Cascade

Wild Nights End Badly

We made our way to the outer limits of the city, occasionally peering in various buildings to see if there was anything of use. A can opener, three rolls of duck tape, a can of neon orange paint, and a stuffed frog later we found ourselves on the edges peering up at the peeling paint of a Gator Pharm sign. The gator dressed in an inner tube still waved joyfully to the public even in his faded glory. The toxic rain had really done a number on his poor soul.

"I remember these stores," mused Mat. "They were trying to take over all of the country before the rain hit."

"Yeah..." I mumbled in reply as we trailed into the store after Cyber and Branches. "I used to work at one of them when I was in high school." That had been a long time ago, I'd since gone on to get my collage bachelor's degree and a job in electrical engineering. Then the rain hit and I ended up here.

"That means you're from the north west right?" asked Mat. "Since those stores stared up there and you're like... twenty five? That would put your high school days around the same time Gator Pharm opened for business."

I nodded as I held the door for him. "Used to live with my parents in a town called Terrace. Then the rain hit and we had to bail, lest we get eaten by the dire cats. We made it all the way down to a little past Sirens before we got separated." We split up from Cyber and Branches to look through the food section.

Mat grimaced and shoved a box out of the way so he could get a better look at the bottom shelves. "Sorry to hear that, man."

I frowned as I checked the date of a can of soup. "Don't be. I've since heard that they made it to New Lorance. They've settled down in a small house and made some good friends. I get letters off and on."

Mat whistled. "Isn't that the town where the collage kids got together and chased the mutants out of the city? They say they scared those things so bad that they still avoid the area like the plague."

I couldn't help the grin that slipped onto my face as I stashed the soup into my bag. "Yep, my parents were right there with them. They said they got to use flame-throwers."

Mat raised an eyebrow as he gazed at the assortment of packaged cookies. "You're parents sound crazy."

I nodded as I glanced toward the confections before deciding to grab some chocolate mint wafers for myself. Girl scout cookies were rare these days. "What about you? I've never heard your story." I asked as I stuffed three boxes of mint wafers in my bag.

Mat shrugged as he moved further down the isle to the canned meat. "I used to be a civil engineer down in Flitzburg."

I looked up at him with a concerned frown. "Isn't that the city on the coast that was destroyed by land sharks?"

He nodded and picked up a can of tuna. "Me and my wife got out of town before that happened though. We took off right after we saw what the first rain did to the neighborhood squirrels."

My frown deepened as I scanned the other cookies. I didn't know Mat was married. I swallowed as I reached for a bag of fudge cats. "What happened?" I wasn't sure I really wanted to know, but the words fell off my tongue before I could stop them.

Mat didn't answer for a moment as he slid the tuna into his backpack and picked up a can of sardines. "I don't know," he began. "We made it to Talcon and we thought we were safe there. Nothing happened after the second rain, but after the third it was chaos. There were hawk cats everywhere, tearing down men and women in the streets." His fists were shaking as he stuffed the sardines into his pack.

I stayed quiet and after a few breaths he continued.

"Those feathered, saber-toothed monsters didn't spare anyone. My wife and I got separated in the crowds. I don't know if anyone else escaped." He trailed off as he continued down the isle.