Practical Medicine Part 1

Posted on Thu Sep 4th, 2025 @ 1:17pm by Cassandra Lennox & René Rouen & Albert 'Bert' Smith

3,376 words; about a 17 minute read

Mission: Safe Harbour
Location: Dunsbrough, Pharmacy
Timeline: 2nd December, 2013

Bert watched as they spilt up into two groups of two and walk in different directions. He decided to follow the one with the woman, she seemed to be in charge or at least in charge of the current group. He continued to keep his distance as he tried his best to be as quiet as he could. However, the crunching of the fresh snow underfoot was hard to keep to a minimum. Even rolling his feet as he walked wasn't helping. He hoped that if he kept his distance they wouldn't hear the subtle snow crunching noise. As he followed they were heading to an area that had several rotters in. He slowly pulled his bow from his back and armed it with an arrow.

---

René walked beside Cassandra on her left side. He kept a careful watch on his side of the street for any kind of movement, alert for any sound, he took the occasional deep breath through his nose. He had learned long ago that the stench of the dead quite often preceded their appearance by several seconds sometimes. He glanced at Cassandra momentarily and his curiosity got the better of him. "Mademoiselle Lennox, a question if you don't mind. Why have me join you on the search for medicines and not Doctor Parrish?"

"Cassandra..." The woman corrected, smiling as she stopped and glanced down the street, as she thought she heard something in the snow fall. It was typical of them to do something like this in weather not at all suitable. It was a good question. "Because I need someone to make sure Bart and Dimitri stay focused and organised, and if Parrish were with them, they would not be as they would be worrying about the doctor. I am fully capable of getting medicine, and I am looking for something specific that I need for someone." Cassandra admitted quietly as she pointed up the hill a little towards the store with a faded green cross on.

René's eyes tracked to the building she pointed to. It didn't take long for them to get there. It was a moderate sized single story with a significant amount of dust and grime on the inside of the glass. He tried to peer inside, but visibility through the filthy glass was almost none existent. It dawned on him what must have happened. He turned to Cassandra. "I think this village was evacuated just after the outbreak. That would explain the absence of the residence and the lack of the Soulless wandering about." He glanced at the windows of some of the surrounding buildings and saw similarly dirty windows.

Cassandra nodded. “I hope so I went to a village further down the coast on my way from Bristol up and the town had not evacuated but locked themselves away. They had just one infected locked in and the whole village turned behind locked doors.” Cassandra tapped on the glass a few times but heard nothing from inside. “I’ll open the door and you cover me.” She told him as she reached back into her rucksack for the crowbar.

René drew his sword and long dagger. He glanced at Cassandra and shook his head. "I am better equipped for close in fighting inside a building. Let me at least check the immediate area near the door and you cover me with your bow."

Though their voices didn't carry far it was loud enough to carry around the side of the building where three of the undead leaning against the wall of the building. Heads turned in the direction of the voices and bodies began to move in jerky motions for the front of the building.

Cassandra sighed softly and conceded that it might be a better idea even with her trusty crowbar. “I will open the door and step back.” She told him as she looked at the door thankful it was an old style door without added protection that made scavenging harder in the cities. Cities were designed for more people and more violent people, villages did not have those expectations or potential. The crowbars went into the door seam and with two attempts the door gave way and she stepped back to allow the younger man to kick it open. She froze as she stepped into something and the air was suddenly filled with a familiar putrid smell.

Suddenly, the familiar noise of an arrow whistling through the air before making impact with a crunch and squelch on its intended target, splatter rotting brain matter everywhere. Bert lowered his bow but pulled another arrow out of his holder and placed in the bow. "There's lots of rotters around this part of town." He called out.

René had prepared to rush into the building when the wind suddenly shifted, bringing the stench of the dead. He turned quickly to see one of the Soulless drop like a sack of potatoes, an arrow sticking out of its right eye socket, just over an arms length from Cassandra. Two more came into view as he turned. "Cassandra! Behind you!"

Bert cautiously approached, his bow ready at a moment notice when he saw two more rotters approach the new comers. He quickly raised his bow and sent another arrow flying towards one of the dead. Again another head shot, sending them down with a thud.

"Thanks." The woman said as she drew her bow and arrow and took out the third. She watched it fall to the floor and glanced around quickly to see no more coming from another direction before pulling another arrow from her stash and pointed her loaded bow at the newcomer. "Who are you?" She demanded quickly the thought of what lay in the chemist's gone.

René looked from Cassandra to the newcomer and then back to Cassandra again. He stepped up next to Cassandra and spoke quietly. "He is the person who just saved both of our lives. Especially yours."

“Yes but I still need to know who he is and what he is doing here.” Cassandra answered not backing down as she still held the bow tense in the direction of the newcomer. She had met people who wanted to help and saved lives but turned out to a rouse.

Bert slowly made his way towards the two strangers, his bow in hand but no arrow. He cautiously looked around to make sure there wasn't any rotters nearby. He arrived at the first body he downed and pulled the arrow out of his head before wiping the tip on the rotters clothes and replacing it in his arrow holder. He then approached the second, "I think it's pretty obvious what I'm doing here. Surviving like you lot." He replied gruffly, as he pulled the second arrow from the rotter and repeated the same actions as the first.

"Are you alone?" Cassandra demanded, looking around to see if she could see anyone with him, but the snow was making it impossible to see around properly. He looked like hell, but you just never knew anymore.

Bert nodded slowly. "I have been for about six months now."

"Okay then." Cassandra lowered the arrow but did not unclench her fingers; she was still not convinced that something else was going to come out of the shadows and snow. "We are looking for supplies. You haven't looked through this building yet, hmm?"

"No." He replied with a shake of his head. "I tend to not take risks unless I have to. More than one rotter in an enclosed space and I move on. Too many variables when you're on your own."

René nodded. He had spent a majority of his time over the last three years on his own. It never felt right to stay in one place too long. It's part of what prompted him to become a courier. Though now he feared those days would be coming to an end if he couldn't repair his motorcycle.

Cassandra looked the man over and sighed, relaxing a little more. "You help us, and we can help you get supplies for winter." She offered. If he were by himself, he was either foolish or tougher than he looked. She looked up at the sky. "But either way, we are going in there out of the snow."

René moved back to the door and got set to enter. He glanced at Cassandra. "I will clear the immediate area near the door and then we check each aisle. Once we clear the store we then check for supplies. We don't want any surprises."

Bert simply nodded as he swung his bow round and place it over his head and across his body then pulled his crow bar off of his belt. He wasn't sure about trusting these new comers, but he had saved their lives, he hoped that act of kindness would be paid forward.

“There won’t be any aisles. It’s a small pharmacy but I will head to the counter.” She said gently being her bow safely away picking up her crowbar from the floor where she had dropped it to use her bow.

René opened the door and stepped inside, sword drawn. He called out loud enough to grab the attention of anyone or anything that maybe in the chemist's shop. No sound greeted him as he moved forward,

Cassandra followed and looked around the place and smiled at the shelves. She let out a whistle but nothing stirred or shuffled into view. “Let’s check behind the counter before and see if we can find containers to take the paracetamol and ibuprofen of those shelves before we see if there are control drug keys.” Cassandra said looking at the low counter as she held up her torch.

Bert was the last to enter the pharmacy, he kept checking behind him to make sure they had no unexpected visitors. "Looks relatively untouched." He commented as started to look and the shelves which where on the walls. "Need any bandages or baby milk?" He asked as he moved around the shop slowly, crowbar in hand and ready to use at a moments notice.

"Mademoiselle Lennox." René pointed to a shelving unit that was nearly full with cardboard packages of feminine hygiene products. "Those would come in handy. I ran into an SAS soldier a couple of years back that said they're useful in packing wounds to stop bleeding."

Cassandra laughed a little. She could think of several other usages before packing wounds with them but she was not going to say that aloud to the men. “We will grab it all but we need to get into the control drug safe and antibiotics.” She said reminding the pair of the bigger need. She glanced to the the cabinet and slowly approached it.

Bert continued to look at the fairly well stocked shelves. He wondered if they had enough room on their boat to take it all. "I'm Bert, by the way." He said as he realised he hadn't introduced himself. Before there was a reply a groan from a rotter at the entrance grabbed his attention. He quickly moved over to the door and embedded the curved part of his crowbar into the top of the rotters skull. It stop dead and fell to the fall sliding off the crowbar as it went. He wiped his crowbar on the rotters clothes before search the body.

"Close the door," Cassandra commented as she stepped into the back area and smirked at the tidiness in the small space. She started looking through the drugs, pulling stuff off the shelf, and putting them on the dispensing table. “Cassandra.”

René grabbed a trolley and bought it behind the counter for Cassandra to fill once she was done sorting through the medications. He then returned to the sales floor and began rummaging through the shelves for over the counter items like aspirin and antihistamines that were not passed the use by date. "I fill trolleys with stocks from the floor and stage them near the door we can use our packs for the lighter things."

During his search, he found two packet of cigarettes, one opened and half smoked and the other was brand new and still sealed. It wasn't much but they were handy for trading with. Once finished he pulled the rotter away from the door and closed it carefully and quietly. "Sorry, I didn't bring my bag with me to help." He commented.

“It's okay. We came for more than what we could shove in our bags.” Cassandra commented with a smile as she started to grab power. “Wherever did you find a trolley?” Cassandra wondered softly thinking in a pharmacy of that size it was not going to be something that was needed.

René gestured to a small enclosure under a display case near the feminine hygiene shelves. Three more small carts were tucked into the small cap for customer use. "There. They aren't as big as grocery carts, but they will make it easier to get supplies down to the boat."

Bert headed back to the plasters and bandages and started chucking what was on the shelf into the trolley.

"Never seen a trolley in a chemist before." The woman admitted with a shrug as she pulled out her torch and held it up to see better further into the dispensing area. "Need to see if the control drug key is around here." It had not been in any of the drawers that she had opened.

Rene glanced at the dispensary counter. "Look for a metal cabinet on the wall. It could be a key box."

"Already looked." The woman admitted frowning a little as she stepped further into the darkness. She could not hear anything, but she was cautious. She slowly used her foot to open another door that led to a store room and winced at the body on the floor, which was the greeting to the room. It was like the body on the dock, mostly skeletal, but it had a head shot from a rifle that was in the body's hand.

René looked up as the smell of the corpse reached him on the sales floor. "Mademoiselle Lennox? Are you okay?"

“It’s Cassandra and yes. Just another body. Looks like they shot themselves after being bit.” The woman admitted as she stepped into the room more and looked around the space. She shone the torch around the space and saw more powders and tablets. She crouched to look at the body and looked at the badge on the remains of a suit - Jenny Smith, Pharmacist.

"Grab the weapon. It may come in handy if we come across any more of the Soulless." René finished filling his trolley and placed it near the door. He glanced outside and thought for a moment. "Monsieur, do you know if there are many Soulless between here and the docks?"

"This area had many rotters but coz they move I never got a fixed number, but i reckon it'll be a mess trip to the docks. Especially once the trolly hits concrete outside. They do make a racket." Bert replied, moving back to the window to see if any more had arrived.

Cassandra rolled her eyes at the young man telling her to grab the weapon when it was top of her prority after searching the body for keys. She apologised in a whisper as she searched the body, but quickly found a set of keys and one that had a safe key on it. "Thank you, Jenny." She whispered as she stood with the weapon in hand. She glanced around for anything else. She grabbed up several items, shoving them into her rucksack, pulling it back on with the rifle firmly in her grip. "We will have to take it very slowly getting back." She answered.

René listened to both Bert and Cassandra speak of the difficulties they might face moving the supplies to the boat. He walked to the door and opened it, glancing at Bert for a moment. "I shall return in a minute. I just want to check something." He ducked our before the man could offer up a protest. He closed the door and drew his rapier before turning to the right and started walking around the building. At the rear of the building was a single vehicle parked in a spot marked with a placard that read 'Chemist parking only'. René smiled as he noticed the service door set in the wall. He continued his trek around the building just to make sure the immediate area was free of the Soulless.

"I wish he would not do that." The woman muttered to herself as she pocketed a few items into her jean pockets and said nothing about what she was grabbing. "So, where have you been before now?" She wondered, specifically asking locations now that they were alone.

"He seems pretty capable of looking after himself and seems to know how to use that sword." Bert commented. "As for me, I've been here and there. Was in London when all this kicked off, seemed like a good plan to head north. Met different groups from time to time, some were nice and wanted to help. Some, not so much. That's the reason why I'm on my own. Last group got a bit too killy for my liking. So packed my shit up and left."

René returned to the front door and paused. He carefully looked around and listened. There was no sign of any Soulless in the immediate area any the route from the docks to here had been clear. Perhaps they would be able to obtain what they needed and get on their way without incident. One could always hope. He opened the door and called out as he entered. "Just me. There's no sign of the Soulless and I found a vehicle parked just outside the back door. If we can find the car keys, we may be able to get everything back to the boat in one trip."

"Maybe the body back there?" Cassandra wondered, glancing back at the way she had come from and started back that way. She was not sure the car would work after so long of no use, but they could roll the vehicle downhill to make it at least easier for them.

René looked towards the store room. He moved forward and paused before entering. He offered up a quick prayer before searching the remains for car keys and coming up empty. He swept the light from his torch about the store room. "Mademoiselle? Do you see a ladies handbag anywhere?"

“No handbag. She does not seem the type but there is rucksack against the door.” The woman commented as she picked the bag up and started looking through it thinking she would add it to the pile of items to take back with them. “What kind of key is the car? Fob or proper key?” She asked shifting her torch to see better.

René was not familiar with the term fob, but given the context, was sure Cassandra was referring to a cle electonique or electric key in English. "I believe it is what you call a ... fob. The doors were locked."

“Let’s hope it has an emergency key on it if we can fine it.” Cassandra commented a she started going through the rucksack and gave up with a frustrated sound hauling it out into the slightly better lit main area of the shop. She tipped the bag upside down and shook it to get the contents out.

"Starting that car is going to be noisy and get the rotters attention. If its quiet out there now, it won't be for long!" Bert commented.

René nodded in agreement with Bert. "Perhaps we could get the auto in neutral gear and push it to the incline. Let gravity work in our favor."

"Let's find a key first," Cassandra commented as she carried on searching through the pack. They could cross that bridge later on and figure that out. "We can figure that out after." She said firmly reminding the pair she was in charge.

 

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