Hungry after his long trip to get to the Safehouse, Doug eagerly opened the pantry but was in shock by what he saw. The shelves were nearly empty, replaced instead by empty wrappers strewn on the floor.

How is this even possible?!

Doug had personally restocked the pantry weeks ago, and had determined that there should have been enough snack food for the team to last for at least a few months. Now, it appeared they had gone through everything in little more than a week.

His mind went wild, trying to discern how this could have possibly happened. And then suddenly he remembered how much more obese Kyle looked since the last time he saw him, and his face reddened in anger.

He must have eaten the snacks!

A string of expletives escaped his mouth as he stormed out of the room to confront Kyle. When he arrived, he found Kyle sitting on the couch again, fully immersed in the game after his bathroom break. Suddenly everything seemed to come into clear focus: the pile of empty boxes and wrappers piled high on the ground at his feet, the stains on Kyle's shirt, and the crumbs in his ugly goatee.

"That's it!" he shouted angrily as he ripped the VR equipment off of Kyle's face. "I can't take anymore of this crap! I can't believe this Kyle!"

Kyle turned to him with wide eyes.

"Dude!" he stammered as he tried to snatch the equipment back, "I was in the middle of a raid!"

Doug glared at him coldly. "Did you seriously eat all of our snacks?!"

"Yes!" Kyle exclaimed indignantly, "Where else am I going to get food in this crazy world?"

Doug shook his head and walked away, "I thought you'd be smarter than that. This isn't a game, Kyle. How are we supposed to survive in here now?"

"Fine." Kyle grumbled, "Then I guess we better start rationing what's left."

Doug stopped and whirled around, "Ration? There's nothing left to ration!"

Kyle sheepishly pulled out a smashed Twinkie from his pocket, "There's still this..."

They both fell silent, Doug staring at the broken package of junk food incredulously.

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"You're kidding." Doug shook his head, "That's it? That's all that's left?"

Kyle cringed and nodded.

"If I hadn't shown up just now, what were you planning to do?!" Doug shouted at him, "You're in no condition to go wandering around out there looking for more food. What was the thought process here?!"

"It was my decision." Kyle said quietly, "I've already made peace with myself. Everyone's dying, so I figured what's the point?"

Doug stood silently for a few moments, fists clenched.

"So you're saying, you were planning to starve to death?!" he finally asked, his voice cracking.

Kyle looked away and sighed. "Yeah, pretty much."

Doug slammed his fist against the wall and let out a roar of contempt. "Well, I'm not letting you die because you wanted to live a lie! We're getting some more food today, and then we are going to make plans for your survival."

Kyle stared at him blankly, "Survival?"

"Yes!" Doug barked, "Whether you want to admit it or not, you're still alive, and you owe it to everyone to stay that way. So you're gonna put aside those stupid fantasies of yours and start taking care of yourself!"

Kyle slumped his shoulders and gave a weak smile, "Alright. Whatever you say. Just give me another couple hours to finish this quest."

Doug's eyes widened in disbelief, "No! We're leaving right now. Go change your clothes. You look like a nasty slob!"

***

After Kyle changed, Doug led him and Jenn out of the Safehouse. They walked along the main road, keeping a watchful eye out for any signs of trouble. As they passed several ruined cars, Doug noticed something strange.

The windows of the vehicles had been shattered, revealing a large hole punched straight through each car. Doug scanned the area nervously, searching for any sign of danger, but saw none. Still, he felt uneasy as he watched the rusted hulks of metal lying scattered across the pavement.

He paused next to one of the damaged vehicles, examining it closely. He ran his hands along its sides and inspected the front end, finding the vehicle's engine block completely intact. A sudden realization dawned upon him, "Those aren't bullet holes; these are claw marks!"

Jenn looked at Doug curiously, "What's wrong?"

Doug swallowed hard and explained to her what he'd seen, "Something tore this thing apart. Something big. Maybe a bear."

She frowned, "A bear?"

"Maybe," he replied hesitantly, "but why would a bear tear up this whole car?"

"I dunno." she shrugged. "Maybe it smelled food inside."

"Or maybe the driver got Raptured and there was someone in the passenger seat when the car crashed..." Doug's imagination went wild, "and later the bears came to investigate..."

"Stop!" Jenn insisted, "Just stop! I don't want to even consider anything that morbid!"

"Regardless, I don't think it's safe out here." Kyle whined, "We should go back."

"Why?" Doug sneered, "So we can die of starvation instead like you were planning to do? No thanks. I'll take the risks out here before I ever starve."

Kyle sighed, "Fine. But if something happens-"

"Don't worry about it." Doug interrupted him sternly, "I won't leave you behind."

"Good. Because I wouldn't risk coming out here without you anyway," Kyle admitted.

"Come on." Doug beckoned, leading the group towards the outskirts of a nearby suburb, "Hopefully some of these homes haven't already been ransacked."

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