I wrote these a few years ago and thought I would finish it. But first we need to get every one up to speed.
Disclaimer: This is a work of fiction. The events that take place are for entertainment purposes ONLY. This was written very quickly.
And now….
Before Noon Presents
Old Navy: A Zombie Story
Part I
The Meeting
It was a cold and windy afternoon in Olathe, Kansas . The Kansas City Chiefs where 4-3 and on a role, they where playing in St. Louis Olathe
Most weekend days in November and December the workers who went to lunch or arrived in the middle of the day to work would have to park by the Hallmark store, but not today. The building that Hallmark shared was on the other side of the parking lot that could easily hold eight football fields side by side, today the parking lot was almost empty.
Josh, a big guy he would say he was Samoan but really he is half German and half Aztec, pulls in to a parking spot in the middle of the lot. There is a very light rain coming down. Josh gets out of his truck pops the collar on his coat, lights a cigarette, jams his left hand in his coat pocket. Looks around and sees a man stumble into the dumpster area behind the Popeye’s Chicken. The wind gust and Josh thinks he hears a scream. He starts to walk into the store when he sees Jason getting out of his full size pickup wearing a racing tee shirt and a pair of cargo shorts. Jason is shorter than Josh and seems to have a permanent five o’clock shadow on his round face. Jason is as close to a good old boy that works at this Old Navy.
Josh looks up “Jason what’s up man”
Jason “Oh not too much, are you just getting here too?”
“No, I’m getting back from lunch.”
“That sucks”
“Yeah, why the hell are you wearing shorts? It’s like 40 degrees and raining.”
“Oh you know”
“Is it laundry day?”
“That too.”
As they reach the door Josh stomps out his cigarette. They walk into the store. Over the speakers Justin Timberlake is playing. The store is incredibly quite. Jamie, who is still in high school, is up at the registers hanging up a few returns. She smiles and waves to Jason and Josh. They wave back and continue through the store hang a right and get to the first door marked “employees only” with four beeps on the key pad Josh and Jason walk through still looking cold. In the first part of the back stock room to the right of the door are a ton of men’s goods; to the left are random metal fixtures and signs. Also there are tables set up for meetings. Today however Danice a blonde, who has the build of a Bratz doll with small lips and Steve with is salt and pepper hair, a body of an aging bicycler and the demeanor of Danny Kaye are the two mangers and are setting up food and drinks for an all store meeting.
Jason sees the goodies and shouts with joy, “Hey, Pizza!”
Danice slaps his hand away. “We are not ready yet. Just wait till every one gets here.”
“Sorry,” Jason lowers his head and walks away in shame.
Jason continues left into the next room that functions as the break room. It is divided in half by a row of two vending machines and full size refrigerator. There is a round table with chairs a couch a bench with no back that has become a coffee table of sorts and a media cart with a TV, stereo, DVD player and a little Pac-Man joystick game. Josh is standing. Around the table is a group of people some on break some waiting for the meeting to start. Madeline a cute girl next door blonde, Aaron an ex-jock, Lani (witch is pronounced Lonnie) a northerner, Katie, some call her Scopes, is a brunette. She is dating Josh. Scott, a tenor, is telling a joke. Jason walks in at the end of Scotts jokes.
Scott ends the joke, “so the Bar Tender says to the guy at the end of the bar. Rectum him it nearly killed him”
The whole room busts in to laughter.
Jason keeps on laughing as he walks around the vending machines pass the time clock and in to the office. Brian, the general manger, is leaned back in an office chair and on the phone. Brian, some would call him a giant NASCAR fan, but he is not quite a red neck. He is from Indiana
Jason ask, “what did you need me to come in early for?”
Brian replies, “We need some t-stands cleared off for a game.”
“Right, so you want me to empty off some t-stands, then at the end of the night put all of the stuff BACK on them.”
“Yeah.”
“Ohhh Kaaayyy”
“Andy knows what’s going on with the game. Find him to see what is going on.”
Just then the office door slams shut. BAM! Both Jason and Brian jump.
In unison. “Holy crap.”
Jason continues “Damn Shawn.”
“Sorry,” Shawn replies. “Just starting to count down the drawers.”
Shawn is a shorter guy that loves most Science Fiction. He works so many jobs the 6 hours of sleep he gets a day does not come at one time.
Back in the break room Nick and Patrice walk in shivering. Patrice is a supervisor. She has long black hair and Nick is a tall guy. Nick starts to talk.
“Has any one come in recently?”
“I have,” Josh answers. “Why?”
“Did you see the group of drunks over by Popeye’s banging on some guy’s car?”
“No, but I did see some pasty white guy stumble into the dumpster.”
Andy walks into the break room whistling the song Closing Time. Andy is tall and hairy and has the honor of working at Old Navy for his 8th Christmas. He gets to do things that no one else likes to.
“Maybe they are Zombies” Andy says sarcastically.
“That’s not funny man,” Josh replies with and unseen intensity. “You know I am deathly afraid of zombies.”
“If we are lucky they eat brains so it would be a quick undeath.”
“Shut up.”
“Those flesh eating ones could take a while to bite into you.”
“I am serious dude shut up.”
“It could be worse it could be a giant squid.”
“You joke, but the jokesters are always the first to die. You’ll get cocky and BAM, you’re lunch.”
Jason walks in. “Andy what the hell is this game I get to help you set up for?”
“It’s like that dot game where you make the boxes.” Andy replies.
“You mean we empty off God knows how man t-stands to play a game that could play on a sheet of paper.” Jason rants.
“Yeah, and Jason”
“What!”
“God does know and it’s sixteen.”
“Son of a …sixteen…I can’t believe…” Jason storms off and his voice trails off. Andy laughs and tries to catch up.
About and hour later the last customer left and Shawn finished counting the drawers. Shawn stops when the wind shrieks across the roof of the building. This sends a shiver down his spine. He shakes it off. As he walks out of the office and though the break room he snags a slice of pizza. He walks out and talks to Andy who is locking the doors on the adult side of the store.
Shawn says “having trouble?”
“Yeah,” Andy replies. “I think I broke the left door.”
Andy is on the out side tinkering with the latch. The wind blows through the trees so hard it sounds like screams. Then the wind gusts and slams the door open. It hits Andy in the face knocking him down and it cuts his cheek.
“Holy shit,” Shawn is shocked. “Are you ok man?”
“What the duce” Andy says stunned.
Shawn fixes the door, as Andy goes in to the store, but it does not shut all the way and there is a little of Andy’s blood on the side of it.
The meeting starts with the door still only shut part of the way. There is a group of about 30 going over some loss prevention stuff by the register six. The “forest of t-stands” that Andy and Jason set up is in from of the pod that holds registers one and two. With the t-stands are numerous bars and face outs. The other group which about 30 strong also is playing the “game” that Andy is running. He has a bandage on his face.
After some laughter from registers six a guy runs up to the kid’s side doors and jerks on them so hard it almost breaks them. He is soaked to the bone and it is raining so hard you can hear it pounding inside the store. Brian goes to the door and starts to tell the guy that the store is closed.
“Sir, we’ve been closed for about and hour and a half.” Brian yells through the glass.
The man yells back “I need to get in and call for help! My Wife, My wife was just eaten alive!”
The man runs to the middle of the glass and starts pounding away.
“Let me in! Hell has been released!” The man stops shouting. He looks to his left and then out into the parking lot. Then he runs away in terror, screaming.
Lani standing next to Jen Ross asks in her northern accent, “What the heck was that about?”
“I have no Idea.” Jen replies, “You would think people would have better thing to do that try and con their way into a store.”
Lani Ask, “you don’t think that, that guy really needed help do you?”
“A rain coat, yes. Help most likely not.”
BANG! The wind once again rips the door open the left door on the adult side again. Andy walks over and has to fight the wind to get it to move. With the thundering rain beating down on his head Andy can almost make out figures in the rainy night. Through the deafening roar of the rain he almost hears what sounds like cows mooing. He listens harder. It’s more like people mooing. He just stands there. He has been in the rain so long his fingers are wrinkling like prunes.
Brian yells through thundering the rain “Andy! Can you close the door?!”
Andy takes a second “What?” Then he shouts back. “Yeah but the glass is cracked on the door!”
“OK get it closed and let’s get in side it’s pouring out here!”
“Right!”
Andy jimmies the doors shut. Once inside Brian and Shawn are there with paper towels for Andy and a mop for the water
Shawn starts to make fun of him. “so do you think that it is raining cats and dogs out there or was it raining men.”
Andy chuckles and puts his back to the door. He starts to dry off his face and hair.
“You know I thought I heard Noah out there.”
“What?” Brian asks.
“He might have been collecting cows.”
They both just stair at him.
Andy is very insistent, “I thought I heard cows mooing in the rain!”
There is a dull thud by the other set of doors the three men all snap their heads around. A scream comes from the group. Every one from that side of the store looks sick or like they just saw a corps. Some one yells something but the three of them can not make it out what was said. They see Jason running and pointing toward them. Just then the glass breaks and Andy is pulled though the broken door by his head and shoulders. The sound of the glass shattering and the growls stun Brian and Shawn for just a second. They each grab one of Andy’s feet. Shawn slips on the pool of water where Andy once stood. He falls back and hits the other set of doors. Brian is pulling with all his might to save Andy and pull him back inside. But it is too late. Andy Gets ripped in four. Brian is now stunned by the sight of one of Andy’s legs that now rest in his hand.
Jason and Aaron grab Shawn and pull him back in to the store. They go back to get Brian but he is engulfed by the “people”. They swarm him like army ants on a fresh kill. Jason turns and almost throws up. The “people” push there way past Brian.
Josh sees this and yells, “Every one to the back!”
Aaron shouts “They’re coming though.”
Aaron and Jason each grab a door and try to keep it shut.
“Hurry we don’t know how long we can hold this” Jason shouts.
Panic in sews. A few people vomit. There are screams. The snarls and growls get so loud you can’t hear the rain pounding on the roof any more. Jason and Aaron start to loose their grip.
Jason yells “we’re almost done here”
Josh yells back “we’re good over here. Let’s go”
As Jason and Aaron let go the undead slowly pour in. One of the undead grabs Aaron’s shoe. He shakes off the shoe and sees Jamie and Madeline both trip and fall over a knocked down t-stand in men’s feature. He turns and sees Robin take a spill. He thinks to him self I’ll help her on the way back. Aaron helps up Jamie and Madeline. As they run to the door to get to the back room Jamie trips over Robin. They are both engulfed just like Brian. Jamie and Robin’s scream pierce the air. Madeline and Aaron fight their way past a hand full of pasty undead. With only one more in there way Aaron rips a face out off of a T-stand and puts it though his nose. They get past the door and slam it shut.
Josh asks “What the hell was that”
Jason replies “I think your worst fears have come true”
Josh “No”
Jason “Zombies. The store was just over run with Zombies.”
Aaron catches his breath, “how many of us made it?
Scott chimes in “Well. There are about twelve of us so far.”
Part 2 Coming soon…………….
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