"This is not as comfortable as I thought it would be..." Casey groaned. He was laying across a large collection of unopened bags of marshmallows. The convenience store he was currently holed up in offered little 'comfort' and a bed of marshmallows, to Casey, sounded pretty awesome. Despite his failed attempt at making a bed of fluffy sugar, he couldn't help but grin. Only in a fucked up situation like this would doing shit like creating a bed of marshmallows ever be possible. 

Giving up on his bed, Casey sat up and grabbed a bag of marshmallows. Ripping it open, he shoved two giant puffs into his mouth. There weren't many other options for food in the store. Most of it had been looted and, more than likely, wasted. The people who lost their shit and went on looting sprees were the ones who most likely died with the shit still on their backs. Oddly enough, the streets weren't littered with bodies. It was littered with various things that people were trying to transport before they were attacked. 

Casey forced the giant pieces of sugar down his throat and looked around. The store was awfully lonely and the soft rain outside wasn't helping. Being around people had actually been what kept him alive so far. You see, Casey made sure that when him and whoever he was with at the time came across trouble, they died and he didn't. With them dead, these monstrosities, whatever they were, became preoccupied with eating their new source of food rather than chasing him. Though, with all his companions having expiration dates, eventually he wouldn't have companions anymore. Thus his solitude. 

Not only did he need to find new people to sate his boredom but to ensure he would keep alive. He needed to come up with a plan. Reaching into his pockets he retrieved a pack of Newports and a small green lighter. Smacking the pack against the palm of his hand he began to lose himself in thought. If he left now and one of those things found him, he didn't have any get-out-of-jail free cards, aka people fodder. He could wait here until someone found him, but who knows how long that would take. Making a signal or sign was needless danger as it might just attract the monsters rather than the people. He needed to move... but how could he do it safely? 

"Shit." He had packed the cigarettes too much. Annoyed, he unwrapped the pack and pulled out one of the cigarettes, turned it upside-down, and put it back in the pack. It was his 'wish' cigarette. What he wished for? I cant tell you! Lighting a different cigarette, he took a long pull. What to do? What to do?? It was such a bother to have to think so much. He wished he had some weed to smoke instead of cigarettes. He actually wasn't a big cigarette smoker... but he needed something. 

Just then, the air suddenly burst with a high pitched noise. Startled, Casey dropped his cigarette onto his lap. Cursing, he scrambled to grab the cigarette without burning himself or his clothes. "What the fuck is that noise?" he said aloud. Having retrieved the cigarette, his eyes now scanned the poorly blockaded store front window. He could see those things moving around out there, obviously attracted by the noise. Or, better yet, distracted by the noise. Now was his chance! 

Casey put out the cig and sprang to his feet. He knew there was a side door that led to an alleyway in the back used for loading. He quickly made his way to the back, keeping low to avoid detection. Emerging into the empty alley, Casey's heart was racing. He loved it. He darted through the alley and toward the street. Peeking around the bend, he could see the monsters clawing at the speakers that were responsible for the noise. Keeping one eye on monsters down the street, he quickly scanned the nearby buildings. Some of them were utterly impossible to get to unless he climbed atop some of the abandoned cars. The closest store he could make it to was another small convenience store. If he were lucky he would find some survivors, or, at the very least, an outlet to a safer/clearer road. If he were unlucky, it was littered with monsters. 

It was then that Casey saw a young girl barreling down the street, a once-human monster at her coattails. Casey rolled his eyes as he saw her go straight to the store that he had his eye on. [i]Of-fucking-course. Just my luck[/i], he thought as she flew through the door, barely keeping the thing out. [i]That girl was probably about 100 pounds soaking wet and this thing is definitely around 200. No way she's keeping it out[/i] 

Just as Casey finished that thought, a death cry could be heard over the speakers somewhere down the road. That announcement had obviously fucked over several people. However, this new sound drew the attention of the monsters. The monster, as well as some of the ones that were at the speaker now flew down the road toward the scream. This was exactly what Casey needed. A new companion. He had to get to her. She was his ticket to keeping alive. 

Though, he wasn't sure if it were safe. What if she locked the door? What if there were more monsters in that store and she was already dead? As he weighed the pros and cons a voice came onto the speaker. It seemed like the man was talking about a safe zone but Casey couldn't tell. He really didn't have time to listen. Finally, he made a break for the store. The window shutters were half closed and the only other thing that kept him out was some wooden boards. Quickly, he kicked one of the boards out and slipped into the store. After he got in, he glanced back to see if he made it in undetected by the things outside. As far as he could tell, he was safe. His next order of business was to check the store. The last thing he needed was to be shot in the back having been mistaken for a monster. He spun around and took cover behind an empty food shelf. 

The announcement coming from the speakers was done now... but he had no choice. "Hello?" he said, risking to speak in a hushed voice."I know you're in here."