Hunted || Wesari

Chapter One: The Warehouse

Every step felt like it was too loud.

Wes was acutely aware of every move he made. He'd always been the anxious type, but since the outbreak, he'd gotten worse. He walked on his tipetoes, making sure to make as little noise as possible, which was hard with his ADHD.

Remina wasn't nearly as cautious. Every time he heard her make a noise, he winced. God, he loved that woman, but she was going to be the death of him.

The two made their way through the abandoned warehouse. Their mission was simple; find food. Ever since some raiders from a rival gang had destroyed their farms, the entire group had been starving. If Wes and Remina failed... he didn't want to think about it. No one did.

Wes didn't like it. The warehouse was too big, and all the identical lines of shelves made him feel like he was trapped, and offered way too many hiding spots. He could tell that Remina didn't like it either, even though the woman's emotions weren't the easiest to read.

"We're here," Wes almost jumped out of his skin when he heard her whisper. He stopped in his tracks, and followed her down one of the hallways.

He couldn't remember which company's warehouse they were in. All he could remember was that they handled vegetables, which was why only the shelves around them would contain any food; if their information was correct, they were the only ones that held canned foods. Everything else in the warehouse, all the fresh food products that were intended to be shipped out quickly, would be long rotten by now. At this point, they were probably just dust.

The boxes on the shelves looked undisturbed, which was a good sign. Wes helped Remina pull one out, making sure they made as little noise as possible. She took out her knife, and slowly cut open the tape. Wes' heart was beating erratically. If this box was empty, then the rest in the warehouse would probably be too, and they would starve.

Wes couldn't stop the feeling of relief that washed over him when he saw the box's contents; cans. Enough cans to feed the entire group for three weeks, at least. Remina smiled at him, and he couldn't help but smile back. He knew they were both thinking the same thing; if this box contained food, then the hundreds of others on this one shelf must too. The group would never have to worry about food again.

Quickly, the two started loading their bags with cans. They'd have to send out more people soon, to collect the other cans before another group found them. Once Wes had stuffed as many cans as he could into his bag, he stood up. Remina had been faster than him, and was already at the end of the hall. 

He put the box back on the shelf and jogged to catch up with her, all his past tension gone. Together, they made their way to the exit. 

That was when Wes heard scratching. Scratching that was far too loud to be that of a mouse's. A few seconds later, he heard a familiar sounding moan, and his fears were confirmed.

He pulled out his knife. Remina had heard it too, as she already had her's in her hand. He gave her a nod, and the two started sprinting towards the exit. If there was an infected in here, then he wanted to get as far away as possible.

Much to his horror, the sounds got louder as they ran. When they reached the door, panting for breath, Wes realized why. Pressing his ear to the door, his gut dropped.

There were infecteds outside. Lots of them. And as far as Wes knew, this was the only exit.

"They're outside," he whispered, as quietly as he could. Remina's face turned white.

"There has to be another exit," She whispered. But there wasn't. The only windows in the warehouse were near the ceiling, far too high to reach. And even if they could, the drop to the ground would kill them anyways.