Exploring the Wasteland.

Day 28

As we drove through the most recent town on our journey north. I felt a certain familiarity about the place.  Brennen was driving up front with Colby perched on the stairs keeping him company. I walked to the front of the bus and looked over Brennen's shoulder

"Bren, this is Sam's hometown" The town now looked like a hollow shell of what it had used to be. I'd known Sam as a family friend back when we were teenagers. I'd known his first girlfriend: God was she a bitch! But he'd moved out of state when he met someone new and as far as I knew he was married with a little girl and doing his own thing on Youtube as well from what Brennen told me.

"Shiv, there is next to no chance he's here" he paused, looking around "or that anyone's here".

"We have to check. I swear I'll be 10 minutes, I'll find his parent's place, see if anyone's there; if they are, we see if they want to join the cause, I've known him too long not to check" I looked at him, and he looked back.

"Alright, you have 15 minutes, if you find nothing, you come straight back, take Aaron, he needs the experience" He handed me one of the walkies that was charging on the dashboard.

"Thank you, Brennen" I leant over and kissed him on the forehead, squeezing his shoulder and smiling. I turned and walked back to my bunk, picking up my shotgun and the pair of hunting knives I'd been cleaning on the journey. I returned each to its sheath and then strapped a sheath to the outside of my thigh. I looked around for Aaron and saw him alone fiddling with the radio. He was nervy and not a brilliant fighter, but, thankfully for us, amazing with technology.

"Hey Aaron, gear up, you're coming with me on a quick scouting mission" He looked up, shocked I'd called upon him. Yes, I'd usually take Colby, but as Brennen had said he needed the training. He slowly got up and went to his locker, hauling the door open and shakily taking his gun and then tucking it into his waistband. He took his cap off, pulled his hair back and then replaced it so his hair stayed out of his face.

"Come on rookie, let's go find Sam" I smiled and led Aaron out of the bus.