“Rick?” Jane looked around at the room. “Where are we?” Her voice was hoarse and cracked and Rick handed her the bottle of water.
“Here, drink this. You’ve been out for a while. We’re inside a lumberyard not far from where you collapsed yesterday.”
“I… think I remember.” Jane took several small sips from the bottle before taking a large gulp.
“Yeah you were awake a time or two but otherwise you’ve been sleeping. I think the heat got to you.”
“Heatstroke in autumn?” Jane smiled weakly and shook her head and Rick laughed.
“I know, it’s crazy, isn’t it?”
“I think I’m feeling better now. We should start moving again, shouldn’t we?”
Rick sighed and nodded. “I don’t want to push you with how you’re feeling, but we really should.”
“How far do we have to go?”
“Fifteen miles.”
“Oh.” Jane nodded slowly. “Right. I remember that. Okay, let’s go.” She started to stand up and Rick took her arm, helping her to her feet. She wobbled slightly as she stood but after a few steps her paces became steadier and more sure. “I think I can do this.” Jane smiled at Rick as he gathered up his supplies and bags and got everything ready to go.
“We have the whole day ahead of us so I think we should take it slow for the first couple of hours and see how you’re feeling and decide from there.”
Jane stooped down to pick up a bottle of water and looked at it. “We should try to find an extra bag so I can carry some more water. It’ll be invaluable in this heat.”
“Good idea.” Rick nodded and began searching through the cupboards in the break room until he came upon a simple canvas bag with a wide zipper and single handle. “How’s this?” He held it out and Jane took it.
“Perfect.” She started filling the bag with bottles of water that were scattered around the room while Rick pushed on the vending machine in front of the door until it was far enough out of the way for both of them to slip through.
“Why’d you put that in front of the door?” Jane looked at the vending machine as she followed Rick out of the break room and he snorted in amusement.
“Oh I had some fun times while you were sleeping.” Rick gave Jane the summary of what had happened while she was resting. When he finished with the story she shook her head in amazement.
“Wow. That was quick thinking on your part. What are you, ex-army or something?” Rick noticed Jane looking at his gun bag and the bulging pistol on his hip as she asked the question.
“Hardly. No, I’m a—well, I was an engineer.”
“Do most engineers carry guns around with them?”
Rick laughed. “Only the ones who nearly get caught by some kind of Mad Max style gang on the outskirts of Los Angeles.”
“Oh, that makes—wait, what?”
“It’s a long story.” Rick chuckled. “Tell me about yourself, though. I live in Virginia, have a wife and three kids and live on a small farm outside Blacksburg.”
“A farm? Wow. I’m—well, like you said, I was a paralegal. I live in downtown Denver though who knows if it’s even there anymore.”
“Why were you visiting L.A.?”
Jane smiled wistfully. “Visiting an old friend. We had talked about seeing each other more and one thing led to another. Next thing you know the sky is falling and cars are exploding and I’m stuck trying to get out of the city.”
“What made you decide to drive?”
“There was a family who picked me up as I was walking to get out of the city. They were on one of the other buses.” Jane’s face fell. “I hope their kids are okay. They had four of them.”
Rick ground his teeth together as he thought about his own children. “I hope so, too.”
The pair were quiet for a few minutes before Jane spoke again. “So you’re an engineer?”