Adrain was sweating despite the cool fall breeze. It had been years since he had been athletic, his age and comfortable lifestyle betraying him. Scavenging was hard work, doing it quietly was even harder. The soft whine of his stomach, however, was reminder of why he was out here. After Shannon had left him he had decided to get an apartment and let her have their small townhouse. She had went to stay with her mother while he moved, and hadn't made it back before things went to hell. This had left him with an apartment barely stocked with groceries, and his plan of waiting things out had left him hungry by day four.

He began walking towards the shopping center. Sure, there was a better chance of it being populated but, there was also a better chance that someone left something behind in their rush. He weaved between two rotters, who halfheartedly gave chase. Those two would be deadly by nightfall. Something about being out in the sun didn't agree with them. Some people had speculated that it was some kind of parasite, maybe it didn't react well to UV rays. Didn't matter really, didn't help him at night. Another rotter up ahead. He altered course to give himself some distance and continued on. He hadn't killed one yet, and didn't see the sense in risking it unnecessarily.

The doors to the center were up ahead and with a glance around to make sure his friends from before weren't catching up he- [i]What was that?[/i] He was sure he saw someone, just for an instant. [i]Rotters don't move like that during the day.[/i] It was a long shot but, gripping his improvised club, Adrain abandoned his quest for food and started toward the theater. His boots crunched more noisily than he would have liked over the broken glass outside but it was unavoidable, strewn everywhere. [i]I wonder how many people were at the matinee?[/i] A sickening thought. In such an enclosed space the undead would have ripped them to shreds. His hand touched the door, opening it slowly. His club raised, he spoke softly "If you don't have a pulse then just stay back there"