Grace nodded to Lawrence to wait. She started to the back door and tried its handle but it was still locked. The door had held through the storm although the metal surface was scratched and pitted by the sand. If she wanted to get inside there, she had to find the key.

She went back to the dead body and gazed at it for a while. The key would either be on this person or somewhere else. Lawrence outside was getting restless.

She said, "If you hear anything call me at once. Ok?"

"Yes," the boy said.

Grace placed her hand over the body and willed the sand and debris to move. Nothing happened at first, and then the sand and debris shot up and broke through the roof of the store.

"Sorry," she said. She needed to learn how to use her powers. She took a deep breath and checked the dead body. The head was smashed in. The dead man was wearing a blue and white checkered shirt and blue jeans. Blood flowed from the many wounds he had sustained. She knew it was a man by the hair and body mass.

Grace went to reach into the man's front pockets but stopped herself, about to gag. She shook her head and moved backwards and almost fell when she slipped a few times on candy bars. She had an idea, but first she needed to move outside and take a deep breath.

She met Lawrence in the front and he nodded to her. "Did you find anything?"

She said, "Not yet. There is a locked door, but I can’t find the key. But I have an idea. I am not sure if it will work."

She walked away from him, looking for the biggest stone or cement block. She realized her powers focused on the same things, sand, rocks and debris.

"Aha," she said, and turned toward Lawrence. "Can you move away from the front?"

Grace watched him move a few steps and nodded to him. Placing her hand in front of a large asphalt piece on the ground Grace focused on it. It was as large as a car, but it began to move. She felt a sudden heavy weight push against her. She was not sure she could do this but she redoubled her efforts and the asphalt piece started to shudder upwards, closer to her.

She focused on moving it closer to the front of the liquor store when a shout came from within.

"Hey, stop!"

She saw a woman about her age rush out of the store. She wore a white shirt and jeans. Her face had a cut on her cheek.

Grace instantly stopped. The cement piece fell to the ground with a large thump. The woman was Asian and spoke with a slight accent. She came directly at Grace.

The lady said, "Don't do it. You could have killed me."

"I’m sorry. I didn't think anybody was here."

"You thought nobody was alive."

"Well, yes," she said. "My name is Grace, and this is Lawrence."

" Joan." She scanned the area. "My dad will be pissed." Then she turned away and looked back at the store. Joan's body seem to sag and she moved closer to the car parked in front. Tears started to flow.

Joan said, "He should have let me die. He drove here in a hurry and threw me into the back storage room. That fool!"

Her body convulsed and she started to cry in agony. Grace realized what had transpired here. She looked at the Toyota Tercel with its door open. Joan’s dad had seen the impending storm, ran inside and locked his daughter in the back storage area. Grace came closer to Joan and hugged her.

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Lawrence turned away and stared into the collapsed city.

***

Joan stood in the front. She didn't want to go back inside. Grace rummaged in the large storage room. The walls were lined with metal and the air was cool. It looked more like a meat locker than a back stockroom. She saw rows of food, candy, alcohol and bottles of water and soda. She grabbed two bottles and some chips and candy.

Lawrence and Joan were talking. She heard Lawrence say he was from California, Orange County.

Joan said, "Do you live by the beach?"

"It was a few miles down."

"Your family must be rich," Joan said. Her words came out stifled, as if she was trying to form them before she spoke them.

"You will pay for those later," Joan said.

Grace was surprised she asked her to pay but said only, "Sure, we need to find shelter,or maybe a police officer."

Joan said, "Right. But I’m staying right here."

"Did you hear what we told you about the creatures? It won’t be safe here by yourself."

"I’ll take my chances. I can stay in the store room. You’ll come back when you find help?"

Grace scanned the skies noting that the sun was setting.

"Let's not be hasty. We’ll stay here tonight and then we shall see tomorrow."

They gathered wood from the many broken buildings and debris along the route. It would be an endless supply. Joan stopped complaining about her dad's store but merely looked at the devastation before them. They left the dead body inside the store and nothing was said about it. Grace knew they should bury the body but there no place to dig. Everything was broken and the ground was cement. She was thinking about maybe building a cairn by placing stones and cement on top of the body, but she didn't want to tell Joan her idea. She glanced at Joan seeing that this new situation seemed to settle on her. Hell, Grace thought, she’s trying to get a handle on what is happening.

Joan told her to use the lighters they found on the ground to light the fire. They cleared an area and built a small bonfire. The fire roared before them. It was getting cold.

Joan stood and went to her dad's car and popped the trunk. She took out several blankets from the back and gave them to them.

"My dad always had these things in the back. He was always scared we would be stuck in the desert."

Joan shook her head and looked at the liquor store. "He paid attention to this stupid store more than me and my mom."

Grace placed the checkered blanket around Lawrence and they scooted closer to the fire. Joan stood, staring at the store. Her hands were clenched. She looked as if she was going to kick or punch the wall or something. She looked at them and then at the fire, then sighed and sat on the cement. She absently brushed off a few curling piles of sand from her clothes.

Joan held a package of cookies and started to eat its contents.

Lawrence said, "Are you going with us?"

She nodded to him. "There is nothing for me here."

Grace said, "Good. I am glad that you are coming with us."

Grace was eating a chocolate bar and drinking a bottled water. She said, "I think we should take turns watching tonight."

"I'm not sure about those creatures you talked about but we should. I’ll take the first watch. I’m not sleepy."

Grace fed more wood on the fire. "Sure, I’ll take the next watch."

Lawrence said, "I can help, too."

"No, not yet. You need some sleep. I don't know who is still alive and if those Grog creatures will attack us at night."

Joan said, "I have a tire iron in the trunk."

"Any other weapons? A gun?"

"No, my dad didn’t believe in guns, but inside the store there should be a bat and another tire iron."

"Aha," Lawrence said, "we can be an army with tire irons."

Joan smiled. The boy's optimism was infectious.

He said, "Will we be changed into those creatures?"

"I don't think so," Grace said, looking around the fire and at them.

"How did you do that with the rock?" Joan said. Her blanket was around her shoulders.

"I don't know. I just have the power to move things."

Joan said, "You told me how you fought against the bird and wolves."

Lawrence's face got animated. "You should have seen it. She killed those beasts and then we floated here. It was incredible."

Joan said, "I don't believe it."

Grace didn't want to explain it again to Joan. They had been talking about this for the last several hours now. They didn't have any powers like hers.

She said, "Well, it’s true. I didn't make up those stories. I need some rest."

She stood and brushed off the sand from her polyester pants. She always hated this uniform. As soon as they found a clothing store, she would change, she thought. It was not considered looting because they needed these things to survive, and when this crazy new world finally went back to some type of normalcy she would pay.