The Sovereign

Nowhere to Go

I shook myself awake.  I was in the van, which was turned off, and in the rear-view mirror was the city skyline.  I had dozed off again.

I checked the gas gauge.  I wouldn't be able to make it much further.  But what is there out there?  I had no idea where I was going. 

I needed a map.  Opening the glove compartment and prayed for the best. I cursed finding it completely empty. 

I needed to find out where I was going.  At a minimum.

I took a deep breath and looked at the Sun.  Thinking back to Jesse's lessons. The Sun rises in the East, and sets in the West. I'd been heading roughly northward. I couldn't go back, or waste any gas. The fuel I had was the fuel I had, and I wasn't getting any more.

What did I really need? Simple question, but I couldn't stop asking myself. I needed supplies. There wasn't much left back in Miami, but what about the neighboring cities? Fort Lauderdale would be completely raided bare. Most other major cities were too far.

What was not far north, and would have supplies? What place of importance could I go to?

I thought back to the last map of Florida I'd seen.

...Cape Canaveral?

I slammed the ignition and drove to the highway, turning on to it and continuing north. I didn't know if I had enough gas, but assuming I did, it would still take four hours to get there, maybe five as an amateur driver.

But they'd have supplies. It was an island, and not many people want to go to an island in the apocalypse. Heck, it might even give me a chance to relax on a beach.

Maybe I would be able to look at a sunset over the ocean. Maybe I could live a normal life. For once, a normal life.

•••

I couldn't really tell for sure, but it felt like I'd been driving for around two or three hours when it puttered to a stop.

I twisted the ignition a few more times. Nothing.

I looked around. There was a truck stop about three hundred yards ahead.

Would the van be able to run on diesel truck fuel?

Wether they had gas up there, the car wasn't budging any further, so it'd be hard to get it to the pumps.

The sun was beginning to slip downwards in the sky. My stomach was growling. I needed food.

I realized I had to walk it.  The horizon seemed to move further and further away as I considered walking that far on an empty stomach.

That was the first time I really thought I would die.