Page 3 (1/2)

His journey through the national forest was peaceful and serene, far more so than he had expected Aside from the occasional vehicle that had to be avoided he encountered al in the wet snow and slush By early afternoon the snow on the highas nearly gone and there were bare patches in many of the fields as well Fuel was, as it had been ever since nearly running out after leaving Nellis, his pri the road was troublesome particularly since every one he encountered was either destroyed, ran on gasoline instead of diesel or both

Rick drove as conservatively as possible, trying his best to balance speed with efficiency By the tih a full tank of fuel and half of his reserves He was starting to get worried about the lack of fuel when a sas station appeared ie of the national forest

With no guardrail in place and a clear path between the highway and the gas station Rick turned the wheel and bounced across an open field as he made for the station He was about to pull in and park in front of the station when an uneasy feeling crept its way up his back and ive the station a wide berth

With the evening sun hanging low in the west Rick circled around the gas station at a decent clip, leaning down and looking through the narrow passengerand front windshield at the station Instead of a darkened interior like he had expected the inside of the station was lit with a wavering glow like that from a fire, candles or some other non-electric source

A short sign sitting near the gas station that would have normally contained prices was instead covered with thick pieces of cardboard onto which a e had been written by hand in black marker

We have fuel Do not co funny and you won’t live to regret it

The last sentence made Rick snort in amusement but his smile quickly faded when he saw a n The barrel was obviously e of the station’s owner as it was riddled with bullet holes that varied in both size and pattern

“Oh yeah” Rick shook his head as he circled the building again “This is legit Let’s just stop at a place that proreat” Rick flicked on his GPS unit and thuh the options to look at the stored database of infor his route The station he was at was the only one for another fifty iven his lack of fuel he wasn’t sure he had any choice but to stop and hope that the author of the sign was sincere

Chapter 4

The Water’s Homestead

Outside Ellisville, VA

Dinner and the ti with her three children afterward ended up taking far longer than Dianne had initially thought it would By the time she was ready to talk about her fortification plans with Mark it was late enough that she decided to save it for early the next

Mark dutifully took the first watch shift, staying awake and watching through the upper s and the security cameras for almost four hours When his tih to the next ht never ht a cloudless sky with plenty of light for the solar panels

After a quick breakfast and setting up Josie and Jacob with their schoolwork and cleaning tasks for the day she sat doith Mark at the kitchen table and broke out a spiral-bound notebook fro notes on possible fortifications we can make around here We probably should have started the every day that…” Dianne trailed off and sighed, gritting her teeth as she fought back a tear

“I’et back here right now”