I really did plan to finish this story in the holidays when I figured I would have heaps of time but now I have heaps of holiday homework -.- haha. I'm still going to try and finish this story before the holidays end, I just really want to finish it but I also don't want to rush it xD i have a few more tricks left to make things interesting :D Things that I've been planning since the beginning of the story and can't wait to write!

Hope you all enjoy!

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Chapter Twenty

Shopping for Blood

Melody's P.O.V

"Well what the fuck do we do now?"

A silent exchange of glances transpired before Carl came to the resolution that we keep running until we reached Lane Cove.

"Once we're away from the horde we can stop and think."

With a final glance over our shoulders at the approaching horde we began running up the road. Foot after exhausted foot with nothing but the moonlight and the echoes of the infected to fuel us. It was strange, but the songs of the infected didn't seem to hold the same effect on me as they originally had. Instead of sparks of fear igniting through my veins it was a mere thrum of annoyance. And that's all I felt now as I jogged up the road. Annoyed.

I tilted my head up towards the sky as I forced myself to continue running. Several stars twinkled against the velvety darkness of the night before being engulfed entirely by it.

A threatening cloud seemed to creep after us, devouring the moon in its path it eradicated any source of light. Leaving only the simple breeze to console us as we ran. Loud thunder soon began booming, as if to once again laugh at our misfortune. As we finally reached Lane Cove, short bursts of lightening began stabbing at the earth.

"We need to get undercover!" Alan yelled, his voice almost entirely lost within the sounds of thunder that grew louder with every strike.

"We can run in the rain! We need to keep moving!" Carl yelled back as we reached the small plaza of Lane Cove. A small green square in the middle was surround by empty shops. The entire area seemed completely devoid of life, which was eerie as it was so easy to imagine the place bustling with people. We stopped running as Alan turned to face Carl, his breathing ragged and heavy.

"If we run in the rain we'll die!" He growled. By brows furrowed as I threw a glance over my shoulder, ensuring the horde was out of sight. It was, but their moans were still vaguely audible, even above the thunder and roaring winds.

"The rain infects people? Doesn't it?" I asked. It made sense. Realization slapped me in the face as I remembered the children, playing in the rain and the man on the plane, drenched in rain water. Alan slowly nodded his head at me as Carl quizzically looked between us.

"What the hell do you mean the rain infects people?" He asked, raising his voice over the increasing ferocity of the thunder.

"Think about it! The children at the Q.V.B weren't bitten, they were playing in the rain!" I exclaimed, raising my voice as the wind threatened to carry it away. His brows furrowed for a moment before he began furiously shaking his head.

"That's bullshit! We don't have time to waste hiding undercover because you two are afraid of a storm!" He yelled, walking past us and towards the nearest road.

Alan grabbed onto his arm and pulled him backwards. Pulling out his gun Carl slammed the butt of it against Alan's head.

"Carl!" My voice was lost amongst the raging winds and the laughter of thunder as Alan fell to the ground.

As if only now realizing what he had done, his face creased into a worried frown. He leaned forwards and offered Alan his hand. Looking up from the ground he slapped his hand away and stood up on his own, faltering slightly.

"What the hell was that for!" Alan roared, clutching the side of his head as blood began to trickle down.

"Look, I got angry, I'm sorry -"

"So you tried to knock me out!" Carl's lips pressed into a thin line as he tucked his gun back into his pocket.

"I'm sorry alright. There's an underground Woolworth's just up there. We can stay there until the storm passes." Alan continued to glare at him before he began walking in the direction of Woolworths. Quietly we followed after him.

As we began to descend the escalators the first droplets of rain began to fall. We ran down the rest of the steps and stopped once we had walked past the registers. The place was pitch black and eerily quiet. Abandoning sight I listened carefully as I slowly began to walk forward. Besides the barrage of rain outside, there was the unmistakable rhythm of footsteps somewhere among the aisles.

"You two stay put, I'm gonna go look for a back up generator. I'll be back in a minute." Carl's hushed voice commanded as his footsteps began to walk away until they eventually faded into silence.

After several moments the lights flickered on, along with the dulled music. I looked around and was disappointed to see that most of the fruits and vegetables had gone off, save a few apples here and there. I looked back at Alan and told him I needed to use the toilet and would be back soon.

I followed the signs that led to the women's toilet and tentatively pushed the door open. Peeking my head inside I was relieved to find it empty. After going to the toilet I spent around ten minutes washing the dirt and grime off my face and while I was at it I figured I might as well wash my hair. Running outside I quickly snatched a bottle of shampoo off the shelf and proceeded to wash my hair. Once finished I strolled out of the bathroom feeling a hell of a lot better.

I combed my wet hair back with my fingers as I walked back to the front of the store. As I approached I heard the agitated voices of Alan and Carl as they began arguing about their fight. I rolled my eyes and quickly interrupted before it got out of hand, again.

"Sounds like the storm is gonna last awhile." At the sound of my voice they both ceased speaking and looked at me. Stealing a final glare at Alan, Carl walked away muttering about looking in the storeroom.

"I'm gonna have a look around, we'll meet back here later." I stated, turning around and walking towards the 'kitchen utensils' aisle. Alan muttered something under his breath but I didn't bother to stop and find out what it was.

I plucked one of the kitchen knives from the shelf and ripped it open. Holding it out in front of me I felt better equipped to investigate those footsteps. I walked past every aisle, looking down each until I arrived at the very end of the store. I shrugged it off, assuming that whatever it was is either gone now or didn't exist in the first place. I lowered the knife and ran towards the junk food aisle. Ripping open as many packet of crisps as I could I gorged myself until I felt unable to eat anymore.

I stood up from the floor and looked down at the graveyard of chip packets. I never liked messes so I nudged them all under the aisle and walked away. I roamed around the other aisles, occasionally crossing paths with Alan who seemed to be looking for something specific.

After looking through each aisle I ended up in the 'Health and Beauty' one. Snatching one of the combs from the shelf I combed it through my hair and also helped myself to one of their hair bands. Platting it in a loose braid I watched as Alan approached down the aisle, a large pink CD player in his hands.

Stopping a distance away from me he put it on the ground and put a CD in it before pressing play. Some pop singer that I hadn't heard of came on singing about 'Roaring' or something like that.

"Care to dance?" He asked, extending his hand out towards me. I looked at him in astonishment, my brow shooting up in confusion.

"Seriously?" His grin grew into a smile at my question.

"Seriously." I bit my lip to try and stop myself from smiling, but it was useless. Lightly shaking my head I put the knife on the shelf and stepped forward, placing my hand in his.

He instantly jerked me towards him and began moving us both to the sound of the music. I couldn't help the squeals and laughs that escaped as he began twirling me around. It's not something I would have expected but he was actually a pretty good dancer.

As the song ended it skipped to the next one which turned out to be an incredibly slow, romantic one compared to the last. He pulled me close to him and I couldn't help but feel a little uncomfortable as his warm breathing caressed my face. I gently pushed him back a little, creating a resemblance of space between us.

"The rain has probably stopped by now." I whispered, trying to ignore the gentle touch of his hands on my back. As we continued to sway to the music I looked up at him. Slowly, he began lowering his lips down to mine. Before they had a chance to touch I pushed him away. A conflicting concoction of emotions flitted through me as I looked at his surprised face. Raising my hand I slapped him across the cheek and stormed past him.

"Mel wait!" I didn't bother stopping until I reached Carl at the front of the store who looked more confused than ever. Arms encircled me and spun me around so I was facing Alan once again, his back to the front of the store. He began babbling out an apology but I didn't bother to listen. Instead I grabbed a chocolate bar from the small stand next to me and chucked it at him. It struck his chest and fell to the floor uselessly but it made me feel better.

"Robyn is dead! Everybody is dead! And you're trying to make a move on me?" I screamed at him. His mouth opened and closed as he held his hands up in the air. "What the hell is wrong with you!" I roared, grabbing another chocolate bar and chucking it at him. I grabbed a fistful of them and hurled them at him. One sailing over his shoulder and flying past the scanners, initiating a loud beeping alarm.

I slumped my shoulders at the sound and mentally cried as infected began stumbling down the steps of the escalators. Each of them drenched by the storm and dripping with water.

"Back of the store! Go to the back of the store!" Carl yelled as he stepped forward and grabbed the handles of a nearby trolley. Running forward a few steps he thrust it towards them and watched as it crashed into the first few. Like bowling pins they began dropping to the ground as Carl pushed towards the back of the store. I tore my eyes away from the infected and purposefully ran down the aisle where I left the knife. Snatching it from the shelf I continued running to the back until I met up with Alan and Carl.

"What the fuck do we do now? We're trapped!" Alan yelled, grabbing a tuft of his hair and gesturing towards the blank, white wall that stood in front of us.

"We can lead them around the store until we're back at the front." Carl explained. Nodding I turned around, only to be met by three infected meters away. Their lifeless eyes centered on me as they shambled forwards.

"Bit too late for that." I panted, kicking the nearest infected in the shin he faltered slightly as his body rocked forwards. Raising the kitchen knife in the air I stabbed it down into the back of his skull and waited until his body went limp before pulling it out. Carl tackled one of the infected women to the ground as Alan restrained the other one. Stepping over the body I thrust the knife into the infected woman's face that Alan was restraining. Her struggling body going limp I turned around and impaled the other woman. The knife effortlessly sinking into her eye socket her erratic convulsions stilled immediately as a pool of blood formed around her and began mingling with the blood of the other two.

"Let's go, before more of them get here." Carl stated as he stood up from the ground, his hands covered in the blood that surrounded him.

Leaning forward I wiped both sides of the knife on the woman's shirt, though it made little difference in cleaning it and began walking back towards the front of the store. Taking extra precaution not to be seen or make any sound. All the infected had dispersed themselves throughout the aisles and thankfully left the escalators vacant. Running up and out of the stores it was a relief to see that the storm had ended. In its absence it left behind the distinct smell of vinaigrette that seemed to steal the air from our lungs as it polluted the atmosphere.

Stopping in front Carl turned around and looked at Alan and I "Any plan on getting to the airport?"

"There's a cyclist shop just two minutes from here, we can take some bikes and ride to the through hunters hill." Alan suggested, pointing down the road with his long index finger that was covered in dry, crusted blood.

"But you said all the bridges were blocked?" I asked, irritation lacing the undertone of my words.

"With bikes we should be able to squeeze past the cars though." Carl quipped while Alan nodded in agreement. Sighing into resignation I followed Alan as we kept to the sides of the buildings and he lead us towards the bike shop.

Stepping inside the store I raised the knife defensively in front of me as we waded through the darkness. Quietly jumping over the counter I opened the door to the storeroom and felt around for a light switch. Finding one I flicked it on and squinted as the bright light of the storeroom flickered on, revealing an extremely small storage space with a carpeted floor and a shelf with boxes on the back wall.

"We should rest here until morning." Carl stated, squeezing past me and looking around the small room. "I'll take first watch while you guys get some sleep."

Walking to the back of the room I placed the knife on the shelf and lay down on the floor, facing the door. As I blinked wearily I watched as Alan lay down a small space away from him. His soft breathing the last noise I heard before I fell into a deep, tormented sleep.

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It's not that long I know but I really needed to publish something as I haven't done so in the last few months. Sorry for the long delay but I hope you guys liked the chapter :)