There were four left when they reached the former general store. Mike was in a panic. "He asked me to shoot him. Bobby asked me, you all heard that, right?"
"Cool it now!" Ronnie said. "He said he didn't want to be one of those things. Don't fall apart now!"
Mickey added, "Yeah, don't worry, Mike. If you give me a reason, I won't hesitate to shoot you."
Ralph stayed silent as he stopped the car. Mickey held out a pistol to him. "You want?"
"I'm good," Ralph replied, reaching down for his toolbelt.
Ronnie checked his watch. "Okay, guys, this shopping spree's good for five minutes. When I call 'time', we roll."
"And when I call 'zombie', we open fire." Mickey added. "Ralph, open the door."
Ralph studied the lock before he pulled out the screwdriver. A quick smack, and they were in.
Mickey had Mike push the shopping cart. "Straight to canned goods, man! We need the stuff that lasts. Damn, do I miss ice cream, though... And cheese! Even squash! Butter-fried squash and zuccini, mmm!" While Mickey reminisced of flavors past, Mike watched the shadows.
Ralph was pushing Ronnie's cart. "This run's going to be food and ammo, Ralph, but I don't know when we'll be back again. If there's anything on your list that we can fit in the van, I'll consider it."
Ralph replied, "Two hammers... two needle-nose pliers... three sewing kits... rope, at least a hundred yards... a car battery."
They were between auto parts and the oil-change station. A car battery sat on the counter, still waiting for pickup. Ralph took out his screwdriver, scraping fresh sparks off one of the battery terminals. "I'm good," he said, lifting the battery.
They found a stash of cartridges when they heard the first gunshot. Mickey was screaming from across the store, "Cleanup, register 3!" He and Mike were bottlenecked in the aisle, with only their shopping cart between them and three zombies. Ronnie barreled through, sideswiping two with his overloaded cart. That gave Mickey a chance to load up and shoot one, while Ronnie shot another. The last one was reaching to bit on Ronnie's ankle, when Ralph's screwdriver came down through its skullcap, and out the bottom of its jaw. Ronnie jumped back, blasting the zombie skull like a ripe pumpkin. Without a word, Ralph retrieved his unscathed screwdriver and wiped it clean against his pants leg.
Back at base camp, Mickey and Mike shared the spoils - and the story - with the rest of the camp. Ronnie was talking with the others, in preparation for the memorial service. Ralph, meanwhile, was ready to plug his battery onto his latest device. The camp was ready for nightlights and food processors. He was ready to watch a movie again. He placed the battery on his improvised workbench, and began adding it to his contraption. But when he grasped the brackets, he frowned; he needed a Phillips head.
Ralph tossed the screwdriver without looking. "Useless..."
inspired by Discover Magazine article, "MicroRNA Halts Breast Cancer Protein"
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