The three of them crept closer until they reached a house surrounded by a tall chainlink fence. To Doug's surprise and relief, the yard was mostly clear, save for a single overturned lawn chair and a pair of discarded shoes.

"Looks good." Jenn whispered to Doug. "Let's try it."

With weapons ready, they cautiously approached the gate and peered through the gap, hoping they wouldn't see any movement inside. All was quiet, so Doug motioned for Kyle to open the gates slowly.

Once they were safely past the barrier, the trio quickly moved toward the rear of the home and entered through an unlocked sliding glass door. Inside, they found a kitchen and dining room littered with trash, dirty dishes, and rotting food.

But there weren't any signs that the place had been disturbed otherwise. The floors were swept clean, the counters wiped down, and the sink drained. The refrigerator was full of spoiled food due to the lack of power, so they checked the cupboards and small pantry. They were able to find a handful of canned goods, but the loaves of bread were moldy and the whole pantry stunk from the spores.

Doug and Jenn searched the rest of the house, opening drawers and cabinets while Kyle collapsed on the couch from sheer exhaustion.

When they returned empty handed, Kyle pouted, "Man, I really hope this wasn't a waste of time."

Doug ignored him and opened the last cabinet, scanning the contents. He closed it again, shaking his head sadly. "Nothing else here."

Kyle groaned, "Not even a box of cookies?"

Doug laughed, "No cookie boxes. Sorry buddy. Looks like we have to go farther afield to find more food."

Kyle frowned, "This is ridiculous. If we keep scavenging like this, our supplies will run dry faster than we can replenish them."

Doug shot back, "Do you have a better idea? How about you get off your lazy fat rump and help us!"

Kyle glared at him angrily, "Fine! Let's go."

Together, they left the house and moved on to another. This time, they didn't bother checking to make sure it was unoccupied. Instead, Doug knocked loudly enough to wake anyone inside. When nobody answered, they kicked in the doors and rushed inside. Once again, nothing appeared to be amiss, and after a quick search of the kitchen, they found a cache of dried beans and rice, along with a dozen cans of soup.

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Considering they couldn't carry much more than what they had already found, they headed back towards the Safehouse.

They were halfway there when a loud crash sounded behind them, followed by the sound of footfalls. Doug turned around to see two men dressed in black hoodies running towards them, carrying assault rifles.

Without hesitation, Doug pulled out his 9mm Glock and fired at the approaching men. One of the thugs stopped short and dropped to the ground, clutching his fresh wound.

Before the second gunman could react, Doug grabbed him and threw him onto the pavement. His attacker struggled against him, trying desperately to escape, but Doug held firm and brought the muzzle of his gun close to the thug's temple.

He's just a kid!

"Listen carefully," he growled menacingly, "If you come near me again, I'm going to blow your brains out. Do we understand each other?"

The teenager nodded frantically, "Y...yes sir. Yes, s-sir!"

Doug yanked the assault rifle out of his hands and stepped away. The teen scrambled to his feet, backing up as far from Doug as he dared, and then made a dead run back toward his wounded friend.

"Run!" Doug yelled, pointing the barrel of the weapon at the fleeing youth. "Get outta here!"

The young man glanced briefly over his shoulder, eyes wide with terror. Then, he spun around and bolted down the street without looking back.

Doug lowered the rifle, breathing heavily. He hadn't expected to scare the boy quite so badly.

Kyle looked at the retreating figure with disdain, "You let him get away. That was stupid."

Doug shook his head, "Dude, he was just a kid."

"Yeah, well, kids need to learn how to fight too. And right now, we're gonna have to eat." Kyle snorted derisively, "That little punk almost cost us our dinner."

Doug rolled his eyes, "Look, I know you don't like kids, but that doesn't mean you should kill them."

"Oh please." Kyle scoffed, "Like I'd actually shoot a kid. You've never even killed anybody."

"Point is, we need to focus on survival, not killing." Doug muttered defensively, "We'll probably run into more trouble if we start shooting at random people."

"I agree with Doug." Jenn nodded, "We shouldn't use violence unless necessary."

"Well, I disagree," Kyle retorted, crossing his arms defiantly.

Jenn sighed, "Okay guys, let's just calm down."

She tried to reason with him, "Think about it logically. We need to survive. So what would happen if we started randomly shooting people?"

Kyle crossed his arms stubbornly, "I dunno. Maybe they'd stop bothering us. Or maybe they'll hunt us down and kill us."

"Or maybe we just don't give a crap anymore and start eating each other," Doug added sarcastically.

"Whatever." Kyle shrugged indifferently, "It's worth a try."

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