Chapter 4

I had left Katie and Keva on the couch inside my house, next to the front door. I had gotten inside the house through the garage, just by slipping in. Collin insisted on staying with the girls, probably to talk to Keva when she woke up. I wasn't going to argue with him, not if he was going to probably burn it down. Shay wanted to stay to, but we would need a lot of man-power for the task I had thought about. Gabe wasn't going anywhere without me, so that wasn't a problem. I asked Chauncey to keep an eye on Collin, and told him where some food was, for them, if we didn't get back by night. I "borrowed" someone's car that was in the middle of the street, and gave it to Shay, and told him to meet me at Dissmore's. I drove the bus down the hill which I live behind, and drove into the parking lot. The arsonists hadn't come here to fire-bomb this place yet, unlike Walmart and Safe-way, which were both a lot closer to the middle school.

"Okay, so now what?" Matthew asked.

"Wait for Shay to get here." And so we waited until Shay drove the car, a Jeep Cherokee, I think, into the edge of a small minivan. He ran towards us after the car had stopped moving.

"The fruits and vegetables will be the first ones to rot, and if we lose power, we'll also lose the meat. Matthew, Emily, go down to the produce and bring as much of that fresh stuff as possible. We'll be eating salad and fruit for quite a while, so have variety."

"So what should I do?" Gabe asked.

"I'll need you to help me with something", I replied.

"What about me?" Shay asked. I tore open my jacket and handed him the AK47 I had stashed in there. His eyes widened.

"Where'd you get that?" Matthew said. Somewhat surprised, I'd have to say. 

"It's range is up to 380 yards, got a thirty round, detachable box magazine," I said. "If anyone comes close, avoid shooting your own foot, but down engage by yourself. Shoot a few rounds, then get inside the bus. I'll be there."

"You still haven't answered my question. How do you have military issue weapons?" Matthew pressed.

"Pawn shop, veterans' home, stuff like that. If Collin finds my stash, he'll see some sniper rifles, bolt action rifles, several handguns, some machine guns, and even a few anti-tank guns. Once I get my hands on some glass bottles, cloth and gasoline, I'll have some Molotov Coctails."

"Do I get a gun?" Matthew again.

"Sure, you do, return it when we're out of here, got it?" I threw him a Colt Anaconda pistol. "Emily, do you think you need one?" She shook her head.

"I don't think so. Matthew can cover me. What are you going to be doing?"

"I'll be securing meat in huge coolers to put into the bus. Let's go, we don't have much time."

I started walking as Matthew and Emily start sprinting off towards the grocery store. I walked 'cause I physically run. I'm not crippled, just can't. Not won't, not shouldn't, can't. Gabe walked besides me.

"You're not just planning to get meat, are you?" He asked. Dang, he can read me better than Matthew can.

"No, you're right. We'll also need that bread and cereal, and canned stuff, and all that good stuff."

"No, that's not what I mean. I mean that you're thinking bigger than just food. Are you?" I thought hard about whether I should tell him or not.

"You won't tell Collin or anyone else, will you?" I asked cautiously.

"Man, none of these guys are my friends. Nick is one, but I can't find him. I was hoping we could stay longer to find him, but we'll have to wait for him. I'll keep everything," he said.

"Well, I know Wal-mart has hunting supplies, including bows and arrows. I want to make sure that no one else has those fire arms. I'm just hoping no one else has touched Wal-mart. And we'll go back to get Nick. But we need food first. I'll go get him from the school once we get back."

"I one to  come too," he said.

"Sure," I said. "But I think I'll need to eat first. Let's get our food."

Gabe grabbed a shopping cart and we walked to the seafood and meat area. As we walked I saw some cheese and threw some into the baby seat. He started to grab all the packaged meats, but I stopped him. We walked behind the protein counter, and I walked straight through the metal doors, as if they weren't there. I unlocked the door from behind, and opened the door. He walked in, and he didn't even shiver. He's white, so I knew he had some experience with cold. We walked down the isles of meat, scraping clean the shelves. Gabe found a cart, so we added some more of the meat in there. I walked out to find some beer coolers, and was rewarded by several 80 quart beverage coolers.

"Stuff the meat in here, along with that cheese," I ordered. "I'll be back."

"Oh, so where you going now, hm?" He's always talked to me like that.

"Gonna grab some breads, cereal, stuffs like that. If we split up, we'll be able to grab more food. Here, take this," I said. Out of my back pocket, I threw him a pistol.

"Man, how many more do you have on your self?" He asked. "And why didn't you tell me that you brought weapons to school?"

"Just in case today might happen, alright?" I snapped. "I'm annoyed and tired. Just shut up for me, please, and take it." He reluctantly stuffed the pistol in his pocket and started pushing the two carts towards the front. I walked out front with him to grab a basket and cart, and walked to the bakery. I went to the back of the bakery and grabbed all the freshest bread there was, and a great variety, so we wouldn't get tired of one kind. Walked over to the cereal place and grabbed about twenty different brands of cereal. I started to push the cart to the front when I heard gun shots, and immediately sort of hid the basket and cart and drew two mini Uzi's from my jacket. I have a very big jacket.

Smashed glass and more gun fire could be heard. I hoped Shay had enough sense to not shoot back. I walked out, all cool and all, and saw maybe half a dozen kids hiding behind cars holding rocks, baseball bats, and I even saw a shot gun with one of them. I frantically looked around and saw Gabe hiding behind the bus, randomly shooting the cars, increasing the fear in the attackers. Saw broken windows, and I ran inside the bus without going through the front door. I say Shay in the driver's seat, clutching his arm, blood running down his fingers. The Ak47 was on the ground besides him.

"What happened?" I yelled over the chaos.

"That kid, with the big gun, took a shot at the bus. One of the things hit my arm and made this big hole in my arm," he said through gritted teeth.

"Excuse me while I take this from you," I said. I was furious. I picked up the AK and dropped an Uzi next to Shay. "You think you can still shoot this if one of them gets close?" I asked. He nodded, and I jumped through the glass of the bus and walked towards the cars those thugs were hiding behind. they saw me with my gun and I guess they panicked, because that kid with the shot gun took a shot at me. The lead balls ricocheted off me, and shock filled the thugs' eyes. He dropped the shot gun as I lifted my assault rifle. One of them threw a rock at me, and it sailed straight past me. 

"It's the Ghost," a thug whispered.