Looking Back

I decided to leave two days after the trip to the store. I wasted some milk and the cart space for it, but it was worth it. I could always go get some note useful tools later.

"Let's go, Amy."

When we left the building, I was still carrying my supplies in two carts. I also threw in many clothes and some of my family's treasured items. I needed to get a car. I decided it would be best to go get one on my own. I left the carts in the lobby of the apartment building. Amy refused to stay. I guess I was the last person on Earth to her. I was reminded of the person I saw in the street the other day and proceeded a little more cautiously. Arming myself would be the second priority.

Thankfully, a car dealership section of the city was only about three miles away. I was already towards the outskirts, as high rise buildings were already lesser in density and number. The further north I went, the more suburban it looked. As dealerships love to establish near one another for competition, I had plenty of options.

I went for a mid size SUV. It had plenty of storage when you put down the back two rows of seats, and was much more fuel efficient than a larger vehicle. It perfectly suited my needs. The main building of the dealership was unlocked and I walked right in. As everyone vanished so quickly, no one could close for the night. After a quick search, I found the key room. (This damn car would've cost me forty thousand dollars. Lucky me...) I came back out with a triumphant look on my face and opened up the car.

"Hop in Girl!" I said as I patted the passenger seat. Amy jumped right in. She seemed used to this.

When I started the car up, the screen read "Low Fuel, Range: Twenty Miles." (The Classic theft prevention system of the dealership was now a great hinderance to me. This confirms that I'm a thief now.) I couldn't help but laugh a little at the situation. It still didn't make me feel any better.

"I guess it's time to get gas," I said aloud.

I only drove for a little over a minute before I reached the station. I pulled in and casually filled up the tank. Other than literally no one else being around, it was completely normal. I actually paid for the gas. I wasn't sure what would happen if you left without paying. Maybe an alarm would sound. I inserted my credit card since I still had my wallet. I found a few 10 gallon gas cans and filled up four. That was enough for nearly two tanks, or about one thousand extra miles if I drove well. (Well, With no traffic, that shouldn't be a problem.) When you add my generator into the gas consumption calculations, it becomes a little less impressive, but I could hopefully acquire some jet fuel. A generator equipped with solar panels would be ideal.

Once I drove three short miles back to the apartment building, I was happy to see that all of my things were still there. I quickly packed everything into the car and gave Amy a little more food. Everything fit nicely, and I definitely had enough room for a generator and survival gear. I could grab those from stores further into the city, but I shuddered, wondering what it would be like. The population density was higher further in. (Would there be people there?) I began to see that even with Amy, I would feel infinitely more comfortable if I had another human with me. Then my memory of Codey came back, and my mood quickly worsened. I reached over and hugged Amy.

I drove back toward the convenience store to get more canned and other long lasting food. They probably had meals ready to eat or other military food at a survival store, so this was just in case. I thought about switching to canned food for Amy, but quickly realized that one can was only one meal. Compared to the forty pound bags I already had, this was inefficient at best. I grabbed a watch that could run off of batteries and the batteries for it just in case something happened to the electronics. This store didn't have a pharmacy, so drugs would have to be acquired later. Another pack of bottled water completed my list. (Maybe I can buy I filtered straw or something of the sort at the camping store so I don't have to deal with all of this extra weight. I could boil the water on top of that as well.)

Before I hopped back in the car, I looked up the street. I saw all of the buildings I'd gotten used to for the past year and a half. The coffee shops, office buildings, stores, and restaurants were all engraved in my memory. I solemnly aimed my gaze towards my apartment building.

"I'm sorry Codey," I said. "I won't be coming back for awhile."