Polaris Skies

Chapter 33 - Finale

They were able to locate an old map of Florgia, long-forgotten behind a convenience store shelf in Pensacola. It proved to be useful in getting them past Tallahassee and Gainesville. Their anticipation and fear rose as they passed by Ocala on 75. It had been completely decimated from incendiaries. Fear prickled as they wondered if Hana's godfather would still be in the St. Petersburg area. When they found a closer map of the Tampa and Clearwater areas, their hearts sank. Fort Dade was an island off the tip of the St. Petersburg peninsula, and it was tiny. Surely the science centre couldn't be there. Where else, though, could Corbin have centred his complex if it was still there?

They hoped and walked. Their aim was a large green belt out near an area called Cat's Point. They very well may walk for months back and forth through St. Petersburg and the islands to try and find the building. The closer they got, the less faith they had that they would be able to find Corbin Ziphle.

"Oye, guys!" Heinrich called out to the other wolves on the Highway 19 strip. They were dodging in and out of dark shadows. There were still working lights on the streets. Someone had the grid still up and running. It had been rare when they encountered mass electricity in their travels. They had dodged housing when one or two buildings showed the use of solar generators. Self-sufficient farmers tended to own guns and had very little problem shooting at wolves that even thought of harming their livestock. The streetlights in St. Petersburg were eerie, if only for the fact that most of the buildings along the road were boarded up. Some had been ransacked. Others had been left intact. They passed by a couple of malls and a vacated National Guard building without much luck. The buildings were large enough to house Corbin, but no luck.

Heinrich, eager to make the corner that would put them on Pinellas scouted ahead. A boarded gas station called their names. Maybe they'd be able to find a better map of St. Petersburg than the one they had, which had been a broad regional map. They were hoping for one that had the street names listed if at all possible.

With a bit of struggle, they forced their way inside the dim building. Dust motes hung in the shafts of light streaming through the plywood. It had been ransacked and tagged at one point. One of the windows had been broken out and boarded over. Canned food and trinkets littered the aisles. Some of the cans had burst, leaving the space smelling acrid. The group split up to inspect the shelves, seeing if there was anything they could stuff into their bags and if they could find the elusive map.

The wolves allowed the humans to take their shift momentarily. Fingers could reach behind shelves much easier than paws. The women set to work on gathering up nonperishables within the expiration date. They broke into the back office and storage room while the men shifted shelves to locate a possibly misplaced map.

A loud howl of joy came from the back office. The men perked up, curious as to what had set the women off. Sun Hee bounded out of the office with a massive white sheet of paper, and Zola had a medium-sized box gripped tightly against her chest. Hana followed the two with a big grin on her face. The men rushed over to see what the chaos was about.

"Found a delivery and distribution map for St. Petersburg pinned up behind the boss's desk!" Sun Hee spread the sheet out on the checkout counter between them and the guys.

"They had a bigger one on the other wall, but it's the same as the one we have now, other than a pinpoint for all of the stations in the greater Florgia area," Hana supplied.

"What did you find, Zola?" Benj asked curiously. Zola set the cardboard box down on the counter while Hana and Nat navigated the map, trying to make a decent guess at where a massive building could fit in the neighbourhoods, swamps, and sandbars. Yeller and Dietrich split their attention between the two. Zola opened up the box with a flourish. Inside were snack bags of chocolate pieces, all still held tight in a vacuum-sealed bag. The group's eyes went round. They hadn't had chocolate since Oregonia.