Truth and Light

Chapter 20

Before long I arrived at my destination, "Welcome to Brooks, Oregon. Pop. 398." Three hundred and ninety-eight? That wasn't even a casino back in Vegas!

The drive into Brooks felt surreal.

I drove slowly and took time to stare out the window, searching for people. A few empty cars had been in accidents, no one had had time to come to a complete stop, let alone park their cars. Sparks rained down and power lines jumped and writhed like a nest of angry vipers.

I knew that Gabe had tried to warm me that most of the population was gone, but in the back of my mind it had felt like a fairytale, but seeing this, it felt more like a horror flick.

I placed my hand on my lower stomach when it growled, terrified. Missing lunch and dinner, I hadn't realized until that moment how hungry I was.

I checked the clock on the dash, I still had time until I needed to meet Amanda and Josh. I drove around the tiny town until I found a small grocery store. I parked the borrowed Jeep in an empty spot.

I locked the Jeep up and went and found a shopping cart. As I walked in the sliding doors opened and I was blasted with the fan that stores liked to place at the entrance, for what reason I didn't quite understand. I looked around cautiously, searching for people.

"Hello? Is anyone here?" I called out.

There was no response, no one was inside. Music still played and every now and then a woman's voice would come over the loudspeaker in a recorded commercial telling me about their special of the day, tamales. I hated tamales.

I walked around the store filling my basket with items I could make something out of without needing a stove or microwave. I bypassed the deli section and hot bar, not knowing how long those foods had been sitting out. I settled for a loaf of bread, peanut butter, jelly, some milk, grapes, and a bag of tortilla chips. I grabbed some cheap metal utensils that were on sale and brought my haul up to the front of the store.

Out of the corner of my eye I saw movement, I turned around expecting to see Gabe or the twins, but there was nothing there. I kept my eyes open for anything out of the ordinary, but after counting to a hundred in my head I decided it was just my imagination.

It took me about two minutes of loading my items onto the conveyor belt before I remembered there was no one there to ring up my groceries. I placed all my items into plastic bags, then back into the cart. Seeing the 'impulse items' I also grabbed a candy bar just in case I got hungry later.

There was a small pad of paper sitting in front of the cash register with a pen on top. I leaned over and grabbed it. Again, out of the corner of my eye I saw something move. I forced myself to not turn and look, hoping that whoever was following me would make themselves known.

Writing on the paper, I jotted down a quick list of the items I took, and that I didn't have a phone number for them to call, but I would be back soon to pay for the groceries. At the bottom of the note, I signed my name.

Again I saw another flash of color, , "Hello? Is anyone there?" No response.

"I'm taking some groceries, but I left an IOU," I spoke louder, but still there was no response.

"If you're scared, I promise I won't hurt you," I said in a normal talking voice. I didn't want them to think I was hostile.

Another small movement and then a young woman with pitch black hair cut into a short bob, crystal blue eyes, red lips that were shaped into a cute bow and the palest skin I had ever seen, stepped from behind a shelf that had soda stacked neatly on it.