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back.” She picked up her tranquilizer rifle and strapped her wakizashi sword over her shoulder.
    “Make sure you have a clear line of sight to me.” Andrew grabbed her arm. “The moment you can’t see me, forget them and get back here.”
    “Sure.” Wisteria kicked the door closed and jogged to the shop. The stench of the undead surrounded her as she pulled the door open.
    Melissa was busy sorting through a clothes rack, and didn’t notice Wisteria approaching.
    “Come on Melissa, this isn’t a great idea,” Amanda begged. “All the runners have left us behind.”
    “Take it easy, Mandy. They wouldn’t let us come out here if this place was dangerous. Norton has been safe for years,” Melissa disagreed.
    Wisteria crept up behind them while swinging the rifle back and forth between them, just in case.
    “I haven’t been out of the island for years. Can you believe this place? It’s practically untouched and has all the stuff I’ve been dying for. How is that possible?” Melissa blurted.
    “Because, biters don’t use Penelope Rose foundation,” Wisteria retorted from behind them.
    “Wisteria.” Amanda hurried over while looking relieved. “What are you doing in here?”
    “What am I doing? Are you out of your mind? No one was supposed to leave the agreed route,” Wisteria replied. “Seriously, what are you thinking?”
    “I just needed some—whoa.” Melissa stopped shopping, shocked to find Wisteria pointing a weapon at her face.
    “Both of you, in the car now,” Wisteria ordered.
    “Yeah…No,” Melissa sneered. “Wisteria, it’s a freedom run. The operative word is freedom. Norton is fine. My mum gets the status reports. They wouldn’t let us out if it was dangerous, so I’m going to get what I need and we’ll go when I’m done.”
    “Melissa, we shot a biter here just days ago,” Wisteria declared.
    “First of all, don’t point that gun at me. It was over a month ago and nothing has been seen since.” Melissa laughed and continued selecting makeup. “There’s no one here, stupid. There’s been no one in this forsaken hell hole for years.” She dropped a tube of peach lip-gloss into her shopping basket. “And second—I’m not done. I just need to get a few things. I’m not going to be here forever.”
    “Melissa,” Amanda pleaded. “We should go.”
    Melissa walked off with her shopping basket in hand.
    “Amanda, get back to the car,” Wisteria called out to her while she tailed Melissa for a few feet, but stopped just before Andrew left her line of sight. “Melissa, I’m going. I assume you know the way to the bridge?” Wisteria asked bluntly.
    “What? No, you’re not leaving me!” Melissa was busy trying on a shoe. “Let me get the other shoe. Then, we’ll go.”
    “You want to go into the dark store room—in the back, and look for the other shoe?” Wisteria’s mouth dropped open.
    “What? You’re completely mental!” Amanda exclaimed.
    “Oh right, probably not. I’ll grab some perfume, and then we can go,” Melissa said.
    “Shh,” Wisteria whispered. “I heard something.”
    The sound of scuffling feet came from behind them.
    “Ha, you must think I’m thick.” Melissa laughed and put her old shoes on. “I heard Steven really scared you during the drill.”
    Glancing back, she saw the SUV was out of sight. Moving back to the storefront, she stopped when she saw two short heads of hair that were weaving from the storefront through the clothing racks, toward the three girls. “Amanda, we need to move, now!”
    “We can’t leave Melissa,” Amanda protested.
    Two little boys, about seven years old, in gray school uniforms emerged from racks. The boys’ faces were vacant. Their eyes were blood red, their fingertips stained with blood.
    “They’re just kids.” Melissa stared at them.
    “No, those are the fleshers of children.” Amanda was backing away.
    One of them groaned while spewing rotten blood from its lips.
    Blood this dark meant