Page 43 of Afflicted

Rain pelted me, soaking through my clothes easily and sending a chill down my spine.

I ran through the automatic doors and stopped beside the carts as I shook the water from my hair.

The satphone buzzed in my pocket and I pulled it out, hoping it hadn't gotten wet.

Kai 10:04 - Don't eat any chicken

“Great work on the explanation there Kai,” I muttered as I grabbed a cart and started down the first aisle. I tapped a one worded reply.

10:05 - Why?

The shelves were weirdly bare. I headed through the fridges meant for fresh fruit and veg, finding half of the stock missing. I grabbed some apples but there weren't any bananas or grapes. I had to make do with only potatoes and carrots from the veg section too.

I frowned as I headed down the next aisle only to find more missing stock.

Kai 10:07 - Nothing's confirmed yet but Hawker thinks it should be avoided. Just trust us.

By the looks of it, I doubted I'd be able to buy any chicken even if I wanted to. I put the phone back in my pocket and made my way around the store, picking what I could from the meagre supplies available. It wasn't as if there wasn't enough food, there were just a lot of gaps where things were missing.

Luckily, the cleaning aisle didn't seem to be missing much so I was able to stock up on everything I needed to sort out the house.

I pushed my cart down the last aisle just as a message played over the tannoy.

“We regret to announce that the store will be closing in five minutes due to a hurricane alert. Please complete any purchases and make your way home quickly.”

A hurricane would certainly explain the storm that was raging outside. I made my way to the checkout and quickly loaded my groceries onto the conveyor.

There were two staff members waiting to pack my bags for me so I stood out of their way as they worked.

“Have you had a delivery issue?” I asked the cashier as she scanned my groceries.

“Driver's strike,” she replied disinterestedly.

“And there was an issue with one of the warehouses,” one of the packers added.

“Seems to be a new excuse added to the list every day,” the other packer said. “And we’re the ones left to try and explain it to all the pissed off customers.”

“So you're not really sure what's happening then?” I asked, glancing back at the half-stocked shelves.

The cashier shrugged as she scanned my last item and rung up my bill. “That's fifty seven ninety,” she said.

I handed over the money and grabbed my bags, thanking the packers for their help.

One of them followed me to the doors and pulled the shutter down as I stepped through.

“Hope you get home safe,” he said as he looked out at the pounding rain nervously. Thunder crashed overhead and he flinched back, dragging the shutters down with a clatter behind me.

I fished my key from my pocket and unlocked my truck before making a dash for it through the downpour. I tossed the groceries onto the passenger seat instead of the truck bed to save them getting wet and slammed the door behind me.

I brushed the water from my hair and started up the electric engine with a button on the dash.

If anything, the wiper blades had even more trouble clearing the windscreen than they had before. I considered staying put but if a hurricane was about to come tearing through then I really didn't want to be caught out in it. I just needed to get back to the house and probably head down to the basement for good measure.

I clipped my seatbelt on and pulled away.

The roads were clear as I started the drive back to the house. No other idiots were stupid enough to go out in a hurricane I guessed.

Trees and power cables swayed back and forth above me, caught in strong winds which wouldn't release their hold.