking a 'seven'.
"Drama queen." Brie teased as he stood and pouted.
"I feel imprisoned!" He whined and approached her slowly. With some time, his injuries seemed to bother him less and he was able to slowly move around on his feet. Well, barely.
He wobbled but caught himself on the leather chair. He glanced over Brie's shoulder and stared into the monitors in front of them. The cameras barely detected any movement anymore, implying that the walkers that infested the shop had now wandered somewhere else.
"Do you think they died?" Brie tilted her head and checked over the cameras once more.
"Possibly. They might have run out of food and dragged themselves somewhere more populated." He leaned back and moved away to lower himself back to the floor. "I hate moving." He complained and flattened himself onto his back.
"Not much changed there." Brie muttered but giggled as Adam tossed a pillow off her head.
"Rude." His hair fell forward, hiding his pale face effectively. It had been painfully boring for the last week, but they kept reminding themselves it was better than being dead.
Behind Adam, Melissa was sleeping, wrapped in fluffy blankets they found from the shop. "Thank god we went to a popular shop. We would've never had the resources to survive, or be comfortable." Adam commented. He also seemed deep in thought.
"I want to leave." Brie blurted out suddenly. Adam's eyes met hers. She could tell he thought the same. "We need to find people to help us, to help Melissa." Brie sighed, defeated. Would that ever happen?
She peered into the monitor. "Maybe we could go out for fresh air. I feel like we need it after being cooped up for days." She watches for Adam's response. He shrugs.
"We're risking it all. I say we leave, or we stay. No in-between." He crosses his arms and sits up, looking at Brie, then to Melissa.
It was a risk, but it was going to happen at some point.
"Let's start packing what we need." Brie stands and looks around. They didn't have much to begin with. Empty water bottles scattered the floor, food was scraped from the tin. The blankets they had were comfy, but they weren't essential.
Brie grabbed the unopened cans that were piled to one side of the room and began to pack them into her bag without much thought. "I'll carry the food, you carry the water. Mel can have the first aid kit because it's the lightest." Brie ordered, surprising herself by taking the lead. Was this confidence?
She hoisted the bag onto her back and adjusted the straps. It sat snug, not too heavy.
Adam stood, picking up his own backpack. Brie had grabbed three backpacks and new outfits from the clothes section. It was simply for comfort. The backpacks were handy because they needed to travel as soon as they could. Mel groggily sat up, rubbing her eyes from a well-deserved nap.
"We're leaving?" She watched uneasily as Adam tightened his bag and handed Mel her own small, pink backpack.
"You have the first aid kit, Doctor Mel," Adam smiled as she stood, looking down at the blanket hill she'd made. "We're going to find a permanent home."
"Why can't we stay here?" Melissa argued, looking around at the blank room they'd been stuck in for days.
Brie held her hand out for Mel to hold. She frowned with sympathy. "It isn't safe." She led her out of the room, Adam on their trail.
The store was dark, as the sun had just begun to rise. Blood splatters dotted around the aisles, but it was more relaxed now that the threats had left them for good. Once they reached the exit, Brie had to hold back from rejoicing. It felt so good to breathe oxygen that wasn't hot and stuffy. She felt comfortable.
As they walked, it occurred to Brie that she didn't know where she was going. They didn't even have a plan.
"Hey, where are we going?" She turned to Adam, who was hobbling forward with a hand pressed against his stomach.
"I assumed you knew." He halted almost instantly, staring at her in astonishment.
For a second, Brie let herself laugh. "We're so stupid." She sighed with a smile, looking around at the houses that surrounded them. Not even the birds were chirping anymore.
After a moment of stillness, Adam's face lit up with an idea.
"Why don't we check out the police station? I bet there are weapons there." He grinned from ear to ear and glanced around to get his bearings. "This way!" He marched forward, seemingly in less pain than before.
Brie followed, keeping Melissa in front of her. Mel seemed tired of walking already. She'd been quiet the whole time, not contributing to anything unless she was forced to.
"Mel, is everything okay?" She jumped, looking at Brie with shock. Brie raised her eyebrows, waiting for an answer.
She nodded quickly. "Yes! I'm staying on guard so we are prepared if anything jumps on us!" She punched a fist out and scanned the area.
Brie nodded, happy she still had her spirit. "I'm glad we have you to protect us." She responded, making Mel's face heat up with embarrassment.
"Hey, shush. We're almost there." Adam scolded them and pointed towards a sturdy-looking building. He held an arm out to stop them, freezing himself.
"I think someone's there."