Shelby, Ryan, and Violet
Only a few feet away, Ryan scanned the mass of people with a frantic look on his face as he tried to stay put out front. The crowds stampeding out the front door made it a difficult task, though; it felt like he was shoved back and forth from all sides, like a pinball in a tight machine, as he tried to keep an eye out for his best friend. He couldn't afford to let the crowd sweep him up and take him away from where she may be, nor could he risk getting pushed towards the walkers who were still swarming towards the grocery store.
"Violet!" he yelled, voice ragged with exhaustion and desperation.
Everyone was yelling, that was the problem. Yelling for others, or screaming in general. Ryan should have been easy to find - he was tall! But so were a lot of others who were part of the hubbub close to where she was. Violet tried to make herself small to keep people from running into her, which was a lost cause since everyone was running into everyone else out there. Someone slammed into her hard and she cried out at the surge of pain it sent through her, her eyes squeezing shut as she let it ride out before she let herself open them again.
And there he was, not too far away even with the people milling between. “Ry!”
He turned at the sound, knowing immediately who was responsible. "Violet!" he called out again, the last syllable ending with a grunt of pain as the crowd nearly swept his feet up from underneath him. Ryan didn't fall just yet, though, and he continued to fight his way through to where he thought he'd heard her. He pushed and kicked, clearing a path as best as he could, before finally --
"Violet!" He grabbed for her hand, a tiny spark of hope filling him as he finally took hold of her. Violet gripped his hand tightly, not wanting to let go ever again - or at least not until they were safe. Now that they were together, they could get through this: the people running for their lives and the undead looking to chase them down.
"Still parked out on the side?" They could get there and drive away from this hellhole. It would be easy with them both together.
“Yeah, parked on the side,” Violet confirmed, squeezing his hand and glancing toward where they'd left their truck. It was quickly becoming her favorite place when it came to going to the grocery, because it felt like the safest place she could have when things went to hell. “Shouldn't be hard to get to once we’re out of the middle of this.”
"Okay." And it did kind of look like the crowd was thinning out, maybe. Ryan stepped in front of her, using his relative height to try and cut through, but his narrow frame didn't stand up as well to the crush of people as he liked. It was a wonder that it didn't take twice as long for them to shove their way through the stampede at the front of the grocery store, but as soon as he caught sight of who -- or what -- was waiting for them, Ryan was of half a mind to turn back and try to fend for themselves in the thick of the grocery store.
After all, coming face to face with a large swarm of zombies -- the biggest amount he'd ever seen all in one go -- didn't exactly inspire.
They were still on the edge of the crowd of humans, just a few feet away. Ryan turned his head to look down at Violet, biting his lip. "We're just gonna try and make a run for it?"
There had already been knots in Violet’s stomach, and they twisted and tightened even more at the sight in front of them. She thought she might throw up, honestly. Her grip on Ryan’s hand was practically white knuckled, and she swallowed hard to try and find her voice.
“We just need to get to the truck,” she said, looking up at him for a moment before looking past the zombies to where the safety of their truck was. “Once we’re there, we’ll be fine.”
"Yeah." Ryan was immune, at least, but Violet wasn't -- and from the way she was moving, she could be hurt, too. There wasn't time to check, though, not when they still had to get through them. "Just stay close to me, okay?"