Lazarus found Sammy waiting for him a few feet away. He was excited to start the day. They walked among the ruins of the city. The Grogs were roaming around the wreckage of the buildings. He could hear them howling also eating. He didn't want to see what they were eating. With Sammy in tow, the creatures didn't bother them. He was walking past a group of industrial size buildings flattened and smashed by the tsunami. He still held hope that somebody would find and rescue them.

Sammy stopped and sniffed the air. Lazarus looked in the direction Sammy was smelling. It was a grocery store with all the food and goods lying on the ground. Most of the structure seemed intact except where part of the store fell into a ravine. Birds flew around and landed, picking at the food. He also saw a riot of squirrels, rats and other creatures roaming around. Lazarus looked away in disgust.

He was about to rummage among the food when he spotted large Grog creatures sitting in the darkness of the building. He noticed Sammy scanning the darkness, looking at the Grogs. Lazarus petted Sammy's head and warned him to stay away from the area. Lazarus saw a pan and other food items he wanted, but when he looked at the Grogs he turned away.

After walking a few feet he heard a great ruckus taking place behind him. He saw birds taking flight and heard a loud crash and a scream. He didn't look back. Lazarus was happy Sammy was around him. He wasn't as large as a Grog, but he was strong enough to take one in a fair fight.

Traveling a few blocks they encountered another broken store. But this one was not spilling with food and goods. Clothing and household items cluttered the floor and the surrounding area.

Lazarus knelt down, saying, "What do you think, Sammy?"

The dogged sniffed the air. He waved his tail.

"It’s fine. Thanks, Sammy."

Sammy almost looked like he waved his head. It was just a gentle nod. Lazarus studied the dog again and Sammy gave him a questioning gaze.

"Ok, let's go find some stuff."

He started walking into the store. Looking around, he couldn't tell where the storebegan or ended. He realized he was standing in a stretch of a strip mall. So there wereseveral stores in this patch. He moved and looked at the clothes. Grabbing several of the shirts and sweaters, he found his size and placed them into his sack.

He saw a pan sitting by itself.

"Sammy, look, it's a pan. Now we just need a spatula and if we are lucky, some oil."

Lazarus grabbed the pan and looked it over.

"Wow, this is expensive stuff. I could not afford this before."

Smirking he placed it in his sack. After a few more hours, he found a sleeping bag, a heavy jacket, and a large traveling pack. He ditched the old one because it barely fit his stuff. Lazarus had a feeling they would be traveling for a long time after he found the man he was looking for. He also found an axe and a sharpening stone, a can opener and other things he might need.

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"So, Sammy let’s eat. I found a can of mystery meat."

He looked at a metal can. It read, ham. His mom always called this food mystery meat. He never knew why. He felt a pang of sadness thinking about his parents. He lifted the pin and pulled, hearing a clicking and suction noise as he pried the lid off. The smell made his mouth water. He never liked canned goods, but he was famished. Sammy was also licking his lips.

He needed a spoon or fork but didn't see one. Using his fingers, he pulled some of the meat out and gave it to Sammy. The dog barked and gobbled up the food. He took some himself and ate it. The meat was the tastiest meal he’d had in a long time. He was thirsty and had to dry swallow the food and he made a mental note that he had to find utensils, a canteen and water. They ate several more cans of ham and some Vienna sausages. They sat on an empty space of asphalt which he cleared before they started to eat. The sun finally poked out of the gray clouds.

"Sammy, it’s going to be a warm day today."

Lazarus took off his jacket. He closed his eyes and let his mind direct him. Matthew was slowly moving toward him but he could not tell how far away he was. He stood.

"Are you ready?"

Sammy barked and they started traveling.

***

Lazarus smelt something sour coming from the very ground and the dirty crumbling buildings. Sammy pranced next to him and sniffed the air. The fetid scent was coming from the damp areas hidden from the sun. He opened his backpack and took out the small axe, holding the weapon casually in his hand as they walked along a stretch of ground almost stripped clean by the large waves of asphalt and cement.

They had been traveling along a grouping of residential homes, now reduced to broken constructions. Dirt was piled waist high in some areas and other areas were scrubbed clean of grass and foundations, looking as if nothing stood there.

The odd thing he noticed was the silence. All he heard was his traveling boots and Sammy's paws crunching along the ground. Usually, when humanity still roamed this area before the great wave destroyed this once prosperous city, Lazarus would walk to his apartment and hear the hum of humanity everywhere, from the sounds of men talking in front of their homes to the squelching sounds of traffic driving along the asphalt street. Now, his footsteps sounded loud to his ears and the wind flowed making a restless sound of silence. He hoped somebody was alive and not morphed into a Grog or something worse.

The rancid smell came to him again. Sammy growled, scanning in the area.

"What do you see, Sammy?"

The dog continued to growl. Then he saw it. Somebody stood a few feet away from him. He placed his palm over his forehead and shaded his eyes. Looking at the person, he couldn't discern the figure with the sun behind it. The smell was coming from it. Another figure came out from a backdrop of a dirt mound. Sammy growled.

"Hello," Lazarus said.

They didn't respond to him. The figures were short, about the size of a child of ten, but he sensed waves of hatred coming from them.

Lazarus started to move forward, but Sammy walked in front of him, blocking his way.

"Ok, let's go another way."

He turned and saw more small figures behind him. Lazarus grabbed his axe and moved to higher ground. The figures came closer and he saw them. They all had bald heads, men and women, but they were small, about kid size. Wearing tatters for clothes, they had large luminous red eyes. They gazed at him with no expression until the first creature howled to the sky. All of them started to howl, facing him with a rictus of sharp teeth. Sammy stood close to him and met the first creature.