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Nerit hesitated in drying a plate and looked up at Katie "This is our home"

"But once we leave, you’ll be here alone"

Nerit nodded and put the plate up Picking up a glass, she began to dry it "Katie, Ralph has three sons I have two sons We have grandchildren We do not knohere they are If they are safe, alive, on the run, or…They will come here if they can At least Ralph’s sons will Mine are in Israel I have very little hope of hearing from them"

Katie looked down and her vision blurred just a bit fro to brim "I see"

"This is all we have left now If we leave, we leave behind all of it We are very old and all we have is this shop This little town The hope that our children may still be alive with their children soether, then nodded She couldn’t blame Nerit

If she could have holed up somewhere with Lydia, safe and secure, and ride this out, she would have "I understand"

Travis leaned in the doorway "Katie, how are you feeling?"

"Good Good"

"I could use your help," he said "If Nerit doesn’t hed and shooed theo, do what you need"

Katie walked out into the hall and looked at Travis He looked surprisingly sheepish

"Okay, Ralph and I have packed up all the guns, ammo, and clothes fro over to the grocery store for anything else we may need" Travis blushed eveneverywhere but at her face

"Uh…wohed "Oh, irlfriend"

Travis winced "I try to block thatand headed down the stairs Bill and Ralph were in the store, both dressed up in hunting outfits, rifles slung over their arms casually Katie looked out theto see the old white truck was in a new position and Travis had evidently constructed a sturdy pallet on the truck bed to carry the haul back to the fort

"I hear we’re going shopping?"

"Yep, next door Put on a jacket and grab a gun," Ralph said with a grin at her

"I thought you cleared out the town?"

"Can’t take a chance," Ralph answered

"There are probablyaround," Bill added He pulled a baseball cap on "There are lots of farms and trailer parks out in those hills We can’t let down our guard"

"Makes sense," Katie sighed

Travis handed her a hunting jacket and she shrugged it on Picking up a gun, she looked over her shoulder at themy life because you pansies don’t want to pick up the tarin

All three nodded

"Yep"

"Pretty much"

"Uh huh"

Katie shook her head and looked out the front door at the grocery store across the way It was very small, old fashioned The road was clear except for the truck She had heard, through her fever, that Ralph and Bill and dragged the bodies onto the back of a truck and drove a ways out of town, before du them into a ditch This was not a time for proper burial

Ralph and Bill were the first ones out the door, followed by Katie, then Travis Travis walked stiffly, the gun in his hands obviouslyhim uncomfortable, but it was equally obvious that Ralph had been working with his that made up his town and motioned it was clear One by one, they passed into the s door Inside, it was in shambles Dark brown blood s on the floor