Free Humanity Gone: After the Plague by Derek Deremer Page B

through the early evening air amongst the shadows of the trees.  I need to get back quickly.  My heart starts to race at the thought of this car with anyone but Jon.  The girls lag behind me as I quickly walk toward our new home.
                  I breathe a sigh of relief as Jon kills the engine and steps out of the driver’s seat.  There’s a new look in his eye, or a new air about him, or something.  Maybe it’s the way he’s standing. Confidence.
                  “Hey,” he starts, “I picked up some more things from the trailer.  We didn’t search the outside walls; he had all this equipment.  And check this out.”  He finishes the sentence while throwing open the trunk of the SUV.  He reaches in and pulls out a bow.
                  I know that Jon hates guns, and I always felt like it was strange how involved he was with the archery club when, in my opinion, a gun and bow are so similar.  However, I can see how a bow doesn’t exactly compare with a gun to Jon...
                  “The quiver is full, too.  This ranger didn’t go cheap on them either.  The red shafts are carbon.  These things will last.”
                  I'm not sure what's so special about carbon, but I let him have his moment.  Jon is a good shot, but he isn’t exactly Robin Hood.  Yet, we have to hunt, and he may be our best chance.
                  Yea, I better start practicing with the gun.
                  “That’s…really lucky!” I reply, unable to hide my hesitation.  “But Jon, do you think…”
                  “I’ll start tomorrow,” he interrupts.  “It’ll take some time.”
                  “We do have the guns.”
                  “You have the guns,” he says with a weak smile and raised brow.  “The great safari hunter Jo-Jo."
               I have hated that name since the second my last boyfriend thought of it.  Jon heard it once and likes to use it to get under my skin. 
                  That boyfriend lasted three days after that.
                  Anyway, hunting was not really what I wanted to hear.  I’m completely clueless when it comes to bows, and I’m not much better when it comes to guns.  “You said equipment.  What else did you find?”
                  “Take a look.”
                  I walk around the car, and for what feels like the first time in forever, I exhale a little bit deeply and smile.  Now there is a little bit of luck as he shows me the variety of gardening tools.
                  “All we need are some seeds and a place to put them,” he continues.  “Come spring, we are going to rock this land.” His trip has encouraged him.  It feels good knowing that both of us are focused.
                  “We need to start immediately planning for when winter ends,” I say after nodding for a moment.  “I went over the pantry.  It could barely get us through the winter, but then we will be on our own.”
                  “I know.  I measured it out a little bit last night and I don't even thing it will last that long.  Until we learn what it means to hunt and farm, we are going to need more.  We should head...” his last words trail off.  I know what he’s going to say, so I let myself sigh. Tension replaces our optimism. “We need to go to that grocery store.”
                  “When do you want to go?" I ask.  It was dangerous, but he was right.  The amount of food we have would be cutting it too close this winter.
                  “Tomorrow.  We leave before the sun rises.  I want to get there as early as possible without it being dark and before more people get a chance to rummage through it.”
                  "I'm not letting you go alone."
                  "We all will