Chapter 9: Potato chips
Henrick laboriously rises from the floor, wincing at the slight jolt of pain from his ankle. "Let’s move, before those things get smart and stop throwing themselves off the building." he says as he helps David and Selene, both of them gasping at the impact of the landing.
"You’re a crazy man, Henrick, but I guess that’s what we need to survive." says Father David as he nurses his lower back, no doubt bruised from the leap of faith.
The soldier looks around at the building they’re in, sighing at the expansive office floor that greets him. "We had to trade the mall for this. There’s nothing useful here."he scoffs, lamenting the lack of resources. Gingerly moving forward with his injured foot, the trio make their way to the stairs.
Silence dominates the atmosphere as they make their way to the ground floor, save for the splattering of mutated creatures from the mall. "Should we head back?" the priest asks, wearily keeping an eye out for any danger. Selene simply nods, taking the injuries that the group suffered into account. "We can’t keep going if we’re injured, one more horde like that and we’ll die."
The howling of the thunderstorm has mostly subsided, leaving only occasional gusts of wind in its wake. The black clouds, however, remain as thunder shatters the silence. Inhuman shrieks answer the thunder’s roar, but remains too far to be a threat. The group make their way back to the manhole cover, relief evident in their expressions.
Henrick pulls the manhole cover out and lets Father David and Selene go down first, before taking one last look around and entering it himself. The trio navigate the maze-like sewer channels and arrive at the camp, seemingly being the first group to arrive from scavenging.
Selene places her backpack in front of Bobby’s tent and places most of its contents down on the ground. She then gives Henrick and David a curt nod before walking away, still clutching her elbow. Henrick does the same and tries to walk away before a slimy voice calls out for him. "Hey, you don’t get to keep anything." says Bobby as his massive frame steps out of the tent.
Bobby walks up to Henrick, who is still holding his backpack, and grabs it. "Let go. It’s my mercy that allows you guys to stay here. You’ll get rations just like everyone else." he says as he tries to pull the bag away, but finds the soldier’s grip to be iron-like.
Henrick simply raises a brow and keeps his hold on the bag firm. "I scavenged for food to give to this entire camp. I’ll get my cut." he states, dragging Bobby closer despite the rotund man’s struggle. A hint of fear and something else, perhaps greed, flashes through Bobby’s eyes before he lets go.
"Fine...fine... let’s see how long you can keep that attitude up." says Bobby as he goes back into the tent. Father David eyes the fat man with righteous anger and mutters prayers to keep himself calm. "Heavenly Father, grant me the strength so that I may forgive my enemies." Henrick just chuckles at the priest and places a reassuring hand on his shoulder.