It's a little after nine in the mornin' when we make our way to the front of the feed store. Zach is armed with what looks like a metal Little League bat. Probably belonged to one of Shrouder's kids. Carla, Tiffany, and I each have two thin pieces of wood-- fastened back to back with a buttload of duct tape.

"We stick together, okay? This gun of mine's not much good if we don't find some more cartridges." I nod at the weapons in my companions' hands. "Let's hope we don't run into more crazies. Bats and sticks might not be enough to stop the horde."

"Well, it's all we got. So I say we forge ahead!" Zach is the most eager of the group. His anxiety, over his girl and parents, had kept him up all night.

"Alrighty, then! But like I said. We stick together 'til we get to the next buildin'. We secure it....Then, we start searchin'. Everyone got that!?"

Zach nods his head. Tiffany doesn't seem so sure.

"Why don't we go back to the church? They've got plenty of food over there! And a kitchen! We wouldn't have to scavenge. We'd be safe."

I eye Tiffany with disbelief.

"Safe? Really? And for how long? Have you forgotten the treatment you got from that lug Everett....Just for suggestin' we go out and help Carla? He's not exactly the welcoming committee chairman. Besides, I don't think that's the best place for us all to be right now."

Tiffany's skin flushes and her voice cracks.

"What do you mean? Not the best place for us to be right now? I don't understand! We'd be in a strong building....With other people....And plenty to eat! What wouldn't be safe about that?"

"'Cause when people stop thinkin' rationally....They stop thinkin' at all! You saw what that massacre out at the Crawford's did to Deputy Wheeler? And the reverend....Doesn't seem to be himself lately. Not since his wife got sick...."

"Sick!?" Tiffany nearly screams, "James...His wife is dead. She died a few days ago. Not himself? Sure. But it's got nothing to do with what's going on. The man is grieving!"

"Doesn't change what I just said," I counter. "Besides, all that....I'm not gonna be sittin' around....Waitin' for Hell to freeze over. If it doesn't....I'm gonna be ready! We branch out. We search the town. We look for any clues as to what the hell all this is. Whatever we find along the way is a bonus. Personally, I'm hopin' we find some 22-Cal cartridges. Another gun would be nice too. Whatever's goin' on here....I want to be the one dishin' out some punishment for a change. That may be the only way I'm gon' see my wife again."

Zach shudders. His entire body moves with the action. He takes in a sharp breath.

"I hope it doesn't come to that! Like it's some temporary mental fever. The kind people get in the winter. Uh....Seasonal depression. I'm not up for fightin' nobody. I want to find a working phone....Call my girl and my folks....That's it. But I ain't sittin' still neither. James is right. We oughta search the damn town. See who and what we come across that might help!"

Tiffany remains silent. She wears a sullen pout on her pale face. Carla only nods in agreement, and absently rubs the cut on her cheek. I glance over at the front window of the store. I calculate how many nails it will take to board it up with the 2x4's in Shrouder's shed.

"Now that that's settled....I think we should get started."

*************************************

"Find anything?" I holler around the light stick in my mouth.

Zach's voice bounces off of the gas station's walls.

"Few more flashlights, some batteries, bunch of snacks, lotto tickets, canned tuna, toilet paper rolls, toothpaste, matches, lighter fluid, lots of fuel additives....and other random stuff."

Unlawfully taken from Royal Road, this story should be reported if seen on Amazon.

"Find a gun or some cartridges? Check under the counter. Never knew a station owner yet who didn't keep a gun under the counter. Hey! You know how to operate a pump? In case, we have commandeer a vehicle and get the hell out of here?!"

Zach is suddenly by my side. He props his collapsible shopping cart up against the door of the walk-in freezer. A bulging backpack is strapped onto his back.

"Yeah. I found a gun. But we'll have to pry it from old Hezekiah's cold dead fingers. He blew his own brains out behind the counter. Someone else must have been here too. They covered him up with an old tarp. And no, I can't program the pumps. Tiffany might could. She said, she worked in a station before. Here, I almost forgot...."

I reach out as Zach tosses a small black walkie-talkie. He reaches in his pocket and pulls out a pack of batteries. He tosses the batteries to me also.

"See if it works!"

I frown and place both the walkie and the batteries on a nearby chest freezer.

"Doubtful. Nothin' worked out at the Crawford place. With all the phones still down....There's no reason to think they'll work here either."

Zach shrugs and grabs the pack of batteries. He puts a trio of AA's in his own walkie. He sets the rest back on the top of the chest freezer.

"Can't hurt to try!"

A moment later, Carla and Tiffany join us in the freezer. I hand each of them a bag of tightly packed sandwiches, cold cuts, ground beef rolls, and other frozen delights.

"I doubled up the bags, but you might still want to be careful hefting these. They're real heavy!"

I climb to my feet and grab my own backpack off the floor. With my left hand, I grip the last bag of frozen goods.

"Grab that walkie off the freezer, will ya Carla? Put those batteries in and see if you can raise anybody. I don't hold out much hope but,..." I look over at Zach, "It's worth a try."

Carla nods and grabs the walkie. She puts the remaining AA's, from the open pack, inside the walkie and turns it on. Both she and Zach exit the freezer-- testing the frequencies on their radios. I look over at Tiffany.

"Guess it's back to the feed store. You guys wait for me out front. I'll be there as quick as I can. Gonna try to get the gun out of Hezekiah's hand. He don't need it no more. We stick together, remember?"

Tiffany reluctantly follows me out of the freezer. I shut the door tightly. In case, we need to scavenge again.

**************************************

I glance over my shoulder, temporarily looking away from the front window I am boarding up. Tiffany is matter-of-factly tallying the items in our accumulated inventory. Everything is either spread out on the front counter, the few chairs in the building, or on the floor. She flips to another page in her composition notebook and scribbles a few words.

"I can't believe we didn't see a single other person today! Where is everybody? And why isn't anybody coming to help us? They have to know something is wrong by now? A whole town goes radio silent? No phone calls can get in or out? No texts to family members in the cities? No visiting tourists pulling up wanting their gas tanks filled? And no one thinks to send in the state police or even the military? This is so crazy!"

I reply as calmly as possible. My goal is to keep Tiffany from going completely hysterical.

"No....What's crazy is harpin' on what we can't change. We do that....We all might go crazy too! Just relax. Focus on somethin' else. That's how we stay alive. Hey....Did someone grab toilet paper? I thought Zach mentioned somethin' about toilet paper....And the bathroom's almost out."

Tiffany nods. The distraction has worked temporarily.

"Yes. Carla and Zach had a couple rolls in their backpacks. And a can of air freshener too. In case you need it."

"Ha ha. Cool."

I turn to find Tiffany almost directly behind me. I smile reassuringly.

"Hey, you okay? Care to hand me one of them nails?"

The words are barely out of my mouth when Tiffany leans forward and tries to land a kiss on my lips. I turn my face slightly, but she uses a hand to try to force my face back the other direction. Her lips brush the corner of my mouth. With one hand, I grip her shoulder and push her to arm's length away.

"No. Nah. This ain't happenin'!"

Tiffany's voice cracks for the hundredth time in the couple days I've known her. She is once again wearing a sullen pout.

"Why not? You said we should focus on other things! What other things are there to focus on....That won't remind us of everything that's happened? Your wife is gone....Same as the reverend's wife. We have to start thinking about the future of humanity. We may be all that is left!"

I hold up a finger. An angry expression causes the nerves in my cheek to jump.

"We don't know that my wife is dead! And even if we did....This...You and me....Ain't happenin'....Not ever! I like you. You're a nice lady. But I will not sleep with you! Understand?!"

Before Tiffany can answer, Carla enters the room. She looks from me to Tiffany. Concern is etched on her face.

"Everything okay in here?"

I shrug and move away from Tiffany.

"Yeah. I was just thinkin' bout Tilda. Everythin's good!"

Carla smiles and gives both me and Tiffany a second concerned look.

"I have every hope that we'll find her, James. You should too!"

As Carla finishes her statement, Tiffany rushes past her and out of the room. Carla glances at me with a question in her eyes. I shrug a second time and grab two nails from the window sill. I stick one between my teeth, and position the second on the waiting 2x4. Memories of Tilda flash through my mind as I begin hammering the nail into the wood.