Young Writers Society

The buildings to the right side of the street gave way to a much larger building, the road branching off in front of the building to make a space where a bunch of the metal wagons had parked (or crashed). Other than the large glass windows, the size of the building, and the metal cars neatly arranged at several parts of the parking space, Zech didn't see anything special about it. Maybe Queenie would; the tiger slowed down.

"It's not really a relationship issue?" he said. "He just likes complaining about things, and he has other people he can visit if he really is bored. For the most part, I think he's happy that he can finally take a break. We're not in a war anymore."

Queenie rolled her eyes, "Whatever you say, my dear."

She walked into the parking lot and peeked into the windows of a couple of cars. Nothing seemed too out of the ordinary, save the lack of people.

"I'd ask about the war you keep mentioning, but I don't care. Anyway, this is a grocery store, in case you didn't know that, and I'm going to check if there's a clothing section, because I am soaking wet and covered in blood and that isn't how I want to spend the next gods-know-how-long."

She didn't check to make sure he followed as she pried open the 'automatic' doors and went inside.

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Briar watched the pair hug, unsure of what to do. No one looked hurt, or like they needed to be hurt, so her area's of expertise were useless. She stayed silent.

What had been the point of the conversation? Had Queenie been hoping to listen to him so she could poke fun at him? If he'd had the courage to confront her, he would've done so. Instead, he inched his way towards the doors that she'd forced open, squeezing between them to make his way into the building.

The inside stretched out before him. Bundles of fruit and vegetables had been set in boxes to either side, just after even more metal carts. Beyond that, rows and rows and rows of shelves, all stuffed with food, reached back to the other end of the store. Zech couldn't recognize a lot of it, or the signs set over those shelves, but he could definitely hear his stomach rumbling.

However, some strange, boxed-in lights overhead flickered a little more frequently than they had a few seconds before, while mist started to spread out from over a bunch of vegetables stuffed against one wall. Not exactly what he liked to see, to say nothing about how this entire place was full of strange things - now he wondered if the pit in his stomach was hunger. "Queenie? Where are you?" he called, taking a tentative few steps into the store.



Even though it meant that Mal had seen him limp and listless, Lasan couldn't help but feel a warmth in his heart as the lion gave him a hug.

Unfortunately, it couldn't last forever; across the room, a few familiar people and a few strangers had gathered together, and the lizard knew there was a story behind that. "Could someone tell me what happened?" Lasan said, reaching a scaled hand out to rub Mal's back; the lion let out a gentle purr. "I, uh, don't remember much of anything since I ended up here."

It took some time before Kirux finally felt better. When he did, he pulled back from the hug and waited for someone to say something. It didn't take long - the lizard man had just spoke. But Kirux didn't really know how to answer his question, so he stayed silent and watched him from his spot near Thytes.

Queenie heard her name being called but was in no rush to answer it. She'd found a small selection of clothing toward the back of the store, a couple of different kinds of dresses, some shorts, t-shirts, and a few hoodies, and was busily rifling through it. She selected a pair of shorts, t-shirt, and hoodie combination and slung them over her arm, being careful not to get watered down blood all over them.

Then she answered Zech's call, appearing behind him, silent as the grave until she spoke, "I'm here," she sighed.

Picking up on the smell of blood, Zech screamed and threw his arms up. He spun around, expecting some kind of large, blood-covered creature, or possibly a victim of whatever disaster had just taken place, only to find Queenie, a few pieces of clothing over one arm.

The tiger pressed a paw against his chest and took a couple deep breaths. "Sorry," he said. "I wasn't expecting that. Did you, uh, find everything you were looking for? And anything that'll help us figure out what happened here?"



With Briar silent, Mal preoccupied with clinging onto Lasan, Zech gone, and Kirux not singing anything, it looked like it came down to Thytes to explain things.

"We appear to have found ourselves in another world," the lion said. "Mal, Zech, you, and I made our way out of a sauna and hot bath, though it was Kirux who opened the door to this room. Zech and I set you on a table, met Briar and Queenie, who have also been stranded here, and Zech left to accompany Queenie after a mildly tense conversation. And I should hope they will be back soon?" He glanced at Briar; maybe Queenie's sister would have a better idea than he did.

Queenie raised her eyebrows, "No, I didn't find anything useful. What I'm going to do now is change into something that isn't bloodsoaked and dripping all over the place, and what you're going to do is grab some food. I don't know about everyone else, but Briar and I are hungry, not that she'd admit it, so bringing back something to eat would be nice." And with that, she turned on her heel and went to find somewhere to change.



Briar shook her head, "Queenie takes her time," she glanced at the door, "If she doesn't find anything she thinks is interesting, she should be back soon, but she can be...impulsive. She and I aren't supposed to split up for that reason, among others."

Zech gulped, waiting until he was reasonably sure Queenie had left before doing anything. Then, taking a shaky breath, he grabbed onto a metal cart that had been sitting by one of the rows of shelves.

Food? Sure, there was plenty of food here; that was the whole point of the store, it looked like. But most of it didn't look like anything he was familiar with, and Queenie was both hungry and hostile. Ugh, why wasn't Thytes here? He could actually make a meal.

He pushed the cart between two of the rows, scanning the food on either side of him. The tiger picked up what looked like a loaf of bread in a strange wrapper and set it in the cart. Queenie would like bread, right?



Thytes bit his lip for a second. "Should we attempt to find her if she does not return soon?" he said. "Or would it be best to wait?"

Briar thought about it for a second, "If she doesn't return soon, it would be best if I went to find her with as few people as possible. I don't expect her to be gone much longer, though."

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Queenie returned to Zech after changing into her new outfit. The shorts didn't reach down to her knees, leaving the sheaths that held her throwing knife sets and her gun holster exposed. She would have attempted to hide them, but she dubbed it not worth the effort. She had the spare knife that had been in the sheath built into the bodice of her dress hidden under the hoodie anyway, so it wasn't like all of her weapons were known.

"How's it going?" she asked, placing a couple of boxes of crackers that she had picked up on her way in the cart.

Reaching out for a box of something, Zech paused. He stared down at the cart, trying not to notice the knives strapped to Queenie's legs. "Um," said the tiger. "Pretty good? I, uh, don't recognize a lot of this, and I can't really read the labels and names, so I picked whatever looked nice. So some bread, some nuts, jam, some vegetables, a few other things."



"If that should become necessary, could I go with you?" Thytes said. "Zech is rather near and dear to me - as are Mal and Lasan, of course - but the one least capable of protecting himself. Which, as you might imagine, worries me."

Queenie nodded, looking over the contents of the cart, "Might wanna add some meats to that selection," she said, gesturing to the section where he would find such things, "I'll see if there's some first aid stuff around here. I know for a fact that Briar has a few scrapes and bruises that need attending to still, and it's always good to have spare bandages and stuff." She shrugged and walked off again, not waiting for any kind of answer.

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Briar nodded, "If they are in danger, I cannot guarantee Queenie will expend effort or put herself at risk for his sake, so your presence could be the only way to ensure his safety."

Why did Queenie keep switching between aggressive and calm? Zech couldn't place her at all - sometimes she'd snap at him, sometimes she'd give him good advice. He got the general impression that she hated him and thought of him as a means to an end, which didn't make him feel all that much better. Still, an order was an order, and he liked the sound of meat, so he wheeled the cart into the section of the store she'd gestured to.

Oof, the smell of meat was almost overpowering. Trying not to drool, Zech made his way down the rows and rows of packaged meats. Some had been ground up, some had been stuffed into cold containers, some had been wrapped up in brown bags. The tiger picked some of the larger morsels, stuffing them into the cart.

At this point, the flickering of the lights had switched from occasional to much more frequent. They blinked over his head, accompanied by the hiss coming from whatever was making the mist that cooled the nearby vegetables. Part of him swore he could pick out something beneath the hissing, something a little lower-pitched, but the rest of him wasn't sure if he was imagining it or not.

"Queenie?" Zech said, glancing around him. "Did you get what you need?"



"I would be a little angry at your sister, should he come to harm," Thytes said. "And he is a healer - would it not be in her best interest to keep him alive?"

Briar shook her head, "Queenie is confident in her abilities, sometimes overly so. If it comes down to a choice where she can put herself in danger for him, or get herself to safety, she will choose the latter option. And I do not believe she will mind your anger."

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Queenie appeared behind him again, this time with a bag slung over her shoulder, "Yeah, most of it anyway. Do you hear that?" she asked, referring to the...something else that growled beneath the natural sounds of the grocery store.

The flickering lights were starting to worry her as well. She couldn't rationalize it, but she really didn't like the dark. The idea that the lights might go out completely in the windowless shop wasn't one she liked. She took an unconscious step back toward the doors.