Sharon’s note: One of two 200 word challenges I did. It’s cool to do little snipets of a story like this. Warning: Sad implications.
The others search for canned and dried goods. I stay near the front of the abandoned grocery store, rifle at the ready. Dried leaves and grit crunch under my taped-together boots. We haven’t seen anyone in days, and it’s unlikely we’ll be bothered. Still, we haven’t lived this long by being careless.
There’s a corkboard near the broken sliding door. Most of the papers still pinned to it are unreadable. The faded poster of a stage play at the local theater advertises free drinks to people who bring something for the canned food drive.
“There’s nothing here. The place has been picked clean,” Gunner says before another fit of phlegmy coughs rip through him. I wince. No food probably means no medicine. We have to try anyway.“I saw a pharmacy on the way into town. We’ll see if there’s anything there, then head to the theater. Don’t worry, guys. I’ll find us food. We’ll make it through this.” I make myself believe it, because if I don’t, how can they?
Gray Matters: The Works of Sharon and James Gray 