CHAPTER 6: PIT STOP

When we arrived in Costco, people were rushing out of the warehouse screaming. Other people were coming from behind stampeding over the slower ones. I saw a boy and his father get crushed by the stampede.

We were still on the street driving towards the entrance when we saw the sight.

Sally looked at me and said, “Pit stop?”

I looked back and said, “Sure. How about McDonald’s? It looks pretty empty, even the windows are gone.”

She rolled her eyes and smiled. Angela pinched me.

What? I wasn’t flirting. Just trying to lighten the mood. Sally wasn’t as tall as Angela but she was a little bustier, which I didn’t mind at all. I looked at her wrists and noticed how skinny she was. Her wrist had to be at least half the circumference of my wrist. It was like a twig. How was she still even living? I think that’s what made her bust stand out more. It was almost anime-like.

Angela pinched me again. Sally didn’t say anything, but I think she noticed I was (kind of) ogling her.

Chris patted my shoulder and whispered, “Don’t be deceived by looks.”

The car swerved into the plaza in front of Costco. Sally was biting her lips and looked pissed. She didn’t even go through the entrance. My car bounced up over the curve and into the parking lot.

Chris did not look impressed.

Josh cursed aloud, “Shit Sally. Just because the situation allows, doesn’t mean you should drive so recklessly.”

“No, no. Josh, get your feet out of my face!” Victoria said as Josh’s feet got dangerously close to her face.

“Sorry. I took my shoes off if that makes it any better.”

“No, you idiot. Your feet stink!”

Sally shrugged and said, “Did you look at the entrance? Too many cars trying to get out.”

Actually, there were cars pulling the same stunt as her, except they were trying to get out instead of in.

Chris muttered, “I guess we’ll have to steal a car later.”

I looked back at Chris and gave him my epic blue steel look. It was when I scrunched my eyebrows together and puckered my lips out. Did he really just say that?

Sally nodded and floored the car through the parking lot plaza which made me lurch forward. If I wasn’t wearing a seat belt, I would have flown out of the window.

Sally continued her reckless driving through the gaps she found in the parking lot as she headed towards McDonald’s. It wasn’t jam packed, but it wasn’t deserted either. The closer we got, the less cars there were. Some cars seemed to have been abandoned, but maybe the owners just didn’t have the luxury to return.

I looked at the side mirror and saw the people who had gained the most distance from Costco. They weren’t heading to their cars. They were running into the street. One person got hit by a car, but the driver kept on going. I’m guessing there was a riot in Costco as well.

Angry people crowd psychology suggested that no one would care about sticking around in a rundown McDonald’s. It seemed like the mob had already come and gone, taking the citizens away with it. Though, there were a few bodies here and there lying still on the ground. I didn’t want to check to see if they were dead. Though, if they were zombies, it would be a good idea to double-tap each of them. But I didn’t have a gun with me. Chris had the only weapon, a tennis racket. My tennis racket.

When we parked the car, the engine coughed to a stop. Even after Sally had turned off the car, something still spun inside the car’s engine. This was the end of the line for my car, parked perfectly in front of McDonald’s. I sighed. This is your new home now, bud.

I guess we really will have to steal a car.

While I was glancing for other cars in the vicinity, Victoria got out first, followed by Josh.

When Josh got out, he stomped to put his shoes on and tapped on the driver-side window, “Wow, Sally. I think you really are someone who likes to play by the book. You parked between the two lines and right up to the bumper. If it were me, I’d have tried to park diagonally over two spots and a bit into the handicap just because.”

Sally swung the car door open and almost hit Josh. Josh jerked back and bowed while muttering, “I apologize. Please forgive me.”

Chris got out the other side of the car and laughed while nodding his head. It wasn’t just a regular nod, but it was one of his official signals expressing, “I told you so.” It was subtle signal. You’d only pick it up if you knew Chris well. When he smiled and nodded, there was always something up because Chris never smiled for longer than a second before going back to his neutral, “I don’t give a damn,” face.

I guess I really can’t judge a book by its cover. Though, Sally wasn’t a book that I hadn’t read before. I guess her cover was just that eye-catching…

I tensed as I felt Angela’s hand resting on my arm.

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Nothing beats Angela though.

She smiled and just gave my arm a gentle squeeze before getting off the car.

Sweat dripped down the side of my face, and I put on the best smile I could before getting out of the car.

---

Once we were inside McDonald’s, we confirmed that it was indeed empty. We checked both bathrooms, the staff lounge, the manager’s office, and the kitchen. Josh volunteered the check the kitchen and came back with a bunch of hamburgers and fries in his hands. The employees who had worked here had all ditched on the job.

We sat at two tables we brought together near the middle of the room, away from the windows that were shattered. Most of the glass was scattered on the inside of the building while some pieces were on the outside. This suggested that some people had broken into McDonald’s, very much like what my neighbor did to my home (even though my front door was open). I think that’s one characteristic of the mobs I should take note of. They don’t care about standard procedure.

 Josh said, “Anyone ever try the McGangBang?” The girls looked at Josh and he raised his hands, “Not a joke. It’s true!”

Chris and I nodded and said, “It’s true,” at the same time. Our little truce among bros was brought to credibility when Sally nodded as well.

“What the heck is a McGangBang?” asked Victoria. She still didn’t believe us.

Chris said, “I’d tell you to look it up on your phone, but not sure how long the internet will last. It’ll be a good idea to charge our phones actually.”

I nodded while looking up at the lights turned on above us. The electricity was still running.

Sally shrugged, “It’s not like we have chargers with us though.”

We all sighed. In our rush to escape my house, we weren’t able to take any supplies.

“Ah!” Angela exclaimed. “Alex and I have our backpacks in the car!”

She got out of her seat and dashed out. When she got to the door though, she peeked around to check if it was safe. I got up to follow her but my body pulsed with pain so it was difficult for me to stand.

Chris stood up to support me and said, “Just chill, dude.”

I nodded. When Angela came back, she had my backpack and hers in her hand.

Sally said, “You have an Android, right? Give me your charger.”

Angela pulled my charger out as well and gave her phone with the two chargers to Sally. When Sally had gone and come back from plugging the phones into the outlet, Josh tapped the table.

“Ladies and gentlemen, I present to you… the McGangBang!” he said while emphasizing the last few words and holding it out for us to see. He had picked up a McChicken from in front of me and sandwiched it inside of a McDouble.

Victoria swiped away the hamburger and said, “Let me try.”

Josh laughed and said, “Dang Victoria, you look hungrier than me!” while reaching for some French fries to munch down.

Angela asked, “How does it taste?” and leaned closer to me, “Alex, make one for me too!”

“If that’s what you want,” I said, “Just make one for me, too.”

We all laughed and ate while tasting other secret menu items that we knew and making a few new ones ourselves. It was an unusual scene because of the ruckus going on outside of the plaza. From our perspective, the people running about and the cars driving away looked like ants rushing out of an anthill that was being flooded with water.

Someone had decided to play God, and people were paying for it. It made me think about whether a God existed or not. If he did exist, either this the end times or he was a very wicked god.”

---

After we had finished eating, we moved to the staff room.

“Why didn’t we eat inside the staff room?” asked Angela.

Everyone looked at each other and I saw Chris and Sally go for a face palm.

It was a sigh of how tired and hungry we had become. It was important to eat, but sitting in the middle of McDonald’s with no cover and broken windows wasn’t the smartest idea, especially with people still about. There could be people like us as well but with worse intentions.

Josh crashed onto the sofa and asked, “So what’s the game plan now?”

Sally crossed her arms and stared at Josh, who scooted over for her.

Chris said, “Let’s sleep here for the night. I checked it out when we first got here, and it’s pretty secure. The manager’s room over there has no other access points besides a small window. So we can lock this door and cover the window in the manager’s room with some paper.”

We all nodded and sat around the lounge table. Chris was holding some papers making origami shapes with them, and Angela was holding my hand. Somehow that had happened, and it felt nice. It distracted me from the pain my body was in.

“It’s pretty amazing how you were able to spot the McDonald’s,” said Angela.

Sally nodded, “I was too focused on what was going on in front of Costco that I didn’t even consider the McDonald’s.”

“That’s why he’s the lead— what’s up, Victoria?” asked Josh.

We turned to look at her, and she was crying.

“No. It’s just. Sorry. I can’t be like you all. I just froze. I know I’ve been holding you all back,” said Victoria in between sobs.

I shook my head, “No. I think you were helpful. Somehow you knew about the window, and your suggestion for Sally to drive instead of me was a good choice.”

Chris and Sally nodded.

Angela rubbed me on my back.

Thanks guys, but I meant it.

Josh asked Victoria, “Yeah, how did you know about the window?”

She replied, “I don’t know... I saw it happening before it happened, like I was there. That’s why I was so freaked out,” she paused, “I thought you died, Alex. I thought we were all going to die.”

Weird things had been happening, so I didn’t want to discount what Victoria had experienced, but it nevertheless gave me the chills.

“But I didn’t die,” I said.

She nodded, “That’s why I thought I was going crazy. It happened again before we left the house. I saw a vision where you were being pulled out of the driver’s seat by a woman drenched in blood.”

My stomach churned. I think everyone else was feeling a bit frightened too because they were tense and fidgety. Chris had stopped making his origami creations, and Sophie was biting her lips. Angela was squeezing my hand. If someone tried to separate us, it’d have to be after one of our arms broke, and I’d still hold on anyway.

Victoria continued, “It reminded me of the last days.”

“You mean like in the Bible?” Josh asked.

Victoria nodded, which reminded me that she was a believer. I better keep my thoughts about God to myself.

Chris cited, “In the last days, God says, I will pour out my Spirit on all people. Your sons and daughters will prophesy, your young men will see visions, your old men will dream dreams.”

The girls looked at him, and he shrugged.

Josh coughed, “Bookwarm,” and Chris threw an origami shuriken at him.

I knew Chris had read a lot of books, but I didn’t know the Bible was one of them. Though, I’m not sure if he was a believer. When we had talked about a presence of an Almighty God in the universe, we were skeptics. Though, it never hindered us from creating end world scenarios triggered by such beings. I mean, if there’s anything I’ve learned in life, it was that things happened for a reason.

Angela said, “So, you can see visions now?”

Victoria frowned and shrugged. She seemed to want to cry, but I don’t think she had any more tears left in her tear ducts.

“Did you see anything else?” said Sally.

Victoria shook her head.

“Maybe when we sleep, we’ll all have similar dreams like in The Stand,” said Josh with a bit of humor in his voice.

Chris shrugged and I sighed. Maybe. We’ll have to see. But I was tired. I wanted to rest.

And so I did.