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The pharmacy was small on the inside, with a few rows of shelving in front of her, the actual pharmacy counter in the rear of the store, and a cashier counter beside her.
The large sign hanging in the center of the store had a mortar and pestle with a recipere in bright-red coloring. The text beneath it read A community helping each other become one.
Rebecca focused on the trashed shelving, boxes scattered throughout the ground, and even money lying on the counter with an inch of dust on it. The interior was dark where the light didn’t penetrate it through the windows, and the stillness was so damn spooky that she felt a chill race up her spine.
Her shoes crunched over broken glass as she moved through the shop, collecting what she could find that was usable. Most of the items were destroyed, expired and unsafe to take with her, or had been totally cleaned out by scavengers.
There was a small room off to the side, and she could see a sink and toilet from where she stood. Moving toward it, she grabbed her flashlight from her backpack, turned it on, and shone it in the room. The bathroom was small enough to hold one person, so when she realized it was empty, she stepped inside.
Shining the light along the wall, she spotted what she had been hoping was in here. A condom and pain reliever wall dispenser hung behind the door, and although both were beat to shit and cracked wide open, she was able to get some of the packages off the floor.
A few single-serve packets of ibuprofen and acetaminophen and even some condoms were by her feet. Although sex wasn’t a part of her life anymore for obvious reasons, she did take the condoms. They were useful in other ways, such as containers for water, which sounded nasty but worked when she was desperate. She shoved the medicine and rubbers in the backpack and stepped back out into the store.
Rebecca moved behind the pharmacy counter, and although she had been hoping she could find antibiotics, even if they were probably expired and wouldn’t help if she had a cold or flu, she saw everything was pretty much cleared out. There was hardly any light in this part of the store, so she swept her flashlight back and forth until she spotted some first aid supplies.
Crouching on her haunches and balancing the flashlight between her neck and chin, she shoved into her bag the gauze, alcohol swabs, A&D ointment, and other small supplies that had been kicked under a shelf. She took the flashlight again, shone the light over the ground, and spotted a few small bottles of saline in the corner under a box.
They were filthy, and a few were already busted open, but the sterile ones she picked up and kept. She stood and glanced around the room once more. This place was picked clean already, and she wouldn’t be able to get anything else of use from it.
Stepping out of the pharmacy, she immediately saw a clothing store a few shops down and made her way over to it. Repeating the same procedure she did for all buildings before she entered, she waited for a few minutes to see if anything partially dead came out. Inside the clothing store proved a little more positive as she saw several racks of overturned clothing and even some vending machines in the corner.
The backpack she had only carried so much, but she was able to find a tote bag and started filling it with some undergarments, socks, and even a couple of pants and shirts that were a little too big for her but were better than nothing.
A winter coat was pushed underneath a shelf, and although there was a tear in the arm, and the coat itself was filthy from the dust and grime on the ground, she took it and slipped it on. The clothing she wore was on its last leg anyway, and anything other than what she had on was like gold.
The vending machines proved pretty much useless as the glass was busted out and everything taken from inside it. But she moved toward the back, saw that a few bags of chips and even one chocolate bar were behind it, and sent a silent thanks to whoever was helping her find this stuff right now.
After she got what she needed, she headed out of the clothing store and went into a few other ones, collecting what she could carry, and finally stopping at the lone grocery store in this town. It was much bigger than the other buildings she had gone into, and compared to the chain businesses in Denver, it looked more like a convenience store at a gas station.
Grass and weeds were starting to make their way through the numerous cracks in the pavement right in front of the doors. There were a few busted and partially dismantled cars in the distance, but she didn’t see any movement. The sun was especially bright today, but it was still cold as hell. She lifted her arm and blocked the light as she stared at one of the cars.
