Page 94 of What Remains

The sun crested the eastern mountains, casting the valley into sharp relief. From this height, the snow-covered landscape made Lakewood appear clean, almost peaceful—a deceptive beauty. Seth ignored the shimmering rooftops and focused on the unnatural stillness, the abandoned cars dotting the streets like stones in a dry riverbed. He scanned for movement, for anything that didn't belong in the deceptively quiet picture.

Then, an infected stumbled into an intersection, followed by another, then five more.

The illusion shattered.

"Pretty from up here," Jay muttered as he climbed onto the roof behind them. "Until you remember what's walking around down there."

Seth didn't reply, already studying the landscape. The shopping district lay nearly a mile away, just off the interstate—big-box stores surrounded by acres of parking lots stretched across the valley floor. Sporting goods. Hardware. A grocery store. A pharmacy. Everything they desperately needed, and any one of them could become a coffin.

Cade knelt near the roof's edge, pulling military binoculars from his pack.

"No offense," Jay said, "but this feels a little elaborate for a grocery run."

Cade didn't lower the binoculars. "It stopped being a shopping trip the day people started eating each other."

Seth couldn't suppress a faint grin. "I like him."

Jay rolled his eyes. "Of course you do."

Seth crouched beside Cade, pulling a weathered notebook and pencil from a cargo pocket.

"You seriously carry that everywhere?" Cara asked.

He shrugged. "A bad map gets you killed faster than no map at all."

Josie smiled. "I've learned not to question Marine logic."

"You should question it," Jay said. "Just not while they're armed."

Even Cade chuckled quietly. The laughter faded as he brought the binoculars to his eyes, his focus narrowing on the town below.

"Starting north." He swept the town methodically. "No movement on the overpass. About thirty infected near the off-ramp."

Seth sketched a crude outline of the highway. "Thirty. What else?"

"Gas station..." Cade adjusted the focus. "...clear."

Seth made another note, the pencil scratching steadily.

Cade continued scanning. "The grocery store... it's bad."

"How bad is bad?” Cara asked.

He didn't answer right away, his thumb making tiny movements as he counted. "The front doors are gone. They're just... shuffling. A huge mass of them trapped in the entrance. I count fifty in the lot, but inside..." He fell silent. "At least two hundred. Some are still twitching, trying to make sounds. Like they remember speaking."

Jay let out a low whistle.

"Maybe more."

Josie's stomach sank. "So grocery's off the list."

"For today," Seth agreed.

"What about the pharmacy?" Josie asked.

Cade shifted the binoculars east. "Parking lot's mostly clear. Maybe fifteen outside." He lingered another few seconds. "No obvious movement inside."

Josie nodded. "That's manageable."