The streets were eerily silent as Sam and Kelly moved cautiously, their footsteps echoing softly through the decayed city. It had been about an hour since they left the store, and the tension was growing thicker with each passing minute. Kelly could feel her heart pounding in her chest, the pipe wrench in her hand slick with sweat.
"Are you sure this is the right way?" Kelly asked, glancing nervously at the crumbling buildings surrounding them. "It feels like we're walking straight into a death trap."
Sam, her rifle held steady, glanced over her shoulder. "This part of the city is usually quiet. But the grocery store we're heading to should still have supplies. We just need to be quick."
"Quick, right," Kelly muttered, her grip tightening on the wrench. "Sure, no problem. Just a casual grocery run in the middle of a zombie apocalypse."
Sam smirked. "You'll be fine. Stick close, and we'll get through this."
They continued moving, staying low and hugging the walls of the buildings. As they approached the grocery store, a faint smell of rot hit Kelly’s nose, and she wrinkled her face in disgust. The stench of decay had become all too familiar, but it still sent a shiver down her spine every time.
The store was dark, its large front windows shattered, and the entrance door hung off its hinges. Sam signaled for Kelly to stop as they reached the corner of the building.
"Wait here," Sam whispered, peeking around the corner. "Let me check if the coast is clear."
Kelly watched as Sam carefully slipped around the corner, her rifle ready. The seconds stretched on, and Kelly’s mind raced with all the worst-case scenarios. What if something happened to Sam? What if she had to fight alone again?
Before she could dwell too much on the thought, Sam reappeared, waving her over. "It’s clear for now, but stay close. We’ll grab what we can and get out quickly."
Kelly nodded, following Sam into the store. The inside was even worse than she’d imagined. Shelves were toppled over, debris scattered everywhere, and dried blood stained the floor. It looked like a warzone, and the smell was unbearable.
"God, it smells like death in here," Kelly whispered, covering her nose.
Sam nodded grimly. "It’s been like this since the first wave of panic. People raided everything they could find. But if we’re lucky, there might still be a few things left."
They moved through the aisles, scanning the shelves for anything of use. Kelly grabbed a few cans of food that had been knocked to the floor, stuffing them into her backpack. Sam found a crate of bottled water behind the counter and motioned for Kelly to come help.
"This is a good find," Sam said, tossing a few bottles into Kelly’s bag. "We’ll need these."
Kelly nodded, but her nerves were on edge. The store felt too quiet, too empty. She couldn’t shake the feeling that something was about to go wrong.
Just as they were about to leave, a loud crash echoed from the back of the store, followed by a low, guttural groan. Kelly froze, her blood turning to ice. 
"Sam," she whispered, her voice shaking. "Did you hear that?"
Sam’s eyes narrowed, and she raised her rifle. "Yeah. Stay behind me."
They crept toward the sound, moving as silently as they could. The groaning grew louder, and Kelly’s heart pounded in her chest. As they rounded the corner into the back room, the source of the noise became painfully clear—three zombies were shuffling through the debris, their milky white eyes fixed on the fresh meat in front of them.
“Crap,” Sam hissed, raising her rifle. “Here we go.”
She fired a shot, and one of the zombies crumpled to the floor. The others turned toward the noise, their grotesque faces twisted in hunger. Kelly gripped her pipe wrench tightly, her pulse racing.
“Kelly, stay back!” Sam shouted as she fired again, but this time, she missed. The bullet ricocheted off a metal shelf, and one of the zombies lunged toward her.
“Sam!” Kelly yelled, rushing forward instinctively. She swung her wrench as hard as she could, hitting the zombie in the side of the head. It staggered back but didn’t go down. Its arms flailed, reaching for her.
Kelly swung again, her muscles screaming in protest. “Die already!”
The zombie’s head finally caved in, and it collapsed to the floor. Kelly panted, her chest heaving from the exertion. She barely had time to catch her breath before the other zombie was on her. Its rotting fingers scraped against her jacket as it lunged, its foul breath hot against her neck.
“Help!” Kelly shouted, trying to shove the zombie away, but it was stronger than she’d expected.
Sam fired again, and the zombie’s head exploded in a shower of blood and bone. Kelly stumbled back, breathing heavily.
“Are you okay?” Sam asked, rushing to her side.
Kelly nodded, her legs shaking. “Yeah… I think so. That was way too close.”
Sam gave her a grim look. “We need to get out of here, now. That gunfire will have attracted more of them.”
They hurried toward the front of the store, but just as they reached the entrance, they were greeted by the sight of a dozen zombies stumbling through the broken windows, drawn by the noise.
“Oh, come on!” Kelly groaned. “We’re trapped.”
Sam looked around, her mind racing. “We’re not trapped. There’s a back exit, but we’ll have to fight our way through.”
Kelly glanced at the horde approaching them, her hands trembling as she tightened her grip on her wrench. “Fight our way through? You mean we actually have to go *toward* them?”
Sam gave her a hard look. “We don’t have a choice. Stick close to me, and we’ll make it.”
The zombies were getting closer, their groans growing louder as they reached out for fresh meat. Sam raised her rifle and fired, taking down two of them in quick succession. Kelly followed her lead, swinging her wrench at the nearest zombie, its skull cracking under the force of her blow.
But there were too many.
“Sam, there’s too many of them!” Kelly shouted, panic creeping into her voice.
“Just keep moving!” Sam yelled back, reloading her rifle with practiced speed. “Don’t stop!”
Kelly gritted her teeth, fighting off another zombie as they pushed toward the back of the store. Her arms were burning, her body screaming in protest, but she kept going. She had no choice.
As they reached the back exit, Sam kicked open the door, revealing an alleyway outside. “Go, go, go!” she shouted, covering Kelly as she ran through the door.
Kelly stumbled into the alley, gasping for breath, but before she could fully process their escape, a zombie lunged at her from the shadows. She screamed, raising her wrench to defend herself, but her arms were too slow.
A gunshot rang out, and the zombie fell at her feet, its body twitching as it died. Kelly looked up to see Sam standing over her, her rifle smoking.
“Come on,” Sam said, helping Kelly to her feet. “We’re not out of the woods yet.”
Kelly nodded, her whole body shaking as she followed Sam down the alley. The sounds of the undead echoed behind them, but for now, they were alive.
Barely.
Once they had put enough distance between themselves and the store, they stopped to catch their breath. Kelly leaned against a wall, her body trembling from exhaustion.
“That was insane,” she panted, wiping sweat from her forehead. “I thought we were dead back there.”
Sam, still catching her breath, gave a half-smile. “It wasn’t pretty, but we made it. You did good.”
Kelly laughed bitterly. “Good? I barely survived. I’ve never been so scared in my life.”
Sam looked at her, her expression softening. “Fear’s part of the job now. But you’re stronger than you think. You’ve made it this far, haven’t you?”
Kelly didn’t know how to respond to that. All she could do was nod and hope that Sam was right.
“Let’s keep moving,” Sam said after a moment. “We’ll find a place to rest soon.”
As they started walking again, Kelly glanced at Sam, grateful to have her by her side. The world was falling apart around them, but for the first time since the outbreak started, Kelly felt like maybe, just maybe, she could survive this.