Noah leaps out, swinging his knife

They might not be able to wait out the zombies, and if they were stuck there at nightfall...

Noah's mouth went dry at the thought of what could happen. He couldn’t let anything harm his wife, couldn’t stand the idea of her coming to harm. He leapt out of the shadows, swinging his knife at the nearest zombie. It went down with a sickening crunch, but the other was already lunging for Olivia, its teeth bared and glistening in the dim light.

She dodged, quick and agile, her hair flying behind her as she swung her knife at the creature’s arm. It shrieked, a high, unnatural sound, though the wound did nothing to stop it. Before they can react, it jumped into her, knocking her into a shelf which collapsed under their weight.

Noah raced toward her, but before he can reach her, Olivia managed to kick the zombie off and scramble away, her face streaked with sweat. He could see the terror in her eyes—the primal fear of ****. The creature lunged again, but this time, Noah was there, swinging his knife at its neck with a fierce yell. Blood sprayed across the floor, and the zombie fell to the ground, twitching in the throes of true ****. Noah's chest heaved, his heart hammering in his chest as he stared at the lifeless corpse.

He knelt down beside Olivia, pulling her up, his hands shaking with adrenaline and fear. She was unbitten, but a sharp point on the broken shelf had punctured her skin, her crimson blood pooling on her dress. Noah let out a breath he hadn’t known he had been holding. He could feel the blood still dripping down the side of her stomach.

“Are you okay?” he asked, his voice trembling with the effort to stay calm. He couldn’t bear the thought of losing her—the one person in this world who mattered more than anything else.

She nodded, taking a deep, shaky breath. “I think so,” she whispered, her voice barely audible over the pounding in Noah’s ears. "It's not that deep. I can fix it once we get back."

He helped her to her feet, supporting her as they made their way back through the aisles, stepping over the fallen zombies with an uneasy mix of relief and dread. He could still smell the blood, could still feel the heat of battle coursing through him. He glanced back at the wreckage behind them, the shelves overturned, and the supplies scattered across the floor, but it seemed no more zombies were in the vicinity.

They gathered the supplies, combing through the store thoroughly, finding a small stash of canned goods inside a cabinet, tucked away behind the counter. They returned, their steps heavy and slow. Olivia was pale, her face drawn tight with pain, but with a little **** and a well tied bandage, she would be fine.

[+2 Food, -1 Meds]