Free The Last Days by Gary Chesla

of things smashing all through the house below.
    He closed his eyes and prayed they would not find him and his family.

Chapter 8
     
    Mike put the last bite of chicken in his mouth, letting the flavor spread through his mouth as he chewed and swallowed. He smiled a contented smile as he wiped the last remnants of the chicken from his lips.
    He looked at the empty plates on the table in front of them.  Except for the plate that still held half an apple pie, all the other plates were empty.
    Mike had eaten all the chicken except for two pieces. Kelly and Kimmy had each eaten one small piece each.
    Kelly had eaten most of the meatloaf along with some potatoes and gravy. Kimmy had eaten the hotdogs and two beans. Mike and Kelly ate the rest of the beans and corn.
    They were all stuffed.
    If his summer shorts wouldn’t have had an elastic waist band, he would have had to have loosened his belt a couple of notches.
     
    “Who is ready for some apple pie?” Mike asked cheerfully.
    Kimmy groaned.
    Kelly just looked at Mike. “You’re joking. If I ate another bite I think I would explode.”
    “I can’t believe you two are going to walk away from apple pie!” Mike grinned.
    “Can we get a doggy bag?” Kimmy asked. “I can eat it when we get home.”
    Mike laughed as he looked at Kimmy. “Maybe if you ask Milly real nice she will give you one.”
    “But of course if she heard you two saying she was crazy, she might say no.” Kelly smiled.
    “Maybe we better eat it now.” Mike winked at Kimmy. “I’ll eat a piece if you will?”
    Kimmy smiled. “OK!”
     
    Milly walked back over to the table. “I thought you weren’t hungry?”
    “We weren’t, but everything looked so good.” Kelly laughed.
     
    “I’m glad you enjoyed it, but I’m afraid we are closing up early tonight. I guess we are going to be closed until everything gets back to normal and people start coming back to the park.” Milly added.
    “It was all very good.” Mike said as he reached in his pocket, pulled out a twenty and handed it to Milly.
    “Thank you. This is very generous of you.” Milly blushed.
    “Not as generous as you have been to us.” Mike smiled. “We appreciate all the information too. I hope you are able to get a hold of your sister soon and she is OK.”
    “You all be careful and have a safe trip home.” Milly said as Mike and his family started to get up from the table.
    Milly looked down at the table. “Would you like me to get you a takeout container for the rest of that pie?”
    “OK!” Kimmy smiled.
    Mike and Kelly laughed. “Thank You.”
     
    Milly let Mike and his family out the side door. She closed and locked the door behind them.
    Kimmy turned and waved through the glass back at Milly.
    She turned and ran to catch up with her mom and dad, clenching the Styrofoam container with the left over apple pie in her hands.
    She ran up next to Mike and took hold of his hand as they walked on the walkway that would take them around the corner of the lodge and to the parking lot where they had parked the RV.
    When they reached the RV, Mike reached in his pocket and fished out the keys. He reached for the lock on the back door. He aimed the key at the lock, but stopped as all the lights in the parking lot went out.
    Mike looked around and blinked his eyes, trying to adjust to the darkness.
    “What happened to the lights?” Kimmy’s little voice said in the darkness.
    “I guess the electric went out.” Kelly answered. “You know like it does at home sometime?”
    “Uh huh!” Kimmy replied. “Are you going to light a candle for me?”
    “We won’t have to light a candle.” Mike said as Kimmy reached up and grabbed his hand. “As soon as I can find this lock, I can turn the lights on in the RV. We don’t have to have electricity to have lights in the RV. We have batteries.”
    “We should get batteries at home too.” Kimmy said seriously.
    “That’s probably a good idea.” Mike laughed as he used his