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."He resisted the urge to shove her away."We'll stop wherever's convenient and safe.Drop it." He couldn't believe how whacked Sondra was to be at all concerned about choosing a particular department store.Had she not noticed the zombies around her? Or was this her crazy means of coping? Focus on a stupid detail and pretend everything is normal like an ostrich with its head in the sand.The day went from bad to worse when Doug Patton got the runs from something he'd eaten and spent nearly an hour in the restroom, delaying their start.At last they got underway, walked a few blocks without incident, and then Ian decided to get fussy.Gloria did her best to calm the baby, but his crying escalated.Perhaps the kid could sense the tension in the air or maybe he was just being a normal baby.No amount of shushing would quiet him and Ari was terrified his piercing yells would attract zombies like ringing a dinner bell.Since they were near Humboldt's, Sondra got her way.The building was locked so Ari broke into the store.A marauding horde of zombies charged up the street as he ushered the last of the group inside the building.He slipped through the door himself and watched for a moment to make certain they hadn't been spotted, but the creatures raged past.How many more near misses before they got caught and at last, and could they even fight with people like Mrs.Patton and the children along? At some point he might have to make a hard decision and cut the weak ones loose in order to keep the rest of them safe.Getting Carl to freedom was his main mission.The sacrifice of a few for the good of the entire world was never a pleasant thing to consider but sometimes it was necessary.Inside the store, Deb and Joe went on a quick sweep of the ground floor while he led the rest of the group to the furniture department.They dropped onto chairs and couches, exhausted more from anxiety than from walking a few city blocks.It was no Sunday stroll out there."I'm going to get some things for the baby." Doug Patton started to head off."Wait a minute," Ari called."We don't know if the store's secure and you're not even armed.""I'll go with him," Lila volunteered, hefting the rifle which she'd yet to use.It wasn't that Ari didn't trust she would if necessary, but he didn't feel comfortable having people disperse to all departments of this huge store on individual errands."Wait until the others come back with a report," he ordered.Derrick grumbled something under his breath about dictators, but Doug obediently sat back down.Ian cried and Ari cringed inside.What would it take to quiet that kid? He found out a moment later when Gloria draped a blanket over her shoulder and nursed the baby."I'm hungry," Ronnie whined."Have some more Fritos." Derrick tossed a bag at her."I don't want any more.I want real food.""We're all hungry.Just shut up about it," her brother said."Grow up a little."Ronnie was right.They couldn't keep eating snack foods.They needed better nutrition to keep up their strength.Another stop at a grocery store or restaurant would be necessary before the day was through.Joe returned from scanning the east side of the store."I didn't see or hear anything.But there are two floors above this.It's too big to scan it all.I don't feel comfortable here."Me either, Ari thought.The sooner they got what they needed and got on their way, the better."I brought company." Deb approached from the other direction along with a group of about ten people.Ari's stomach dropped.He should be glad to see more survivors, but the larger their number became, the more danger for everyone.Where two or three could move fast and hide well, bigger groups were slower and more obvious.Nevertheless, he held out his hand and greeted the leader of the group, a woman in her thirties."How you doing? I'm Ari.""Hunter." She briefly related their story.The group of survivors was mostly Humbolts employees, seven women and three men who'd hidden in a storeroom until the first wave of zombies had passed.They'd come out of hiding, barred the doors, cleaned up the place and were living on an upper level from with access to several fire escapes if need be."Until now it's been pretty quiet.We patrol and watch from the windows, but none of those things has tried to get in the building yet.Thanks for breaking our door, by the way." She fixed Ari with a hard stare."Sorry.We needed supplies and shelter." He indicated Gloria and Ian."We've got a baby with us.""Where are you headed?""The waterfront.We're going to get a boat." He didn't ask if they wanted to come along and hoped she didn't suggest it.If anything, he'd like to leave the Pattons here.Hunter ordered a couple of her people to secure the door and invited everyone up to the second floor."Do you have food with you? We'll trade whatever you need for more food and water."It was ridiculous of her to claim the entire contents of the store as theirs to bargain with, but Ari let it go.No point in starting an argument.Besides, the Humboldt crew was armed with guns from their sporting goods department.He couldn't imagine it coming to a shootout.They weren't quite Lord of the Flies yet.But if these people continued to squat here instead of moving on, they'd soon become desperate for fresh supplies and likely to take them from anyone who wandered into their territory.The department store had a wide variety of useful items.Unfortunately food wasn't one of them."We'll share what we have," Ari said.He and the rest of the group joined their hosts, who escorted them around the store to the various departments.Sondra seemed content to stay in women's clothing and try on one outfit after another.Maybe the act of shopping assured her the world still spun on its axis.Soon they were supplied with everything they needed including personal care and baby items.In return, the Humboldt group took most of their provisions.Ari wasn't happy to lose the rest of their groceries, but he'd figured they'd need to stop for food today anyway.When they were finished trading, everyone gathered near the top of the escalator.Ari stuck out his hand to shake Hunter's."Guess we'll be moving on." He glanced at the Pattons and wondered if there was any polite way he could suggest they stay behind."Pam and I want to go with you," a woman named Lauren said abruptly."We can't stay here.We'll all die before anyone comes to rescue us."Hunter glared at her."I told you a hundred times we're better off sitting tight.This is only the third day.Something's bound to happen soon.The government will fix this."It seemed there were a lot more people in the "stick your thumb up your ass and wait for rescue" camp than Ari had thought."I'm sorry," he said to Lauren."We can't take on any more people.It's hard enough to move with the group we've got." He looked around at their familiar faces."In fact, if any of you would rather stay here with these people, you're welcome to.""Nuh-uh," Hunter shook her head."We've got all we can support right here.No one stays and no one goes.""We do," Pam spoke up, supporting Lauren."We want to get the hell out of here.Hunter, you can't keep us here.Why would you want to? You said yourself we're running out of food." She pointed at Ari."And he can't stop us from going with them."As the argument escalated, Ari sought advice by pondering W.W.V.D.—What would Vogt do? His sergeant wouldn't have put up with insubordination that was for sure, but this wasn't the army and these people weren't soldiers.He offered a suggestion."Maybe we can trade, keep the numbers even
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