The Nonstop Bloodshed IX - Round 1: Titan Mart

The darkness Caitlin found herself in was not quite as oppressive as the one that had preceded the introductions. For a moment she half expected some further theatrics from the being that called itself "The Impulsive" but the crucial difference between then and now was her freedom to move. She clicked the headlights on to reveal she was parked in the middle of an accommodatingly wide supermarket aisle. On either side of her loomed imposingly high shelving filled with an absurd variety of cleaning products. Here and there were small heaps of spilled stock, some of which had clearly been trodden on and burst though all that was left of their contents was a long faded stain. In front of her, illuminated in the Hirola's headlights was an impressively deep wireframe shopping trolley turned upon its side; its contents scattered across the aisle.

Most attention grabbing though were the stains; dark red pools of long since dried blood. There were streaks as though someone had been dragged away, and she spotted a bloody handprint on the shelving where someone had tried to resist.

Caitlin felt uneasy. She felt like she was suddenly smack dab in the middle of a hunt with no idea what it was that she was hunting. She had a full arsenal in the trunk but she highly doubted that whatever was out there was going to stand still long enough for her to methodically try every weapon she had one by one. She heard something crash in the distance and really wished she had some backup. Not wanting to attract any attention before she was ready to deal with it, Caitlin flicked off the Hirola's headlights. Of course whatever it was that was out there was just the thin edge of this wedge of weird. She thought back to the introductions; a disembodied hand, a magical wardrobe, a... mermaid (?) and a pair of robots? She'd hunted her fair share of weird before but this was on another level entirely, which was to say nothing of their host. She shook her head, Karen was never going to believe this.

Hoping against hope Caitlin fished her phone from her pocket and clicked it on. Just as she'd expected; no signal. According to their host this place had been empty for hundreds of years, so did that mean she was in the future again? Actually now that she thought about it didn't he say that something had wiped out all human life on this planet. Was this really another planet? It didn't seem all that unlikely considering everything else.

"Oh wait, shit." Caitlin muttered to herself. If she was on another planet, did that mean that this was more likely the work of aliens than werewolves or vampires or anything she knew how to deal with. "Fuck." she spat. Okay, she reasoned, don't think about the aliens. This isn't about the aliens. The real threat here is that guy, 'The Impulsive'. He's the one who brought you here, all you need to do is work out his weakness and make him send you back. Well, that and you should probably see if you can find some way to counteract his whole immobility thing. The aliens, well they're definitely problematic but it's not insurmountable. Most things die if you shoot them in the head so give that a try and if it doesn't work we'll cross that bridge when we come to it. It seemed as good a plan of action as any; she just really hoped that the aliens had heads in the first place.

Caitlin's thoughts were interrupted by another crash, this one close by. Quickly she flicked the headlights back on to reveal a small crowd of zombies stumbling towards her and one zombie trying to disentangle itself from the toppled shopping cart. "Damn it." she cursed. What with everything else she'd almost completely forgotten about the zombies; the one threat she was actually equipped to handle. She looked out at the advancing undead and attempted to gauge whether she had enough time to run out, open the trunk and load the shotgun before they would be on top of her. Her question was quickly answered when a movement out of the corner of her eye drew her attention to the rear view mirror and another group of zombies approaching from behind.

"Oh well," Caitlin said, "another time maybe." She clicked her seatbelt on and hit the accelerator.