"You two are the only living folks I have seen in days," Jake replied as he followed Kristie into the Home Depot.  "Alright I'll sweep the downstairs of the offices and then do a quick sweep around the store."  Even though it was still daylight outside and some light came in through the skylights, it was still pretty dark inside.  He dropped his pack by the front door and started is patrol.  His first stop was one of the impulse isles right before the cashier.  He grabbed a roll of duct tape and a powerful LED flashlight.  The crinkle of tearing packaging echoed through the otherwise silent store as he extracted the light and roughly attached it to the forward grip of his M4.<br/><br/>Jake entered the ground level of the managers offices and swept his light back and forth.  Besides a few overturned chairs and some scattered and now molding food on the table, everything looked normal.  He exited the office and started a slow walk down the the isles of the store.  Fortunately they were fairly wide but somewhat cluttered with debris.  He figured that there must have been a run on supplies in the first few hours of the disaster but judging from the lack of heavy damage the owner must have locked up early.<br/><br/>The sound of Jake's boots on the bare cement floor echoed throughout the store.  He thought about moving quietly, but he figured a little sound might actually help draw any zombies to his position.  He paid particular attention to the perimeter of the store, to ensure that all the fire and loading doors were secure.  So far he didn't see anything out of place and smiled at the thought of maybe having an actual 'safe' place to rest for a while.<br/><br/>Out of the corner of his eye, Jake caught a flutter of movement.  He spun is light down a wide isle packed with stacked goods in the middle.  On one side of the pile a slumped form with something leaking out of the slide.  He focuses his light and slowly approached the form.<br/><br/>Suddenly the shape shifted as half a dozen birds lifted off the floor and fluttered about the store.  Jake nearly put a few rounds into the flock but fortunately discretion won out over shock.  His light fell to the slumped form on the floor, which turned out to be a fallen and ripped bag of birdseed.  "Fucking birds," he mumbled as he stepped over the spilled seed and walked down the isle.  He pushed open the sliding doors to the outdoor gardening section and proceeded outside.<br/>