Chapter 17 Blood in the Aisles
The moment Kiara stepped out of the car, she felt it–a sharp prickle at the back of her neck, as if someone’s gaze had locked onto her.
Her brow furrowed. She turned, eyes narrowing, scanning for the unseen watcher.
Years of surviving in a ruined world had honed her instinct for danger–an instinct that had saved her life more than once.
But this time, there was nothing. No movement. No one watching.
Joy noticed her pause and gave her a gentle push. “What are you looking at?”
Kiara pulled her gaze back. “Nothing”
She started toward the supermarket entrance.
Inside, the place was packed–so crowded it felt like a festival rush.
It took Kiara some effort to push her cart all the way to the pet section. She grabbed a dozen bags of cat litter and tossed them.
- in.
Joy trailed behind, clutching a few boxes of chocolate. Suddenly, she yanked Kiara’s arm and whispered, panicked, “Kiara.” “What is it?” Kiara stopped and turned.
Joy flicked a glance toward a cluster of men nearby, then leaned close and murmured, “Some of those guys have weapons on their belts. I don’t like the look of this. I’m scared.”
Kiara scowled. Following Joy’s hint, she spotted several men standing a short distance away–cach with a blade at his hip, eyes cold as they swept the crowd.
With the heat climbing higher each day, malice seemed to rise just as fast,
Kiara had no interest in trouble. Not in this lifetime. She just wanted to survive quietly until the very end.
Without hesitation, she set down her cart and took Joy’s arm. “We’re leaving. Now
The crowd was swelling, pressing in on all sides. Joy’s face went pale–memories of last night flashing in her mind. She nodded quickly, obediently following Kiara as they tried to push their way out of the crowd.
But then—crash! crash!-a series of loud bangs exploded from the grocery section.
Out of the corner of her eye, Kiara spotted several men swinging steel pipes, smashing them into the glass display cases. Ten pounds of rice for 800 bucks?! One of them shouted, voice raw with fury, “I’ve got no money–what, you want me to starve to death?” He swung the pipe again, rattling the shelves
Then he grabbed bags of rice and bottles of cooking oil, tossing them into his cart before strolling toward the exit as if nothing could stop him.
A security guard stepped forward, tugging baton from his belt. “Sir, put that down!”
The man raised the pipe and brought it down on the guard’s head with bone–shattering force.
Bang! The guard collapsed, his head grotesquely misshapen.
The sickening bang was followed by screams.
The attacker’s eyes glittered with malice, his hand gripped tightly around the pipe. “Who’s going to stop me now?”
A bystander, outraged at seeing the security guard killed, snatched a glass vinegar bottle from the shelf and hurled it hard at
the man’s head
It struck the man square in the back before shattering on the floor.
410 AM P
Chapter 17 Blood in the Aisles
That sharp crack of breaking glass was like a match to a powder keg
The man kicked over his cart, turned, and snarled, “Which one of you hit me?”
He lifted his steel pipe again, swinging it mercilessly into the heads of the people nearest to him.
Each strike dropped another body to the floor.
Finished
The man who had thrown the bottle just moments ago now found his courage gone. The savagery of the attacker’s blows sent him stumbling backward until he melted into the crowd.
Blood streaked down from the attacker’s brow, dripping from his face.
The sight only seemed to fuel his frenzy. Grinning like a madman, he plowed into the crowd, the steel pipe rising and falling in brutal ares.
From where they stood. Joy couldn’t see the carnage–only hear it. Screams tore through the air, high and raw, like they’d been ripped from the throats of the damned.
The terror in those voices sent a shiver down her spine. She grabbed Kiara’s sleeve in a reflex. “Kiara, we have to go. Now.”
But the crowd was already surging toward the exit, desperate to escape before they became the next victim. T
Joy stumbled in the crush, nearly falling, but Kiara’s hand shot out, gripping her arm and steering her toward the far corner. Too many people. Someone’s going to get trampled. We wait!
Joy had no will left to argue. She nodded quickly, following Kiara into the pet supplies section.
Rumors of the apocalypse had been spreading like wildfire. Every day, the prices for basic necessities climbed higher, and fear gnawed at everyone’s mind
In recent days, more people ventured out at night to scavenge or buy what they could.
Tonight was the worst yet.
The man swung his pipe like a madman, driving the crowd back step by step toward the doors.
The entrance was jammed solid.
People fell in the crush, and others, crazed with panic, trampled them in their frantic push to get out.
Some looted carts in the chaos; others drew knives, robbing anyone close enough to hand over their valuables,
The air was thick with the copper tang of blood, the sour bite of vomit, and the rank stench of human waste–a suffocating haze of fear, violence, and desperation.
