The automatic sliding doors were stuck in the open position and the flow of the people going in and out of the store seemed perpetual as Stan waited politely to slip inside. After waiting a few moments, he realized that most shoppers had long since discarded their manners as they made for the rapidly vanishing food supplies.

The large grocery store was dimly lit, as the juice dwindled and the battery-powered emergency lights dotting the walls. This store, like most modern grocery stores, drug stores, and department, had been built largely without windows to help prevent burglaries. It depended almost entirely on artificial interior lighting to brighten it’s aisles. Without electricity, the store became a huge, dark cave, with only the emergency spots providing any light at all. Continue reading →