SAFE AND SOUND * open

S

ometimes at the right angle, it was easy to pretend like the city had just froze. the city was just a picture, a moment in time. it was the moans of the dead echoing down the street that ruined the idea, though. oliver had spent much of his time memorizing every street in the city. oliver had claimed a small warehouse as his own place. it wasn't much, but it was enough to call home. the maps that decorated the walls of the warehouse had all been marked, noting where the roads were blocked or where the infected tended to gather. oliver even knew where most of the survivors were hidden, at least the ones he was concerned about. it was a result of all the time oliver had spent carefully exploring the city. his true intentions had been to search for his family, but after a few months, oliver had given up home. now, he was just concerned with helping other to find their way to grim's. there was still some hope.

when oliver wasn't tracking survivors, he was going down the list of places left to raid, hoping to find any supplies. recently, he had been venturing further and further away from the warehouse. there were very few places left to raid, but oliver had to do it. trading supplies was the only way to ensure his own survival. the part of the city he had chosen for today was one that oliver was not as familiar with. this meant that he was more on edge than usual. for the last couple hours, oliver had set up a safe distance from the doors of the grocery store. he was up high enough for the infected to leave him alone, but close enough to see if anyone else had their eyes on the store. when he was sure that it was safe enough to go in, oliver unclipped his shotgun and pulled his backpack tightly over his shoulders.

holding the shotgun at waist level, oliver stepped into the grocery store. surprisingly enough, the store wasn't in a complete state of chaos. maybe it was the car that had crashed into the entrance that had deterred people from walking in. whatever it was, oliver was thankful for that. there was enough light from the front of the store to illuminate the inside. the place had mostly been ransacked, but just by looking around, oliver could tell there were still some things worth taking. there was no sound of movement inside the store, but with the infected, sometimes that wasn't enough to go on. luckily, they were stupid and any noise was enough to draw their attention. clipping his shotgun back to his backpack, oliver reached down to grab a loose pipe from the ground.

oliver stepped further into the store and began whistling like he was calling a dog. "anybody here? come and get me," he called out. "come on." a rustle from the back caught oliver's attention. before he could even look up, there was a figure running at him. immediately, oliver had taken the stance of a baseball player at bat. the moment the rabid beast came close enough, he swung hard and fast. the pipe made a dull thunk as it collided into the face of the infected. it went down and oliver followed his blow with more to the zombie's face until it was no longer moving. once he was certain it was dead (for certain, this time), oliver knelt down to search the body. usually the infected didn't have much, but sometimes they did. as he was kneeling, hidden behind a shelf, he heard the distinct sound of footsteps.

just from the sound alone, oliver could tell it wasn't an infected. or at least, not one of the mindless ones. carefully shifting to his feet, oliver crept around the shelf to take a peek. he gripped his shotgun in his hand when he spotted the person. oliver was hoping the unmistakable sound of the shotgun cocking was enough to get their attention. "i don't want any trouble," he muttered as he walked up behind them. "hands on your head, turn around slowly."