The thought crossed Nicholas' mind that perhaps picking up a random stranger as a survival partner wasn't the best course of action. Mattie seemed fearful enough, but fear didn't necessarily equal sanity or loyalty. His senses were hypersensitive as they trekked the brief journey to the Walmart he was keeping refuge in, ears tuning in to every sound, eyes catching every movement.

"Alright," he let out a breath he didn't know he was holding and paused to look at Mattie. He gestured toward the entrance, "We're just past the foyer, near the pharmacy."

Nodding, he passed through the automatic doors that had long since stopped working and been pried open. Nature was already taking itself back; vines and ivy grew along the floor, passing just beyond the entrance. Metals were rusting and dirt and grime were piling up in cracks in the tile. None of it was unexpected. What was unexpected, however, was the loud, ferocious snarling erupting from behind a shelf.

It happened much quicker than Nicholas could keep up with. He was walking toward the spot where their camp was hidden when a blurry, humanoid figure leaped from behind the aisle, growling in his face. His reflexes were just sharp enough that he managed to raise the shovel in time to knock the attacker back, one hand gripping the end of the handle and the other gripping by the spade.

"Crap!" he cried out, raising the shovel then with both hands as he prepared to bring it down on the corpse's head. But he paused when he recognized the face. "Mom," he gasped, staring. The shovel unconsciously lowered, but only for a brief second before his mother's corpse was lunging at him again. He thrust the spade forward, and the pointed end ripped through the corpse's weakened flesh easily.

The creature let out a forced grunt when he pulled the makeshift weapon from four inches within her abdomen. He felt a pang of guilt and remorse in his heart, but he reminded himself: it wasn't his mother anymore.

[i]I'm so sorry,[/i] he thought bitterly, gritting his teeth as he once again raised the shovel, this time successfully bringing it down on the monster's head, splitting the tissue to the skull until the skull cracked. He repeated the hits until she went down, and continued until she was barely recognizable.