Chapter 34.2: What Does the Fox Say

A slightly dented white van pulled to a stop behind the burn-out shell of a former gas station. The gas had run out days ago, but the new arrivals were not there for fuel. They were there for a far more lucrative purpose.

“Why didn’t we just pull up to the back of the building again?” asked Ashton.

“I need to scout the place out. We don’t know how bad things are over there, and this is our only van.” said Scott. The cars that the other home invaders had used a while back had been impounded as evidence. Scott really wanted into the impound lot and evidence lockers. He could practically taste the possibilities. After they started their project to round up the people in town who might be worth a damn, they would start collecting whatever they could get off the street as well.

“We could just take another van off the street.” said Ashton.

“We’ll start consolidating stuff like that after we begin collecting people.” said Scott. Until they cleared a given street, he did not want to loot people’s houses or take their cars. The living might still need their things and he would not want to wake up to some asshole driving off with his supplies, either. During his various trips through town he sometimes saw people look through curtains as he moved past. Most of the time it was a fleeting glimpse, but on occasion he would be able to see them long enough to witness their terrified expressions. It was easy to guess their thoughts. Who is that guy? Is this it? Is this when it all ends?

He had to set an example if he was to get people to trust him and the possibilities for the future that the group offered. If he started to loot private residences and stole cars off the street at the moment it would be problematic. The world might have changed, but it was a slow-rolling apocalypse, not a balls-to-the-wall free-for-all. Not yet, anyway.

Tonight’s foray into Archer’s was to get things set up to easily loot the place, and hopefully to grab the cash inside. Scott told himself that it was no different than invading a dungeon or a tomb, and clung to that justification. It was not a private house, it was a place owned by a company that would not be doing business in the area again any time soon. Still looting, but at least no one specifically would be hurt. He doubted any Archer’s employees had worked since the world went to hell anyway.

Scott told himself those things then sighed. He was not the sort of person to immediately run out and take things that other people worked hard for, not unless the situation was truly dire. His situation was probably one of the least dire in the area. He truly needed the justification to wrap his head around simply taking things that belonged to someone else.

“It’s for the town…” he whispered softly.

“What’s that?” asked Ashton. Had he said something?

“Nothing, I’m going to get going. You lay low.”

“Right.” said the fox girl.

Scott, hopped out of the van and quietly shut the door. He would enter the building alone tonight. Shara was on guard duty. Sonja was resting. Ashton had been busy all day as well, but she was the better driver.

His body shimmered slightly and he changed into his shadow form. Down, down into the earth he went, a spot of darkness blacker than the night. Archer’s was half a mile away and beyond his current field of vision.

He passed a few other small stores, their doors and windows broken. Whether from looting or monster invasion, he could not be certain. Though, there was a high likelihood of both.

It was not long before he came up on the parking lot outside of Archer’s. One of the few fenced in retail stores in the area, the parking lot had a combination brick wall and chain-link fence around it. The store had been built atop what had once been planned as a private community, much like the one Scott’s group had acquired. That project had fallen apart when he was a child, but not before the fences and privacy walls had been installed. Archer’s was the only major retail store in the area with its own fully gated parking lot.

Scott heard the moans and grumbles of a familiar type of creature. He slipped up out of the earth and floated through the wall just enough to get a look at the zombies in the area. He immediately wished that he hadn’t. Unlike the zombies back at the cemetery, these creatures were mostly naked. It was no wonder that the cops hadn’t wanted to deal with the things. Naked sewer zombies were probably not something most normal people wanted to deal with if given the option.

He took a moment to gaze upon a few of them, despite the fact that he truly did not wish to do so. After checking a few of them, he determined that their levels ranged between four and nine. They were similar in power to the zombies that he was used to fighting. Regular people would find even one of them to be a difficult proposition without lots of ammunition, or an enchanted weapon. They might be slow, but they were capable of withstanding a lot of physical punishment.

The darkness, blacker than midnight, floated upward into the air. He had to see what they had to deal with, if they chose to loot the place.

Spread of before him was a writhing mass, a sea of naked zombies that fell atop each other. Some crawled, some moaned, most just stood in place and rocked from side-to-side. There were hundreds of them packed into that parking lot. Had he been forced to deal with the place like a normal man, it would have been difficult. However, the zombies posed little threat to him. If anything, he wished that his experience issues had ended as he almost desperately wanted to slaughter them for experience. They were wicked and each of them would grant him a lot of soul energy atop everything else. After they looted the place repeatedly, he would have to come back and work on leveling his magic and enchantment skills.

The cloud of darkness circled high above the parking lot to avoid catching the attention of the zombies. The fences seemed to be intact, that was good. He moved over to the store building and entered through the rooftop. It was absurdly dark inside, a total absence of light, yet it did not matter that much when he was in his shadow form. He sensed things based on life force and similar things. Even zombies gave off a sort of energy presence that could be detected.

He flittered through the darkness while using zombie presences to act as landmarks. There were not many of them inside compared to outside. He was not certain how they had gotten in, unless they had simply spawned there.

In the pitch black of the store interior he used his senses to locate the main office. It took longer than he would have liked, but he did not want to shift back into human form until he made it through the security doors. They were a problem for humans, but they were just normal doors to him. In shadow form such things were barely noticeable.

He floated down the hall way past the first security door then noticed that the world grew brighter up ahead. The moon’s light was shining down through the window in the break room. Curious, he entered that room and began to look around.

Something moved in the corner. Scott immediately shifted his amorphous mass into one of the darker sections. What was in here? Was it a zombie? Why could he not sense it?

He heard a voice. “What’s wrong?” asked a muffled masculine voice. It was slightly familiar to the darkness.

“Dunno. Something feels weird.” said another masculine voice. This one sounded more familiar.

That was when it hit him. The partition! They used the breakroom area as both a lounge and an employee orientation room. The movable partition would act as a wall, it would reduce his ability to sense things. There were people on the other side!

“Shut up man, those things might hear you.” said the first voice.

Scott shifted forward then slipped through the partition on the other side of the room. He saw that there were several lanterns in use on the other side. They were battery operated and produced enough light to partially illuminate the room.

“I’m hungry man.” said the second voice.

“Shut up. They’re hungry too.” said the first voice.

“Fuck those things.” muttered second voice.

“I’m hard up, but not that bad off.” said first voice.

The shadow slithered through the darkness and tried to get a good look at the two men. They seemed very familiar. Their voices alone brought a couple of people who he knew to mind.

“Dammit, this sucks.” said second voice.

“Yeah, if I was going to be stuck here, why couldn’t it be with a girl?” asked the first voice.

“What, I’m not sexy enough for your apocalypse?” asked second voice.

“Fuck you, Man.” said the first voice before he laughed tiredly.

Suddenly, Scott had a very good idea who these two guys where. He decided to reveal himself in an appropriate manner. “Why does it smell like ass and shame in here?”

The two men practically fell over each other as they tried to get to their feet. They cried out asking who was there, and reached for makeshift weapons.

Before their terrified eyes, the darkness itself began to whirl and roil. It rapidly coalesced into a humanoid form, the figure of a man in black armor with gleaming red eyes. He wore a surprisingly ordinary looking backpack on his back, and several sacks at his waist.

“What? Who the hell?” asked the first voice.

“Calm down Eric, damn.” said Scott.

“You know me?” asked Eric. He was pretty sure he didn’t know any living cloud of darkness guys, though the voice was familiar.

Mark guessed it first. “Wait… Scott?”

“Scott?!” asked Eric.

“Yeah, what are you guys doing here?”

They glanced at each other then back to Scott. “We came in early the other day. It was a truck day…”

“Damn, you got caught here after dawn?” asked Scott.

“Yeah, pretty much. Asshole over there died, too.” Said Eric.

“So did you.” said Mark defensively.

“If you died, why are you here? Didn’t you respawn at a church or graveyard?”

“No, is that supposed to happen? We popped up right here butt ass naked.” said Eric.

“Yeah, Got killed again by some damned ugly ass dogs when we went outside. Popped up here after that, right in the middle of the damned naked zombie apocalypse.”

“Not a looker in the bunch, either. Fucking zombies.” muttered Eric.

“Well, damn.” said Scott.

“Yeah, been rough.” said Eric.

Scott rubbed his chin. These guys had been stuck in a serious situation for a while, but seemed to be alright mentally. “You guys want to get out of here?”

“Hell yes, but how? Did you see all that Resident Evil happening out there?”

Scott shrugged. “I could take them easily enough. Not what I meant, though.”

“What did you mean? What the hell have you been doing, anyway?” asked Mark.

“Lots of shit. We can talk about it later. If you want out, you need to help me loot the place. Was there anyone else here besides you?”

“Loot the place? No problem, but there are some of those things in the store. I’m only level three here.” Said Mark.

“Rub it in.” muttered Eric.

Scott reached into his hip sack and pulled out a few of his enchanted weapons. “You guys able to wield a sword?”

“Hell yes.” said Eric. “Swords are my jam.”

“Your jam? What is this, an eighties song?” asked Scott with a chuckle.

“Whatever man, let’s do this.” said Eric with a laugh. He was getting more excited by the minute. “Just tell me those swords have some magic man. Tell me that.”

“Yeah, low-end stuff, but definitely magical. Kill a zombie in a few good hits.” said Scott.

“Damn right!” exclaimed Eric.

“I prefer axe and shield, but I’m good with a sword in the dream world.” said Mark while he eyed the weapons. “How did you get real swords?”

“I’ll tell you later. You help with this, you get out. That’s what we’re worrying about.” said Scott.

“Fuck it. Let’s do this.” said Eric. He didn’t really give a damn about any of those things. He just wanted out of this place.

“Fine, works for me.” Said Mark. He did not trust this sudden offer, but what choice did they have? There were a lot of oddities about the situation, but it was a chance.

“Good, so this is what we’ll do…” said Scott. The guys moved in close and began to discuss Operation Get the Shit and Go.