Chapter 28 – The Ruined Supermarket
Hanks and Glenn returned to the motel carrying their heavy load of parts and tools, setting everything carefully on the open ground beside the RV.
"Kenny!"
Hanks didn't raise his voice, but it carried cleanly to the second floor where Kenny stood on watch.
Kenny immediately poked his head out. Seeing the pile of equipment, his eyes lit up and he bolted down the stairs.
"Hey! You guys hauled back some real treasure!"
He crouched and examined the tools and parts one by one.
A flicker of hope softened his usually tense face.
"With this stuff… hell, my truck might actually get a second life."
"That's what I want to hear," Hanks said. "How long will it take?"
Kenny calculated quickly.
"If everything goes smoothly? An hour, maybe two."
"The slow leak in the tire is annoying—I'll need to pinpoint where it's leaking before I can patch it. Unless we find a spare."
"We'll figure out the spare later. Fix the essentials first," Hanks decided without hesitation.
"Start working on the truck right now. Glenn and I are heading to the supermarket—after that, the gas station."
"When we reach the station, we'll radio Clementine. As soon as she calls you, you start the truck and come pick us up."
Kenny nodded with full seriousness.
"You two be careful. I'll get this beast running ASAP."
"Glenn, move out."
Hanks wasted no time and motioned Glenn to sling his now-empty backpack over his shoulders.
They slipped out the front gate again, disappearing into the shadowed streets leading toward the town center.
With a clear mission and a coordinated extraction plan, their steps were quicker this time—sharper.
Hanks led, Glenn followed close behind.
They used wrecked storefronts, abandoned cars, and collapsed walls as cover as they approached the supermarket.
The closer they got, the thicker the stench of rot became.
Derelict vehicles choked the roads.
Storefront windows were shattered, and now and then, the chilling sound of chewing drifted from within the ruins.
"Take a right up ahead—that's the supermarket," Glenn whispered, pointing at the intersection.
Hanks gestured for him to stay close. They hugged the wall, inching toward the corner—
Then Hanks suddenly stopped.
He grabbed Glenn by the collar and yanked him back into the shadows.
"Shh."
His eyes narrowed sharply as he focused on the scene ahead.
The supermarket's glass entrance was completely shattered.
Shelves overturned. Debris everywhere.
But what made Hanks' jaw tighten—
Fresh packaging scraps.
Recent footprints.
Someone had been here. Very recently.
Was it survivors?
Or walkers?
Both men tensed instantly.
Hanks held up a hand and listened closely at the doorway.
Inside, multiple walkers were snarling—and beneath the growls, there was a sickening, wet sound… like something chewing through cartilage.
Hanks slowly nudged the metal door.
Eee—
The hinge let out a faint but sharp squeak.
He froze instantly, not even breathing.
But the feeding noises inside didn't stop.
Whoever—or whatever—was making them didn't notice.
Hanks slipped inside, body low, sliding into the darkness.
Glenn crept in behind him, carefully avoiding the broken glass beneath their feet.
The supermarket interior was even darker than the auto parts warehouse.
Here, you almost couldn't see your own hand in front of your face.
Only the faint, sickly lightleaking through the glass doors eading to the sales floor offeed any visibility
The stench hanging in the air was nearly suffocating
Shelves had toppled, boxes were crushed, and th floor was littered with torn pacaging and dark, dried stains.
In the weak illumination, Hanks counted at least four walkers.
Two in a distant corner, backs turned, hunched over a fresh corpse and ripping into it.
A third wandered aimlessly near a collapsed shelf.
The fourth—and closest—sat less than five meters away, feasting alone on another recently killed body.
Hanks' eyes went cold.
He motioned for Glenn to hold the doorway and watch their rear.
Glenn nodded nervously, gripping his baseball bat with both hands, eyes glued to the entrance and emergency exit.
Then Hanks moved.
Silent as a shadow, he closed in on the nearest feasting walker.
It sensed something—began lifting its head—
Too late.
The screwdriver punched straight into its temple with surgical precision.
Puk!
The walker shuddered and collapsed, knocking over a cardboard box with a dull thud.
The noise alerted the wandering walker nearby.
It spun around and lunged with a guttural snarl.
Hanks didn't retreat.
He stepped into its charge, slipping past its outstretched claws.
His left hand clamped its wrist and yanked downward—
His right hand struck upward—
And the screwdriver rammed through its lower jaw, piercing straight into its brain.
Crack!
Another body hit the ground.
Two down in fluid, silent succession—no wasted motion, no unnecessary sound.
But even that slight disturbance was enough.
The two walkers in the corner stopped feeding.
They raised their heads slowly, blood and flesh clinging to their rotted faces.
Their cloudy eyes locked onto Hanks.
A twin growl rumbled out as they staggered toward him.
Hanks narrowed his eyes.
A silent approach was no longer possible.
He lowered his stance and closed the distance himself.
At the moment the first walker lunged, Hanks shoved its arm aside,
drove the screwdriver upward—
and buried the tip into its brain through the lower jaw.
He didn't stop.
Using the collapsing corpse as a battering ram, he hurled it into the second walker—
then brought the screwdriver down like a hammer.
Crunch!
The skull split.
The snarl died instantly.
The supermarket fell silent again, except for Hanks' slightly heavier breathing and the reek of gore.
At the doorway, Glenn was drenched in sweat, heart pounding so hard it felt like it would burst from his throat.
He knew Hanks was capable—
but seeing this level of cold, efficient killing up close always left him speechless.
Hanks flicked the screwdriver clean, eyes already scanning the bodies.
The blood was still warm.
Whoever these people were—they hadn't died long ago.
But he didn't bother speculating.
He swept the supermarket with a final check.
"Clear," he said calmly, as if he'd just changed a lightbulb.
"Move. Food and water. High-calorie stuff first. See if there's a key for the storage room."
Glenn nodded quickly.
They split up and began searching the warehouse.
Hanks pried open several labeled boxes—mostly biscuits and candy.
"Glenn! Over here—bag these!"
Glenn rushed over and stuffed chocolate bars and energy snacks into the backpacks.
Then Hanks hit the jackpot—
A small crate of canned meat.
His spirits lifted as he shoved the cans and bottled water into his own pack.
On the other side of the room, Glenn shouted:
"Officer! Over here—there's a locked metal cabinet!"
He pointed at a grey steel locker wedged against the wall.
"Looks like something for valuables. Or maybe weapons?"
Hanks checked the lock and shook his head.
"Not worth the time. And too much noise if we force it. No unnecessary risks."
"Food and water first. When the bags are full—we leave."
They sped up.
Soon, both backpacks were stuffed to the brim, heavy as boulders.
Hanks tested the weight, then glanced around and spotted several empty plastic storage bins.
"Use these!"
He grabbed two large ones.
"More cans and water. Load everything we can carry."
It would slow them down—but opportunities like this wouldn't come again.
They filled both bins with food and water until they could barely close the lids.
Just as they finished—
BANG!
The locked employee room door behind them buckled violently.
Another slam—
The wood began to crack.
Scratching and furious snarling erupted from behind the door.
Something inside had been stirred awake by the earlier commotion.
"Damn it!" Hanks' face hardened.
"Grab everything! Move!"
He hefted one heavy bin.
Glenn strained to lift the other.
Weighted down with backpacks and bins, they struggled toward the warehouse exit.
CRACK!
The employee room door exploded outward—
The lock flew across the room—
And a flood of walkers—at least a dozen—burst through, shrieking as they charged.
"RUN!"
Hanks unleashed a burst of speed far beyond a normal man's, pulling Glenn with him as they sprinted for the shattered front doors.
They could already see daylight—
RATATATATATA!!!
A sudden barrage of gunfire exploded from outside.
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