text: [Themes: horror, horror, humor, post-apocalyptic, zombie]
  
  You are Lucy Janis, aka, 'The Hippie' or a former cashier at the town's local corner store.
  
  There's not much about you, expect you're in your early twenties, you work as a cashier at a corner store in the small town of Quietus, you've graduated college, and you live in an apartment complex.
  
  > Onward, your trusty steed!
  Ahh yes, day-shift.
  
  In your ol' black-ish blue beater car, you roll into the parking lot of your $5 an hour day-shift job.
  
  "Alright, another day wasted." You say to yourself, rolling your eyes as you unbuckle your seat belt. You look at the rear-view, glancing at your shitty eye makeup job. Sure, you're not no makeup artist, but you could've done better.
  
  You quietly shame yourself, grabbing the door handle of the box car.
  
  You step out onto the asphalt parking lot, looking around at the other cars in the parking lot. Left, two spaces to you, there's a white pick-up, you recognize it as Tom Filler's truck, aka, 'the guy who always shows up to work, but never is actually out working, more in the back smoking a cigar, but gets paid' type of guy. To your admit, you're honestly kind of jealous of Tom. Hardly ever works, still gets paid, sounds good to you!
  
  On the right side of you is Grammy Crystal's gold Toyota Avalon.Grammy Crystal isn't her actual name, you just enjoy calling her that because she's most likely over 50. Crystal's always bitching about her grandkids and how they have high quality careers, while she's stuck at a corner store. She's nice to you, so you don't mind her too much. Just kinda nod your head and smile.
  
  Enough daydreaming, you've got your $40 dollars to make! (Your shift is from 8 am until 4)
  
  > Enter
  You entered the corner store, immediately greeted by the smell of a freshly cleaned gas station and the familiar chime of the door opening. An open sign is displayed on the door, and Stone Temple Pilot's Plush is blasting throughout the store. You, Tom, and Crystal have turns on music choice, this pick is probably Tom's, since Crystal usually picks some weird 50's songs.
  
  You make your way to the counter and go behind it, shoving open a white door. You spot Tom sitting down on the floor in front of a big black bulky TV that's been set on milk crates.
  
  "Mornin' Lucy." He nodded at you as you picked up a basket filled with clip-on name tags.
  
  You found yours, clipping it onto your light red shirt. You adjusted your shirt and your 'hippy jeans', nodding back at him.
  
  Tom started up again, "Monday, ha, I hate mondays." He said in a old man trucker voice, scoffing at the word Monday.
  
  You shrugged, fighting off the urge to make a smart ass comment 'why do you hate them? You don't work anyway.'
  
  You decided to not start a fight at 8 AM, and just nodded again.
  
  Overhearing the chime of the front door, you pushed open the back door, letting yourself out behind the counter.
  
  Grammy was stocking shelves in the far back, too busy to hear the customers come in.
  
  The corner store was in a strange format.
  
  The front door was on the far left, as you walked in, you'd see shelves in front of you. Right of the shelves is the counter and the back room is behind it. On the left of the shelves you'd see refrigerators/freezers and a bathroom at the end. Behind the shelves was a few pop and coffee machines.
  
  The customers were two thin nerdy looking kids. They went to the refrigerators, grabbed two cokes, then made their way up to the counter. You rang them up and they left. Nothing special.
  
  > go back into the back room and talk to Tom
  You decide to go to the back room and leave Crystal with the stocking job.
  
  You open the white door and find Tom. You invite yourself to take a seat.
  
  You start a conversation about
  
  > The weather
  Out of all the topics, you start talking about the most boring one, the weather.
  
  "It's been pretty stormy lately, when do you think it might start clearing up again?" You asked, glancing over at him.
  
  Tom is staring intently at the TV screen, pretty much ignoring what you're saying.
  
  He's watching the news, something about a virus going around, turning people into brain dead cannibals. The news switched to clips of people eating each other's limbs, then being carelessly shot by others sometime later.
  
  You decided to
  
  > leave him
  You finally got up, leaving Tom to his beloved TV.
  
  You went back out, behind the counter, waiting for some more customers.
  
  > Tom comes into the main area
  Tom comes in the main area, his deep tanned is faded in a ghostly pale paste.
  
  He looks as if he's about to faint.
  
  Crystal made her way up to the counter, somewhat leaning on it.
  
  Tom was standing behind you, his mouth hanging open.
  
  You reached up, placing your hands on his shoulders. Surely, he was taller than you, but you made it work. "Tom, you alright?" You said in a bit of concern and panic.
  
  All he said was, "They're here." Then fainted.
  
  He fell into your arms, you stumbling back on impact.
  
  Crystal hobbled over to you, instructing you to put him in the back. You did as she said.
  
  > Sometime Later
  Tom still isn't awake, more people came in, etc, etc.
  
  Something doesn't feel right though.
  
  What's 'they're here' mean? You think to yourself, leaning on the counter.
  
  > Suddenly
  All of a sudden, sirens are blaring outside, people are running and screaming, and chaos is erupting.
  
  Crystal hears, and comes out from mending Tom.
  
  "The hell?" She grumbles, going outside of the store.
  
  Watching her from beyond the counter, you see her being approached by some sickly-looking green human-creature thing.
  
  The creature is limping, it's arms are thrown up into the air, and it's almost groaning.
  
  You shout for Crystal, but she can't hear behind the doors.
  
  The creature grabs her and begins biting her. Her screams and painful moans are heard everywhere, they were loud.
  
  "O-Oh my G-God.." You watch the creature feast on your co-workers limbs from the counter. Not sure if it's reality or not, you step back, hunch over, and throw up the contents in your stomach.
  
  You sluggishly wipe your mouth, and rush over to the front doors, quickly closing and locking them. You don't bother to flip the open sign to close. You try and keep your head up because beyond those doors, right in front is used-to-be Crystal, and beyond the parking lot is a world filled with those creatures.
  
  > At 6 PM
  It's now 6 PM, Tom's awaken, you've explained 'Old Lady Helga's death, and the banging on the doors increased.
  
  Tom is handling this whole situation pretty well, expect he's not gonna be running around, killing people any time soon.
  
  Lucky for you guys, the TV still works (replaying a news broadcast), the store has power, and the radio is now switched to dead silence. Tom and you are camped out in the back, watching the broadcast.
  
  "Minute by minute, hour by hour, people are dying." The spokeswomen says, gesturing to the ruins behind her. (Burning houses, broken windows, stranded cars, crashed into poles, people screaming, and those sickly green-ish pale creature chasing them.
  
  Pretty soon, the cameraman drops the camera and runs, the spokeswoman is left, screaming in pain, being eaten.
  
  Tom flinches at the screams, closing his eyes.
  
  "W-We've gotta do something, Luc." Tom mumbles, glancing over at you.
  
  Huh? What's this crazy bastard talking about? He's in no sh- Alright, you're in no shape to be running around, killing those pale freaks. You think to yourself, sighing.
  
  "I dunno.." You start. "Think you can cope?" You returned the glance, giving off a somewhat nervous/concern vibe and expression.
  
  Tom nodded, "Oh yeah, I'll be fine, sweetheart." He smiles, speaking in his normal scruffy tucker accent.
  
  > try to convince Tom otherwise
  "Well, Tom, are you sure you wanna go out there and become a killer? Surely you have family, what will they think?"
  
  He shrugged, "Honestly, they're probably dead."
  
  Something else in the broadcast caught both of your attention
  
  SYMPTOMS & TURNING Was across the screen.
  
  A man in front of the camera casually read the symptoms.
  
  "The virus's symptoms include; High fever, vomiting, groaning, light headedness, anger, biting at your own limbs, and going in and out of reality." The man glanced at the camera, then started with the effects/starting points of people turning, without cards.
  
  "When someone gets bit, they always turn into 'one of them'. Doesn't matter where the individual got bit, just know that they turn. The screams erupting from their vocal cords and the blood splattering from the bite is the last time you'll see them normally function. After a few minutes, a bite mark appears. The spit from the creature goes into the individual's bloodstream, infecting everything. The infection starts from the inside, working it's way out. 20 minutes from the bite, the symptoms kick in, worsening the person's body/mind. If a loved one is bit, don't seek for a medic's attention. THERE IS NO CURE. The only way to kill one of these creatures is directly through the brain or the heart. These creatures do not feel pain like humans, so it's pointless to slice and dice their decaying body. If there's anyone listening right now, stay indoors or find sheleter."
  
  The TV goes blank, leaving you both in silence. Tom starts hitting the sides of the TV, cursing. "Damn thing, piece of shit!" He gripes, basically throwing a tantrum. As he's doing all that, the chime of the door opening alerts you both to stay frozen in place. Right now, that chime sounds like death to you.
  
  "Hello? Is anyone in here? I need some help!" Someone yells, sounding like a teenager.
  
  > stay in the back with Tom
  You decide to not move from the back.
  
  The white door opens eventually, displaying a girl, around 15 or so. She had brown hair, put into a normally straight side bang. Tattered clothes, and a frown burned into her mouth.
  
  She wasn't alone though, someone was on her back, looking around 7 or 8. Her eyes were closed, her bleach blonde hair pushed off into a pony tail. She had pale sick skin, but no trace of green like the creatures. Her face was a wreck, glass in her arms and legs, looks like she's been through hell already.
  
  Tom eyed the two, quickly standing up. "You." He pointed to the first girl, then the floor. "Put the girl down. Everything I say to you from now on is an order, not a request."
  
  The 15 year old nodded, gently placing her friend down.
  
  "Spread your arms out wide." Tom commanded, the girl doing as told. Tom scanned her body for bites, luckily finding none.
  
  "How'd you get in here without any bites, missy?" Tom stepped back, looking her up and down.
  
  The girl shrugged, speaking with a heavy Australian accent. "Those things are attracted to noise, I threw a bottle and they followed. Easy."
  
  Tom grinned, walking over to the girl's friend, checking her for bites and he talked. "And your friend here? Happened to her?"
  
  The girl kicked at the ground. "She's not bit. She was in a car accident."
  
  She sighed, looking down at Tom and the child. "I found her. I don't know her. You see, I was wandering around, looking for weapons and food. She was in a flipped upside down car, banging on the window. Her family was dead next to her and the buckle was stuck. The great thing was, no creatures were there, so I simply told her to roll down the window and I cut the seatbelt with my pocket knife." The girl grabbed her pocket knife, showing it at him.
  
  You stood there, keeping a watchful eye on everyone.
  
  > Time passes (20 mins)
  20 minutes have now passed, everyone is now just doing nothing, waiting for the girl to wake up. You're leaned against the counter, Tom is wandering around the store, looking out of the windows, and the 15 year old (Charlotte Marquez) and the girl is sitting in front of you, the girl, then Charlotte.
  
  "So.. Are we the last people alive?" Charlotte asks, looking towards you.
  
  You shrugged, deciding to
  
  > Nod
  You simply nodded at her, saying nothing else.
  
  Charlotte raised an eyebrow. "You don't talk much."
  
  All of a sudden, Tom broke out into song.
  
  He began dancing around awkwardly in front of the window.
  
  You and Charlotte both laugh at him.
  
  Tom goes over to you, offering a hand down to you.
  
  You
  
  > accept Tom
  You accept Tom's offer, latching your hand onto his.
  
  You both began dancing, laughing, and smiling. Not romantic, not at all. Just, y'know, 'I'm gonna dance with you because you might die in the next hour dance'. That's it.
  
  He spins you around, then continues causally dancing.
  
  Charlotte watches, clapping her hands and laughing.
  
  > 1hr later
  It's been an hour. You're still sitting down by the counter. The violent banging on the front door is somewhat scaring you. You're sure the glass will break any second.
  
  The girl has woken up, Charlotte and her are in the back with Tom. Tom is helping with plucking out the glass. Occasional screeching and screams from the girl assure that.
  
  A couple minutes later, they all come out again.
  
  Charlotte sighed, setting the girl down. Tom wanders around the store, teasing the creatures beyond the door.
  
  "Got a name, Blondie?" You smiled at the 7/8 year old. She nodded. "Lara. Lara Campos."
  
  Tom over hears, blurting out. "James. James Bond."
  
  You, Charlotte, and Lara all roll your eyes at his comment.
  
  Tom frowns at the windows and the creatures. "We should leave. We can't stay here forever."
  
  You
  
  > Agree with Tom
  You nodded in agreement, standing up and stretching.
  
  Charlotte and Lara do the same.
  
  Charlotte asks, "Where should we go, Luc?"
  
  While you and Charlotte are discussing safe places to go to, Tom looks for 'supplie holders'.
  
  He rushes behind the counter, into the back room. He comes out with a single backpack and a bright blue duffle bag. Tom throws the duffle bag at you, instructing you to fill it up with necessities.
  
  He begins going around the corner store, shoving supplies into this backpack, you doing the same.
  
  After you guys finish filling up the 'supplie holders' you bring up the discussion you and Charlotte had.
  
  "Where are we gonna go? Charlotte suggested a forest, a house, or an empty building."
  
  Tom put the backpack on, shrugging. "Up to you. But, that's not important right now. What's important is getting out of here."
  
  You nodded and decided to
  
  > be smart
  You decided to be smart and go to the back door of the corner store. The back door of the corner store is fenced in, so the creatures are all on the outside.
  
  As you were unlocking the door, Charlotte ran by a freezer, grabbed a glass bottled refreshment, dumped all of the drink out, and then ran over to you, Tom, and Lara.
  
  You finished unlocking, then let Charlotte out first. She chucked the bottle far away from the corner store, attracting some creatures from the front, and creatures from the back to follow the bottle.
  
  > A random house
  You decide to get pick the nearest house. Sounds bad, but then sounds good at the same time.
  
  You pick a normal looking enough house. Nothing special.
  
  You realize it's owned, but no one
  
  lives there right at this moment of course. It's 7:20 PM after all.
  
  it's dark (despite the picture), and you're tired.
  
  You call dibs on the couch and fall asleep. The others soon joining you.