Jordan, Rina and Candice had left for the supermarket. They didn't talk much on the way there as they were too cautious and paying attention to their surroundings. They didn't want to be taken off guard after all.
They approached and could see that the part of town that led to the supermarket was quiet. After several minutes of walking they could finally see the supermarket ahead. It was still standing but they could see that a car had smashed right through one of the windows of the building. The front doors were broken down and the place looked to have already been looted.
"Should we go in?" Jordan asked
"What do you think?" Candice said.
"Ladies first" he said and in response he received death stares from the two women.
Jordan could only sigh helplessly as he took the first step forward.
"This isn't going to be like those dark and haunted supermarkets in horror movies right?" Jordan whispered to himself. The other two girls didn't hear him.
The first floor of the super market as expected was a mess. There were shattered stalls and half eaten corpses lying around the place. The scene was gruesome to say the least and it acted as a reminder of how much the world had changed. They looked around the first floor for a minute and decided that there was nothing worth looking at on this floor. So they decided on the next best place to look; the upper floor.
The upper floor was wider and grander than the bottom. There were even chandeliers hanging above them. The place was relatively cleaner than the bottom so much so that they couldn't even see a body lying around the place. This made a lot of sense in a way as this was a place where the most lavish and expensive goods were offered and only the privileged and rich could come here. So it would usually be less congested than the bottom. It was called the VIP section.
There were shops that were somewhat in a good condition. The group even managed to find a really good one. This one was packed with working refrigerators, vending machines and was fully stocked with shelves that had packed snacks. These were the only things present though.
The group decided to start with the shops that had packed foods. Luckily they managed to find one stall that was relatively still stocked with some packed snacks, bread, and milk cartons. They also found a bag to carry the goods and they started packing away.
"Don't you think this is weird?" Candice suddenly said while looking at the other foods in the fridge.
"What is?" Rina asked.
"Don't you think that this place is a little too organized?" Candice voiced out. It was only after they heard her words that Jordan and Rina stopped and looked around more clearly.
On a closer look the stall that they had entered in seemed to be well maintained. The shelves though not neatly arranged were clearly arranged in a particular order. While they were just starting to pay attention Candice suddenly turned towards the door.
"Someone's coming" Candice said and quickly held out her dagger.
Rina did the same while Jordan dropped the bag with their newly packed supplies and raised his fists in the air and took a professional karate stance.
They all faced the entrance to the stall and waited. The footsteps got closer and closer until…
Right there at the entrance stood a human figure with lifeless white eyes carrying what seemed like a car battery.
The group was shocked for a split second for this was not a human.
It was a ravid. The very first ravid that they had seen since leaving the school campus.
A "Graaaah?" sound came from its mouth and it tilted its head to the side in confusion.
Candice was the first to react before anyone else. She ran after the ravid and used her dagger to slash at the creature. She hit her target as the ravid's throat was slit right open leaving a really deep gash that released blood in spurts. Candice then proceeded to kick the ravid away from the door.
The ravid collapsed on the floor. Dead and unmoving. Candice didn't bother checking on the it since she had already received confirmation from the Spirit Record. Candice took a breath and was about to head back inside. However when she turned her head and looked to the side she saw something that was completely out of her expectations.
Due the momentum that she had carried in her brief fight with the ravid. She had ended up standing outside the stall that they had been in so much so that when she looked to the side she saw a crowd. And not just any crowd; a crowd of ravids.
This wasn't even the odd part.
The odd part was that the ravids were each carrying an item. From toasters, to shopping carts, to car batteries and computer screens and even mops. Each and every ravid here was carrying its own unique individual item.
Standing at the very back of this crowd stood another ravid. This one stood out more so than the rest. It was massive in size, standing at the height of over two meters tall and had arms that would make even a full grown gorilla pale in comparison.
As if that wasn't scary enough, Candice could sense that this ravid had evolved to the very peak of the first star realm.
Jordan and Rina came out a second later and joined Candice outside the stall.
"Holy shit" Jordan cussed. He was carrying the bag filled with the supplies from the stall.
The giant ravid's eyes drifted to the bag in Jordan's arm before its body trembled in agitation.
It suddenly pointed its large arm out and roared in fury.
The roar was so powerful that the group had to cover their ears to prevent damage to their eardrums.
Jordan felt dizzy for a moment but he shook his head to regain his focus. When he looked forward now though he could see that the crowd of ravids was now rushing towards them. He looked to the side and he could see that Rina and Candice were still slightly affected but the Colossal ravid's screams.
With no other choice he shook Rina by the shoulders. She was the only one among them who somewhat had an area of effect skill.
"Rina you need to scream you hear me!" he shouted.
It took a few more seconds but Rina was finally able to regain her focus. She looked forward and could now see what Jordan was seeing. The ravids were scrambling for them like a group of starved men presented before a piece of meat.
"Rina! Do something!" Jordan screamed once more. The ravids were now only about four meters away from them.
Snapping out of her shock Rina a step forward. She opened her mouth and drew in a large amount of air into her lungs. It was something that she had discovered a two days ago. She could amplify the strength of her 'Sonic Cry' by taking in large amounts of air.
And that she did. She activated her skill when she held the maximum amount of air that she could possibly hold. A massive burst of super-sonic waves shot out of her mouth with the force of an electric train. It was strong to the point that it actually killed about fifteen ravids while critically injuring the rest. It had even reached the Colossal ravid's position.
However the Colossal ravid opened its mouth and gave a low growl. Immediately after, a bright blue shield appeared in front of it and when the super sonic wave collided with the shield, the super sonic wave was completely nullified.
"What?" Rina voiced out. She was shocked that her attack had been negated just like that but she wasn't the only one who was shocked.
"We need to run" Jordan said before grabbing both Rina and Candice by their arms and running off in the opposite direction.
The Colossal ravid looked at the trio running away and on its face a feature very similar to a sneer formed at the corners of its mouth.
These weaklings actually dared to steal from it and they thought they could get away? The Colossal ravid was going to show them the true meaning of fear.