# 34

The bus jumped to life and i smashed the pedal down accelerating like I was drag racing. Ripping it into second and sidestepping the clutch I had the bus rearing down on a huge group of the "things". There was a collective yell from the bus and i cranked the shifter into third gear while doing another tango on the clutch. The "things" were wandering up route 6 until they got a load of us heading their way. The group of "things" all started heading into our direction. I cannot stress enough how unsettling it is no matter how much I knew they were zombies it was to have them head into the path of a bus the size of the one I was at the helm of. At the last moment I was almost tempted to swerve the bus around them and avoid hitting, but I caught myself and hammered on.

The "things" were sent in an uncontrollable pattern, flying over the bus, to the sides of it, and underneath it. The windshield took a hit and spider web cracked in the corner. The people in the back were yelling as the zombie like creatures were flung against the sides of the bus, banging against the glass and side panels. The crowd of "things" continued trying to get to the bus, as if they could just bite it like a Twinkie passing by and get the creamy human filling inside. It was odd to say the least running down a crowd of people like an elderly person at a sidewalk carnival. Fish charged up to the front of the bus, he appeared to not want to miss a moment of the action and took a front row seat.

We all had reasons for that last second of my deciding to not go around the crowd of "things", some of us had seen things acted out by the zombies. Some of us even had the acts taken out on our own family and friends. To say that breaking through the other side of that crowd of "things" was like a huge sigh of relief would be an understatement. It was as if we had finally gotten some kind of control of the situation and said to them " look at us we aren't victims anymore, now you are". It seemed that way at the time anyway, but looking back we were still a long way away from being in the clear. It was a moment in time where we didn't feel so damn helpless , so directionless. We were going to finally start fighting the "things" and we were going to start now.

We headed up route 6 for a few more miles and finally reached the area of the state highway where it opened up into a new town and a humongous development of stores , restaurants, and such. I asked everyone to keep an eye out for something that would have a resemblance of food in it and we all kept a keen eye. Finally off in the passenger side distance we spotted the Target, and I turned off the main road heading in that direction. Linda said for everyone to hear " I worked at the Target in my neighborhood when I was in High School" , almost proudly. I guess in a moment like this, with the world being as it was that would be something to be proud of, and wish to still have. Fish sarcastically said "so were you the slow greeter?". We all had a laugh for a second and it was well needed.

Turning into the main lot of the Target it was a cluster screw of cars bodies and carriages. Really made me wonder what people were thinking to try and run from the "things" but not give up the carriage. Did they really think they could just run to their cars and load them up and leave? Did they honestly think the zombie type things would maybe help em load up? The last thought made me laugh a bit , thinking of a "thing" helping an elderly woman with her bags and then return the cart to the holder for her. man I needed food and sleep and my head was getting awful loopy.

I parked in front of the main doors and announced to everyone "no matter what is inside of there stay in groups with someone who is armed and do not reenter the bus thinking it is safe , I am leaving the doors open for a quick retreat if we need it and I don't want anyone jumping into a seat next to a thing".
Everyone shook their heads in agreement and then we all got off the bus and entered the building bu the carriage doorway. The main doors were electric and not working but the carriage loading doors were wide open and if you squeezed in right you got in no sweat.

The inside of the store was a veritable disaster, with clothes everywhere and things in all the aisles. I made it over to Fish and we devised a plan to have one group gather jackets and hate and gloves, another group to gather food that would keep and water if any, and the last group to go to sporting goods and see if there were any weapons left. It seemed like a fair plan but with only two of us armed and three groups heading out it wasn't a safe plan. I grabbed Rusty who seemed like the type to at least have a clue how to use a gun. We talked it out and I handed him the gun I had that was loaded and ready to rock. I had no clue what make of gun it was or size , all I knew was it went bang and things dropped if aimed correctly. If you think this story of what I am going through is going to harness stats about weaponry your talking to the wrong cat. All I know about weapons is they kill things that want to kill me , and that makes me a huge weapons fan at the moment, Rusty too.

I led a small group with Lee and Brent and headed to the clothing section. Rusty had a group going to the sporting goods and Fish had a group going to the food. At the last minute Brent decided to head with Fish because we needed food badly and all the help in the world is a good thing. We wanted to be in and out as fast as we could, we had no way of knowing if our arrival or talking or the bus would be a flag for the "things" to come out and play and to be quite frank, I would rather this have been uneventful. Me and Lee started looking for the clothing she had women's and I had men's. I grabbed anything warm and over sized and also anything that could be used later on for insulation. We both had carriages and mine was stacked. I looked over and suddenly there was no Lee and her carriage was basically empty. Crap how long since I last saw her, I thought as I ducked down and started skulking into the section she was last seen in. "Lee, psst Lee where are you"? I whispered. Then I was grabbed from behind and Lee planted a huge kiss on me. I backed away and she held up a box of condoms, "look what I went and found" she slyly whispered. This day was getting odder by the damn second.