Dry Ash and Bare Shelves at the Supermarket

Dry Ash and Bare Shelves at the Supermarket

I was trying to do my normal weekly grocery run at the supermarket near my old high school, but there was an inch of dry, gray ash covering the parking lot. Inside, none of the overhead lights worked, and most of the shelves were just stripped bare down to the metal, though a few people from my office were casually pushing carts like nothing was wrong. I ran into Dave from accounting, who was wearing a heavy respirator over his suit, and he told me I was late for a shift on register four. I kept trying to find clean bottled water to buy before clocking in, but every time I grabbed a plastic jug, it turned out to be completely hollow and brittle in my hands. My phone had zero bars and the battery icon was flashing red, and I had this overwhelming panic that I had left my front door unlocked with the toxic air blowing straight in.