Apocalypse Ground Zero: Refusing To Leave Home-Chapter 70: Out Of Time
The SUV didn’t slow down.
Chenghai kept it steady as they pushed deeper into the city, one hand tight on the wheel while the other flexed once before settling back into place. His ribs pulled with every small adjustment, the lingering injury reminding him of its presence in sharp, controlled bursts.
He ignored it.
Pain didn’t change the route. It didn’t change the objective.
Jian Yuche leaned back in the passenger seat, his shoulder throbbing in a dull, steady rhythm now that the immediate pressure had passed. His gaze stayed forward, not scanning everything anymore—just the parts that mattered.
Intersections. Choke points. Places that would trap them if they chose wrong.
"We’re not stopping at the next one," he murmured.
Lingyun shifted slightly in the back seat, his attention snapping from the passing buildings to Yuche’s reflection in the glass. "You already see something?"
"It’s too open," Yuche answered with a shake of his head. "Too easy to get boxed in. We don’t need another mistake like the last one."
No one argued.
They had already made one mistake and that was more than enough for all of them.
Chenghai adjusted their route without comment, cutting across a narrower street instead of continuing straight. The buildings closed in slightly, the space tightening, reducing angles and limiting exposure.
It wasn’t safer so much as just more predictable.
Zhenlan leaned forward just enough to see past the front seats, his eyes moving once across the street ahead before settling back. "If we keep moving like this, we’ll burn daylight without finding anything. I don’t even want to know what happens in the dark."
"We find something we can control," Yuche replied. "Or we don’t stop until we run out of gas."
Lingyun let out a quiet breath, his fingers tapping once against his knee before going still. "Then we need even smaller than the last store. Something people could easily miss unless they already knew it was there."
"Exactly," agreed Yuche.
The SUV rolled through another intersection, tires crunching over scattered debris. The city didn’t change. It didn’t improve. Every block looked like the last—picked apart, stripped down, reduced to what no one else wanted or what no one else had noticed.
But they had no choice but to get supplies. It was either that or die trying.
Yuche’s gaze shifted slightly as something small caught his attention.
This time it wasn’t a zombie stumbling across them but a store.
It was set back just enough from the road that it didn’t draw the eye immediately. There was no sign above it, just white and yellow letters on the front window. The window itself was still intact enough for the name to be read if someone was looking for it.
But looking around, most people wouldn’t.
"That one," Yuche murmured, pointing to the hole in the wall.
Chenghai followed the line of sight immediately, easing off the gas just enough to approach without announcing themselves more than necessary. The SUV rolled past once, slow, controlled, giving them a full view without committing.
A single story. Narrow and small enough that you could stand in the middle and touch both sides at the same time.
There was also only two visible access points.
The inside was hard to see, but as far as Yuche was concerned it wasn’t a bad thing. At least it still looked secure.
"Circle it," Yuche added quietly. He trusted his gut, but that didn’t mean he was willing to risk his neck again.
Chenghai didn’t question it. He drove past, turned at the next intersection, and looped back from the opposite direction. Same store. Same angles. Different perspective.
Still nothing moving.
No silhouettes.
No shift behind the glass.
"Good enough," Lingyun murmured.
"Good enough," Yuche echoed.
That was as close to safe as anything got now.
Chenghai pulled the SUV to a stop about fifteen meters short of the entrance, angling it for a clean exit. The engine idled for a few seconds before he cut it completely, letting the silence settle around them.
"Same rules," Yuche murmured. "Fast. Clean. No hesitation."
Zhenlan nodded once.
Lingyun didn’t respond.
He was already moving.
Doors opened almost in sync, the four of them stepping out into the cold, still air. The smell hit immediately—faint, but present. Rot and decay. Like something that had been sitting too long without being disturbed.
Yuche adjusted his grip on the bag he had brought with him, ignoring the pull in his shoulder as they crossed the distance to the store.
The door was slightly open.
Not broken.
Not forced.
Just... left that way. Like the owner forgot to lock it behind them.
Yuche paused for half a second, his eyes moving across the frame, the hinges, the glass.
No immediate signs of struggle.
No fresh damage.
"Watch the angles," he murmured.
Lingyun moved left.
Zhenlan moved right.
Chenghai stayed centered.
Yuche pushed the door open the rest of the way.
The hinges creaked just a bit too loud, but they went in anyway. They needed food. They needed supplies.
And they were getting desperate.
The air inside made all four men gag just a bit.
The smell of rot was all around them, concentrated in a way that suggested something had been left too long without being cleared out.
But Yuche refused to focus on it.
If it was rotten, it wasn’t worth taking.
His attention shifted to the fully packed shelves. "Take everything," Chenghai murmured, already moving. "We leave nothing for anyone else."
There was three grunts of agreement as the men spread out without needing direction.
Lingyun cleared the center aisle, pulling down anything boxed or canned without checking labels. Zhenlan worked the far wall, grabbing jars, packets, anything intact. Chenghai moved toward the back, sweeping the shelves near the counter with controlled efficiency.
Yuche took the right side.
Snacks.
Lightweight.
Fast to grab.
High value for the space they took.
Best of all, Rouxi would like them.
He swept his arm across the shelf, pulling multiple items down at once, stacking them against his body before moving to the next section.
No hesitation.
No second guessing.
It didn’t matter what it was... it was now theirs.
Time moved faster inside but Yuche didn’t count seconds.
Instead, he tracked the progress. Half the aisle were cleared, then the next, then the next.
They were almost completely done taking everything when the sound started low.
Faint.
It was easy to ignore if you weren’t listening for it.
But they were.
That was another lesson that they had learned.
Yuche’s head tilted slightly as he reached for another stack of boxes. "Outside," he murmured.
Lingyun didn’t stop moving, still grabbing things and putting them into the bags that they had brought from the car.
"Distance?"
"Closing in."
That was enough.
They didn’t leave.
Not yet.
There was still more food to take.
Food that meant the difference between life and death.
Chenghai moved faster now, his movements tighter, more aggressive as he cleared the remaining shelves. Zhenlan adjusted his pace to match, pulling down items in larger handfuls instead of single grabs.
The sound grew.
Not louder.
Closer.
More of them.
Yuche shifted his position slightly, angling his body so he could see the entrance without fully turning away from the shelf.
Shadows passed the glass.
One.
Then two.
Then more.
"Two minutes," Chenghai murmured.
No one argued.
That was generous.
But they would take it.
Yuche cleared the last section in front of him, grabbing everything within reach and turning toward the door.
The pile of bags near the entrance was getting larger now.
The risk had been worth it... maybe... if they got out without dying.
The sound outside shifted again, getting even closer.
"We need to leave... Now," Yuche murmured and Lingyun was already moving. Zhenlan followed, and Chenghai grabbed the last handful from the counter and turned toward the door.
Yuche took position at the back without thinking.
Watching.
Tracking.
Counting.
The shapes outside were no longer passing.
They were stopping.
Turning.
Coming closer.
"Move," Chenghai murmured.
This time, no one waited.
