There was a flicker of movement in the corner of Mattie's eye that made her stop and stand alert. Suddenly she thought of what might be inside the Wal-Mart. What if people had gotten infected in there? What if it was crawling with the living dead? [i]Why[/i] hadn't she considered this before? Heart pounding, she reached into her backpack, got out her slingshot, and picked a rock up off the ground. It wasn't by any means a very effective weapon, but a properly-aimed jagged rock could break open the skull and make it much easier for her to toss another stone and obliterate the brain. 

But she didn't shoot the sharp-edged rock which she held at the ready. She wanted to know if this person was...a person, before she leaped to conclusions. But the figure had disappeared. It was somewhere in the Wal-Mart, near the entrance, but she couldn't see it anymore. Mattie weighed her risks. She'd been sleeping partly on rooftops, partly in wrecked bedrooms of houses she wasn't sure were infected. She was desperate for shelter, real shelter that protected from the elements and from disease. 

She took a single deep breath. In and out. Stay near the entrance. Be [i]quiet.[/i] She picked up several more rocks, her chest aching with dread. She didn't want to go in there, she wanted to run far away. But if she could find food in there, food and fresh clothes and supplies, then maybe it'd put off her death for a good while. 

She approached on newly-energized feet, with a quickened pace. 

[i]In and out,[/i] she told herself. [i]In and out. In and out.[/i] Mattie stepped foot into the Wal-Mart with the feeling that most people have when entering a Wal-Mart (impending doom), and pulled back her slingshot, scanning the entrance of the store through narrow eyes.