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That night was the most comfortable I'd had in a while. The heat that came from the heater kept our small cubby like room warm even as the temperature dipped outside while our long clothes and high grade camping mats kept us insulated. I was almost too warm. I woke the next morning to bright, cloudless skies and a brightly shining sun. Morning light peaked in through the windows, painting the room in a bright orange and yellow light. My eyes protested my opening them, wanting to fall back into sleep. Wake up you lazy bastard, there's work to be done.

I pulled myself out of my sleeping bag and forced myself to dress in the sharp air. I stripped off my night clothes and long underwear before exchanging it for regular underwear and boxer shorts as well as white undershirt, covered by my favorite red long sleeved T-shirt and jean jacket and blue carpenter jeans. I never wore long underwear during the day because every time I did, on my mission's in the Arctic in specific, I regretted it because it always got hot. I could see frost had piled over night on my truck and the grass, but other than that the weather was perfect. Gonna be a nice drive, assuming it stays like this.

I shot a glance over at Raf. He was still sound asleep. I didn't want to wake him up, didn't want to jolt him back to reality. For some reason, the way he was sleeping reminded me of Mom and Dad.

I shook myself from my thoughts and shut off the propane heater before disconnecting the tank from the heater unit. I stuffed it back into it's case before deflating my Therma-Rest and rolling it up with my sleeping bag and stuffing it back into it's duffle. I carried the heater and duffle of food down to the truck before going back into the rest area's main building. Raf had woken up and was laying on his stomach, still tucked inside his sleeping bag.

"Morning little brother",I said smiling,"you sleep well."

"Yep",he answered,"what's for breakfast?"

"You talk as if I've been up since five and should already have it ready."

Raf grinned mischievously.

"Well maybe I don't feel like dragging out the stove and cooking anything",I returned trying my best to copy his grin,"my night sucked."

"Sucks to be you",Raf grinned again.

I smiled,"get dressed and put away your sleeping bag and then I'll get something cooking."

Raf pulled himself out of the cocoon he'd made and dressed while I carried the duffle bag of guns and ammo down to the truck. The grass was frozen stiff from the frost and every step made me think I was walking over broken glass. I placed the guns and ammo in my truck, in between the bag of clothes and tools, making sure everything was in order before walking back up to our hideaway. Raf had dressed and rolled up his Therma-Rest and sleeping bag and stuffed them into the duffle. He was sitting against the wall, like a house pet waiting to be fed. I unzipped the food duffle and primed the stove.

"What sounds good?",I asked,"Scrambled eggs with ham, red and green pepper's, Granola with milk and blueberries or Biscuits and Gravy?"

"Why not make two?",Raf asked,"how about the eggs and the granola?"

I smiled,"why the hell not?"

It was a nice mix. Raf had a knack for mixing stuff together and food was no exception. Breakfast reminded me of something Dad would do after we'd all come home from church on Sunday mornings. It surprised me just how good the MRE's could be if you did them right.

"Does your foot still hurt little brother?",I asked as I munched on my granola.

"Yeah",Raf said,"not as much as it did, but it still hurts."

I quickly finished eating and pulled the gauze off Raf's foot. The swelling had come down significantly in the past few days. The bruise was almost gone and all around it was healing quite nicely.

"It's getting better",I said,"should be better by tomorrow." I put more ointment on Raf's foot and wrapped it.

Raf and I stripped the rest stop of anything remotely use full. Gas, paper products, canned food in the backs of a couple cars and two metal gas cans off one of the big rigs. I was able to fill them both with the diesel left in the rigs. For me it was work, but for Raf, not so much.

"We can make it fun",Raf said.

"How do you plan on makin' survival fun?",I asked,"'cause it ain't."

"It can be",Raf said.

I just sighed at my brother's antics and continued with my searching. It was about half past noon before we were on the road. The suns arm's lengthened as it rose in high in the sky, bringing the temperature up with it, enough that it made me roll down the windows. The crisp air flew in through the windows and made my short spiky hair stand even stiffer than normal. Our interstate route was flanked by large mountains that appeared in a deep blue with white, snow capped tops. Smaller hills rising high and low sat next to the four lane interstate and large Vs of what by my guess were Canadian Geese flying south for the winter were always overhead. Going south just like us, wonder where their destination is?

I only saw a few semi trailers on the side of the road as I drove. My guess was their drivers succumbed to Agent Six in the back of their sleep because none of them were wrecked, or perhaps they'd just be abandoned. We stopped to refuel from a purple Freightliner that was hauling a Caterpillar bulldozer and vacant of passengers. I managed to pull a few cans of Cambles Chunky Chicken Noddle soup from the back of the sleeper as well as a wool blanket and a bottle of water. The only evidence that the rig had ever be occupied was a picture of a man with his dog taped to the visor. I left that there, respect.

We continued to drive through the day. I found myself cycling through all of my Magnum 1 albums, Lonesome Road, Dust Of Time, Earthquake, .44 Magnum until I came onto my favorite and Magnum 1's bestseller, End Of Days. I'd gone through a lot of the songs before i got bored and set the tracks to shuffle. The song that played after Overrated was a redo of One Republic's Counting Stars. My favorite of all of Magnum 1's redos. I found myself tuning the volume as high as it wold go. It felt rude with the world so hushed, but I didn't really care.

It was around two in the afternoon when I spotted a school bus on the side of the road. It was an expensive Genesis cabover, which could only be afforded by schools in the 1% areas, so I wondered what it was doing on the interstate. We needed gas, and I knew Genesis only made diesel vehicles, so I pulled over.

"Time for another survival lesson Raf",I said pulling to a stop and shutting off the truck.

"Fuel shipon?",Raf asked.

"Yep",I answered undoing my seat belt and grabbing my rifle,"grab your gun."

Raf grabbed his gun from the back seat as I undid the tail gate and grabbed the empty gas can. We walked to bus. I could see blackout curtains hanging over the windows and rear exit door as we did, so that told me the bus had wither been occupied, or was and we were about to pilfer someone's hideout, which could be a good way to get shot.

I ducked under the bus and quickly located the fuel tank and after some groping, located the fuel lines.

"Okay Raf",I said as he slid under the bus,"getting fuel from these bigger trucks and buses is a bit more complex, you saw me use the pump on that big rig earlier today didn't ya?"

"Yes",Raf answered.

"That was because the fuel lines are made of metal and are in a place you can't get to without putting the truck on a jack stand. It was nozzle to tank on that model, but most cars and trucks have a fuel hose and a grate inside of them that make the fuel tube a one way street. As a general rule, automakers gave a green light on filling the tank, but a red one on the ability to remove gas from your tank."

Raf nodded as I continued, handing him my knife.

"I want you to cut this skinny hose",I said,"then stuff it into the gas can, it's that simple."

Raf took my knife from me and with a little bit of effort, slit the fuel line open and shoved it down into the tank.

"I did it!",Raf said happily.

I smiled as we pulled ourselves from under the bus,"yup, I'm proud of you."

"All I did was cut a hose",Raf said.

"You got us what could be another day on the road with a single knife stroke",I said grinning,"and now you know how to get fuel out of any car or truck, oil and other fluids are for a later date and eventually I'll teach you how to drive, but at least now I know I can handle other stuff while you get fuel for us."

Raf smiled,"Thank's Cameron."

"I won't be around forever",I replied,"now let's check out the inside of that bus."

Raf and I walked around to the right side of the bus, where I discovered the door of the bus was slightly open. I clanked the chamber of my M4 before pulling open the bus door and stepping inside.

The inside had be converted into a mobile home of sorts. There was a counter directly adjacent to the door that had a built in electric stove and a small mini fridge underneath it. Two of the leather seats had been left in place across the isle from the stove and counter with one turned around and a table bolted down between them. In the back was a small sofa that looked to have been bolted to the ground and there was a small twin bed directly across from them. There were cabinets bolted to the sides and ceiling of the bus above the bed. This person had been ready from the beginning.

"This is really cool",Raf said.

"Well I can't say I can argue with that",I said shouldering my rifle,"let's pick this place clean and then get going."

Raf went to work on the kitchen area while I went to the back. Two of the three cabinets above the bed were empty, while the other was full of food. Caned soups, canned meats, boxes of pasta, jars of sauce, cooking oil, breadcrumbs, spices, you name it.

"Jackpot!",I yelled.

"What you find?",Raf asked running over to me.

"Food",I answered,"real food, I think we can have a real dinner tonight."

I saw Raf's face brighten as he turned back to his work. After a while of searching the bus, Raf and I came up with the food I'd found as well as a small stock of water and medicine. Altogether, it wasn't that much, but you'd be surprised at how far just a little bit could go psychologically. Raf and I sorted our finds into the duffles and soon we were back on the road. As our drive wound on, the sun went from clear light, to rays tinted with orange and yellow. The sky took on a mixed hue of blue, orange, pink and yellow. I always found driving at times of days like this easy on me. I guess it was just one of those things that made me who I was, everyone has them. The track that was playing was a redo of a French artist's Delirious Schizo and for some reason, I found myself wanting to engage Front Wheel Drive, even though I hated it. Why does my brain think like that?

We had been driving for about two hours since we found the bus when I saw a sign that pointed to Scranton. I knew that was a fairly large city, and didn't want to go anywhere near it. Dad had always said cites were nothing more than people traps in a large crisis. There was also the possibility of lone survivors and masses of thugs who held claims on the land. I knew the chances that these people were territorial was high, I'd seen it in Iraq and after Hurricane Sandy hit New York.

"Hey Raf?",I said.

"Yeah?",Raf asked pulling an ear bud out of his ear.

"Check the map and find me a way around Scranton, I don't want to go anywhere near it."

"Why not?",he asked spreading the map out on the dash.

Stop sheltering him.

"There's a chance that there are survivors in the city that hold gang style claims on the land and resources",I said.

"And that means?",Raf asked.

"It means they'll shoot us on sight and steal our truck and supplies",I said.

Raf blanched white, didn't blame him.

"Okay",Raf said in a small voice,"gimme a minute."

Raf studied the map for a minute before speaking up, his color coming back to him.

"If you stay on I81 'till you hit New Milford, there's an I81 exit onto Susquehanna St. That will take you onto Main Street. If it's clear, that takes us right through town and there's an exit off State Route 11 onto County Road 706 into Montrose, after that we can follow County Roads along the outskirts of the city before getting back onto Interstate 471."

I smiled,"I'd swear you could make the trip to Sliverton without me."

In a way, it was true. It was actually comforting to know he's be okay without me. I continued down I81 for about an hour or so until I saw a big blue sign reading,"New Milford, Gas, Food, Lodging, Next exit." I found myself turning on my blinker as I switched lanes. Still had the rules of the road drilled into my head, was also just trying to keep a semblance of normal I guess. A few miles later I saw the overhanging sign reading "Exit". I cruised down the off ramp and soon took the turn onto Susquehanna St, which led onto main.

The entire town had been trashed. Buildings had broken and broaded up windows, cars were burned or trashed and the sidewalks were obliterated under piles of trash. There were walls up in front of a few buildings that were made of couches, tires, slabs of concrete from the sidewalks, old cars, basically anything heavy. The food riots had hit this place hard.

"Food riots?",Raf asked quietly.

"Yeah",I replied,"looking like bad ones too."

At the end of main street, I was turning a corner when Raf suddenly shouted out.

"Stop the truck Cameron!"

"What!!!??",I asked hysterically as I slammed on the brakes.

"Back up!",Raf shouted exitedly.

"What!?",I asked as I shifted into reverse.

"Turn here, turn here!",Raf exclaimed.

I turned into the parking lot of a red building with a sign on it that read in big white letters, "Andy's Snack Foods." Before I was even parked, Raf had his door open and was already out.

"You scared me shitless for a candy store?",I asked smiling as I retrieved my M1A.

"Not just any candy store",Raf said,"I saw on American Eats these guys make a cupcake that's guaranteed to put you on a sugar high with one bite."

My little brother, in a confined space, with a cupcake or a box of them that's guaranteed to put you on a sugar high with one bite? Oh fuck no.

"Can we please raid it!?,Raf asked, practically on his knees begging.

I sighed and smiled,"promise no sugar high cupcakes?"

"Promise!",Raf exclaimed.

I smiled and moved Raf back before bashing the glass door in with the butt end of my M1. Raf darted in and disappeared. The inside of the store reminded me strangely of a pizzeria. The floors were made of a red and white tile and there were red stools facing the counter, which held a large popcorn machine. The entire store smelled of sugar and fired food, but hell, I'd rather that disgusting odor over human decay any day. Out of boredom, I started looking around. The shelves were lined with any manner of junk food from bags of cotton candy, to chips and even Ring pops and a freezer full of sodas. I remembered in Delta whenever it came to sweets of any kind, our friends knew to come to us for it. Mom sent us regular care packages that contained anything from Hershey bars to cake mix, and our friends loved to try and steal it from us. As I kept looking around, I found the one thing I'd missed for ages.

"Gummi worms",I said in a small voice as I reached out to pick them up. There were still five bags on the rack, I swiped them all and stuffed them into the drop pouch on my vest.

"And you didn't want to stop!",Raf called. Damn, how'd you even hear that?

"I never said I didn't want to come",I protested,"I asked why you scared the crap outta me to get me to stop here."

Raf didn't answer me. "Yeah I thought so."

Raf and I did a thorough sweep of the store. My only finds and all I cared about were those five bags of gummi worms, wasn't intending on sharing. Raf found a couple of boxes of chocolate chip cupcakes and a box of premade brownies, which he loved. After finishing our raid of the store, we walked back to the pick up and soon we were on the road again.

I followed State Route 11 out of town before spotting the turn to County Road 706. It crossed a small river and entered a more natural looking area. It was dotted with lakes and occasional turns onto other County Roads. I followed 706 until it took a wide turn onto what Heart Lake road. The sun reflected in yellow and orange off the blue waters of the lake, it looked like something that might pop up if I goggled Sunsets. Raf has climbed into the backseat to get it on the video he was filming with his phone and I even stopped the truck to take a picture of it with my tablet. Passing the lake, Heart Lake Road became William's Road. We pased another lake called Lake Christian, which wasn't as pretty as Heart Lake, but was still picture worthy.

I followed William's Road for what seemed like ten or so milies before coming out on County Road 167. I drove for a few miles before turning on N. Weston Road. It snaked through a small pine tree forest that was a county maintained campground. The sun's arms had grown long with the passing time and the entire sky was now bathed in beautiful orange and pink glow.

"Hey Raf?",I asked,"wanna camp out here tonight? Since you never got the chance to do it for real?"

Raf grinned,"sure, your not afraid of spiders?"

"Spiders?",I asked smiling,"spiders? I've been shot at, no I'm not afraid of spiders."

"I'll remember you said that",Raf said grinning mischievously.

I smiled as I pulled off the road and drove up a dirt trail. It came out to a camp site that was surrounded by pine trees and had the sun shining right in. I pulled my pickup to a stop and killed the engine before sliding out and stretching my legs. The air was crisp and fresh, smelling only of pine wood and dirt, filled with the chips and calls of the local birds.

"Man",Raf said," it's nice out here, and no smell."

"Hopefully it stays that way",I replied dropping the tailgate,"let's set up camp and then I'll get something cooking, you packed the tent right?"

"The blue Ozark?",Raf asked.

"That's the one",I replied.

"Yup."

I pulled the duffle with a white house on it out of the truck and began setting it up. It was a great big, five person dome tent about the size of a small room. I had bought it for weekend camping trips years ago, long before I joined Dad in Delta Force. It'd been allover the country with me and had seen us through more than a few bad storms and long trips. I connected all the poles and threaded them through the sleeves stitched on the tent and set all the poles into their socks. I put up the rain cover and staked the tent in place. Raf and I set up our Therma-Rests and sleeping bags inside the tent and then dug the stove, pots and food out of the truck.

I poured the cooking oil I had found in the bus into our cast iron skillet and let it boil as I opened the chunks of caned chicken and rolled it in the breadcrumbs and spices before dropping it in the oil and I had chicken nuggets, apocalypse style, in the works. I also cooked up the box of pasta I found and added in the Alfredo sauce and mixed it with flaked red pepper, oregano, garlic and black pepper. The resulting concoction was something you'd order from a restaurant and the smell was driving Raf and I insane.

"Is it done yet?",Raf moaned from the tent, while playing my Vita I may add.

"Quit your whining",I replied,"the chicken is done and the pasta should be only five more minutes."

"Five minutes",Raf replied tearing open a bag of Puffy Cheetos,"I'l never make it."

"Well more for me then",I said grinning.

We ate dinner with bags of Puffy Cheetos for a side dish. The chicken was golden brown and crispy on the outside and soft and juicy on the inside, it melted in my mouth so much I almost didn't have to chew it, but did anyway, just to keep the flavor on my mouth longer, they were that good. The pasta was a saucy concoction of spice and cheesy flavor that perfectly complemented the deep fried chicken bits. Raf and I washed up using water from the nearby river and brushed our teeth with a bit from the truck, after which we changed into clean clothes. I locked up the pick up, leaving my M1A and a couple of mags out as well as my Hi-Power and Raf's Marlin. He needs to learn to shoot the Mk11 and the Remington. We crawled into the tent with our electronics and shut the world out via the tent's nylon flap.

"And this is my 29 year old Delta Force brother",Raf said turning his phone camera on me,"playing with a stuffed turtle."

"What the hell are you doing?",I asked.

"Making a video log",Raf replied.

"Well could you please not record me holding something our father gave to me when I was four?",I asked.

"Why not?",Raf asked,"it's the little things that keep you human, you remember the stuffed dog Dad got me for my fourth birthday?"

"Yes",I replied.

Raf produced the stuffed black and blond German Shepard doll,"I kept it too."

"Your nine",I said,"I'm 29 and ex-special forces, it's still cute for you but me? Anyone who sees that is gonna think I'm mentally disturbed."

"You are",Raf grinned,"I'm your little brother."

"Turn off the damn camera!",I said holding my hand over the phone.

Raf laughed,"Let it be known that Delta Force is silencing me. End of Log Entry Four, Journey Day Six, Pandemic Day 36, Time is 8:21 PM, Saturday."

"I see you found a real use for that phone",I said rolling onto my back.

"Started the logs on Tuesday",Raf said,"got bored with Borderlands and thought, why not make a video log?"

"Well it's a good use of time",I said,"if the people in Silverstone have any kind of record keeping system, they'd do right to include your logs, just promise me you won't stop making them." I held out my fist.

Raf bumped it and we did the motion of an explosion. "Promise."

"Night little bro",I said crawling into my sleeping bag,"sleep tight, and watch out for spiders."

Raf laughed at me,"yeah, night Cameron."

Raf fell asleep within ten minutes. On an impulse, I pulled out my phone and started writing.

Made it over the mountains today, as I had hoped. Had to change routes. The one we were one would have taken us into Scranton Pennsylvania and due to the possibility that there may be masses of thugs or even lone thugs with gang style land claims, I decided to avoid the possibility altogether and ignore the city entirely. I had my little brother Rafael plan an alternate route around the city. The kid is a savant when it comes to reading a map. I'm not entirely sure if the alternate route I've decided on is going to add any time to our journey, but it's worth it to avoid bloodshed. I'm not making any bodies unless I have too.

I stuffed my notebook back into my backpack, rolled over, and fell asleep.