"There it is. The library." Jen mutters as both siblings close in on a wide, double storey building located at the corner of the main drag, forming a right angled junction that leads away from the town. The windows of the building were dark this late in the night and the entrance had been padlocked with a hefty chain.

"Locked up tight." Danny replies, "Getting in might be a challenge."

"Both of us went through the whole apocalypse road trip thing." Jen rolls her eyes, "Don't tell me you haven't committed burglary before to survive."

"Not proud of it, but yeah, I did what I needed to do." Danny grunts, "And personal experience tells me that break ins usually involve hiding from many angry men with guns."

"We aren't in the wasteland anymore." Jen points out, "Check out the building. The doors were padlocked from outside. Meaning that its probably completely empty right now. And there're no guards like you would expect in a Prep King's territory."

"Now, that you mention it," Danny remarks, "there are no security grilles installed over the windows either. This town must have been really safe before the virus hit."

"Its still safe, in a manner of speaking." Jen snorts as both of them stalk closer towards the library, "No bandits or raiders. Not even muggings. Dad runs a tight ship here."

"Just need to consent to being mutilated." Danny replies sourly, "Hey, how much territory do you think Dad controls?"

"Its obviously just the town." Jen says as she begins to case the library, looking for a good spot to break in, "Why do you ask?"

"Archie's shop had electricity." Danny explains, "The lights and freezers were obviously working. There was power in the church as well."

"What about it?" Jen quizes with a puzzled look on her face, "There's electricity in the wasteland as well. Most settlements still have the lights on."

"Yeah. But Prep Kings use make shift generators for their power." Danny observes, "Y'know, those engines they pull out from big rigs and hook up to cables. Causes a huge racket when fired up. I haven't heard any of that noise in this town."

"And?" Jen shrugs, "The generators are probably hidden. I was in a settlement where the locals installed their gen sets in the basement of an abandoned school. As long as you didn't go near the basement itself, you wouldn't hear a peep from those engines."

"That's the other thing." Danny looks about the main drag again, "There's no additional cabling being strewn about. The town is running off the pre-virus infrastructure."

Jen blinks as she takes in Danny's observation before responding, "The original power lines might have been diverted?"

"But where? Where was this diversion done?" Danny urges, "This town is a picture perfect recreation of pre-virus America."

"Other, than well, Xir running the show." Jen cuts in.

"You get what I mean." Danny grumbles, "My point is, there's none of that hobo tech you see in the wasteland. Everything still works like normal, even when it shouldn't."

This story originates from a different website. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there.

Jen rubs her scalp in consternation, "The main power lines should be down. Otherwise the street lights on the highway leading to this town would still be running."

"Or maybe Dad controls the power station as well." Danny mutters, "Look, its a possibility alright? We have no idea how much territory falls under Dad's influence."

"No way." Jen snorts, "I still think he's running this place using make shift generators like everyone else. Look, the streetlights aren't working. Electricity is most likely being rationed."

"That still means Dad has enough territory to hide the gen sets." Danny points out, "And hook them up to the main power lines without anyone noticing."

"Damn it." Jen curses, "Are you saying that Dad has got a secret base somewhere in the outskirts where he really runs things?"

"Probably." Danny agrees, "There's no other way this town can operate the way it does."

"This getting way too complicated." Jen shoots back as she grabs a large stone from the ground, "Lets concentrate on what we can handle for now."

Jen raps one of the building's windows with the stone, chipping away steadily at the glass. Once a large enough hole has been formed, she reaches in and releases the window's latch.

"Done and done." Jen cheers a she lifts the window pane up, "Let's get going."

The siblings creep into the pitch black library, the only illumination coming from Jen's flashlight. Danny immediately puts a hand to his nose, stifling a sneeze.

"Don't touch your face." Jen says out of habit, "That's how the virus spreads."

"I know, I know." Danny grumbles, "And I'm not coofing. Its all the dust in this place. Hasn't anyone cleaned it up?"

"Doesn't look like it." Jen says as she moves deeper into the library, scanning the shelves full of books, "Guess there's been no market for reading ever since the virus happened. There we go, local and native history."

Danny picks up a heavy tome and begins leafing through it at random, before coming to a stop.

"Hey, this book talks about stone caverns." he remarks, "Like the one we were in. Those caverns were apparently carved out by the natives even before the thirteen colonies."

"Great, we're on the right track." Jen answers, "Grab all the books you can carry. We can read them back at the hideout."

"Damn this stuff is heavy." Danny grumbles as he begins filling his arms with books, "Should have brought a bag or something."

"Hold on. Maybe there's something in here that could help." Jen remarks as she disappears into the darkness, "I'll go look."

Sighing with relief, Danny sets the books down and begins rifling through the shelf for anything more of interest. But as he glances abaout, his eyes fall on one of the library's windows, where there's an unwelcome sight.

An approaching police cruiser.