A group decision was made and instead of marching through the disgusting mess of the clearing, they would go around the edge.

The ground had finally stopped shaking constantly, which for Bryan made it much easier to make the walk.

The walk though turned out to be just as stomach churning.

After Bryan’s poor joke, the girls agreed to carry the backpacks and he would take Jack.

Jack was fit and all with his hiking and biking he loved to do, but Bryan was still having trouble and had to stop every hundred feet or so.

The smell was far worse than the wind had been on their corner near the cliff.

They all tried to avert their eyes from the death that laid around them but it was impossible unless they wanted to be tripping over another body every few minutes.

When they reached where the frat guys had been the trio took a quick rest that Rachel had insisted upon. Some of them had been her friends and she just had to know.

Bryan didn’t mind because it wasn’t far from the trail back to the cars and he would need all the strength he could get to not drop Jack and have him roll like a ragdoll down the hill.

Rachel started slowly working her way around the bodies. She took her time to be careful not to step in any of the muck that littered the ground around the bodies, she couldn't believe its true what movies say about evacuating your bowls when you die. The smell was almost overbearing as Rachel crouched to get a better view. After carefully examining only a few faces, she came to one and dropped to her knees and her tears renewed.

Bryan craned his neck to see the face and was himself shocked to see he knew the face as well.

It was Aaron.

Just over four hours ago they had been sitting around chatting. He couldn’t believe how much had changed so quickly. Bryan bowed his head and said a silent prayer for the guy. He wasn’t a religious person at all really, but this guy had saved him and his brother twice from getting in a fight.

He felt like he owed him at least a prayer for that.

Rachel reached out and closed his eyes, hers where still pouring tears like a waterfall. Bowing her head and placing her palms together in front of her, she prayed.

A howl pierced the night from the other side of the trampled outlook.

“Um, Rachel?” Bryan managed, not want to break her revere.

It was Sara who finally spoke up after another howl, it sounded closer, ”There are coyotes, we have to get going Rachel I’m sorry."

Rachel turned, eyes red and puffy and nodded. Pushing herself up she whispered “Be safe Aaron, I’m sorry.”

She rushed back to Sara and Bryan standing on the edge of the outlook.

Bryan had already picked up Jack, who was still managing to snore incidentally, and headed for the trail head.

The girls went ahead of Bryan just in case he slipped and dropped Jack. It wasn’t easy going but they reached the cars in a lot less time than they thought it would take.

As they walked in-between the cars, every once in a while they saw they weren’t the only ones with this idea, every few rows of cars they saw people sitting in a car, never more than two people but all were either asleep or crying. Few even gave them any mind the whole way back to the eco box.

“That’s your car?” Rachel said coming to a stop looking at with apprehension. “How are we going to fit Bryan?”

“Honestly? Haven’t worked that part out yet. But it’ll be safe from coyotes and will keep the smell mostly out at least if the wind shifts again. Just make sure to kick the trash on the floor out.” Bryan answered.

Opening all the doors, they threw all the trash on to the street. Sara was against it at first saying it was littering, but Bryan was quick to point out the destroyed buildings of the city and reasoned how much a little more was going hurt.

The girls took the back seat, Sara being the smallest of the group was unfortunate and got the floor. When Bryan offered jacks sweatshirt from his backpack for a pillow she ceased complaining and laid down for the night.

Rachel took Bryans bag for a pillow and laid down on the back seat after helping get Jack situated in the passenger seat. Bryan would feel bad but he had the driver’s seat with a steering wheel and peddles to contend with.

Sleep came surprisingly easy to the trio, the night has been the hardest in their life yet and it had definitely taken its toll.

Jack was first to wake, light was leaking over the hillside but the sun still hadn’t risen over the crest of the outlook. He jumped at first, not knowing where he was. After a quick look around, he recognized the rental and that the girls had apparently decided to stick around at least for the night.

Shaking his head and rubbing his eyes, he tried to piece it all together.

The last thing he remembered was being on the lookout, head feeling like it was about to explode. He remembered chastising his brother and then it got fuzzy.

He thought harder, feeling like he was missing something. As it came back to him he turned bright red and scolded himself under his breath.

He had called Sara an angel.

Looking into the back seat she was still sleeping soundly. Pausing to gaze at her, he hadn’t realized how beautiful she truly was in the dark last night. Why on earth did she pick me to talk to last night? Jack was stumped, at least I didn’t scare her off with the whole angel thing.

Taking a deep breath and turning to look out the windshield, he noticed Bryan stirring.

Bryan opened his mouth to speak, but Jack raised a finger to his lips silencing him. Motioning to the still sleeping girls Bryan nodded his head in understanding.

Bryan reached between his knees and lifted Jacks backpack to his lap. Slowly he opened it in search of something to snack on. Knowing his brother well, he soon found what he was looking for in a pair of granola bars. He tossed one to Jack, looking in his eyes as he caught it. His eyes had returned to normal.

Bryan sat wondering what that meant. Silently both sat starring out the windshield still processing everything that had happened in the past eight hours.

Jack munched the granola bar as quietly as he could, when something struck him like a two by four.

Their Parents! Are they ok? Were they one of the ones that never woke up?

Starting to inwardly panic, still keeping quiet, Jack reach in his pocket and pulled out his cell phone.

He was thankful it didn’t fall out in being moved all the way here, but looking at the screen it was dead. Did he ever turn off the navigation last night? Knowing that eats the battery, he plugged it into the charger he had set up in the dash. It had charged while the car was off before, but now it seemed to not be working.

Bryan noticed his brother’s plight and he pulled the keys out and tried to turn on the electric system of the car.

Nothing.

No blinking lights, no annoying ding for not wearing the seatbelt, not single light on the dash blipped even for a second.

Remembering how the city had gone dark after the original quakes, it struck Bryan. “O Crap,” he blurted out a little louder than he had intended.

Rachel stirred rubbing her eyes and pushing her long chestnut hair out of her face, sitting up slightly, she looked at Bryans face and immediately grew concerned herself. “What is it?” she atempted to wisper quietly, trying not to wake Sara.

Jack, seeing his brothers shock and dismay, finally put together what happened and was first to answer in a whisper, “The Meteor must have caused an EMP of some sort last night, nothing electronic is working.”

He handed her his phone for proof and she immediately grabbed her purse from her makeshift pillow set up and checked her own as well.

Hers was fried as well.

All the commotion had now woken Sara, “Are you kidding me?” She added, still sounding half asleep.

Rachel moved to sit up so Sara could join her on the bench seat instead of the floor.

As Sara sat, her eyes went wide and turned in a panic to Rachel. Both jumped into conversation that went so fast the boys couldn’t keep up. Even if they could it was in what sounded to them like Japanese.

With raised eyebrows Jack and Bryan exchanged glances. Neither had any idea the girls where Japanese in decent.

Jack was surprised as he listened, starting to pick up on a few words here and there. He’d never spent a second learning anything but English other than Spanish in high school, and that he was terrible at.

Not having time to dwell on it though for a sinking feeling hit his gut. Something felt as if it was screaming at him in the back of his head. He didn’t know how he knows but danger is close.

Turning in his seat looking out the windows, he still saw nothing. But he knew it was there. The girls got louder and he swore under his breath like he’d seen Bryan do countless times.

“Girls,” he tries to gently butt in. “Girls!” he exclaimed trying to keep his voice hushed. “We have bigger problems right now then your parents!”

Everyone in the car now looked at him. Bryan was confused on two levels, what danger? And could Jack understand them?

The girls just looked in shock that he had caught any word of what was said. Either way, the desired effect was had, the car was stone silent.

Jack strained his ears and kept looking around. Now that it was quite, he could hear them. Just barely at first, but growing louder steadily. Finally looking in the mirror outside his car door, he saw them approaching. “Here they come,” Jack noted.

Bryan searched the mirrors and finally found what jack was talking about in the rearview mirror.

Squinting, trying to make out faces over the distance, he couldn’t believe what he saw. “You have got to be kidding me,” he exasperated.

As they walked, he became one hundred percent sure. Jack recognized him as well. About fifteen cars back, just having come around the corner, was Jimmy.

“Of course he fricking lived,” exclaimed Jack turning back around and throwing his head back in frustrations.

The girls looked from one of them to the other in confusion, finally Rachel had had enough. “What on earth are you guys talking about?”

Bryans turn to be quick on the draw, “Your boyfriend is not only alive, but appears to have rallied some friends. Looks like they came back to loot cars, they keep searching them as they go.”

“He is not my boyfriend!” She exclaimed in her own defense “I had to tutor him in high school and he got me into the right social crowd!”

Bryan chuckled a bit and turned to Jack. “I guess that answers that question,” he smirks.

Jack couldn’t help but go along with it, “What question?”

“He really is as stupid as he looks!” Bryan explained with a hearty laugh.

Rachel just scowled at the both of them as they had their laugh. Having had enough she sits back and huffs, looking to Sara for help but she seems to be lost in the conversation, smirking a little herself.

Having had his fun, Jack settled down and realized they might have a problem.

What if he wanted what they had?

“Rachel, how close where you two? Think he’ll leave us alone?”

Shifting in her seat a bit, her face scrunched as if hiding something but decided to lay it all out, “Probably not, he’s always had a thing for me and just last night I shut him down in front of his frat brothers. That’s why he took so long to come after you last night I think. He wasn’t sure if he should help me.”

“Well lucky for me I guess!” Bryan blurted, suddenly realizing what he said didn’t sound the way he had wanted it to. He turned bright red in embarrassment.

Jack was still watching them in the mirror. It appears like they stopped at a car with someone in it. Whoever it was refused to give something up and locked the door.

Jimmies posy laughed and backed away from the car, leaving jimmy standing at the front door. As if enraged, jimmy put his head back and screamed so loud jack thought he felt the car shake. Squatting down Jimmy put his hand under the car, grabbing hold to the frame of the full size four door sedan.

Standing and still screaming jimmy raised his hands, and to Jacks amazement, the car! He proceeded to sling it over his head.

The car soared through the air, the man’s face was in total shock as he flew through the air. Jack saw the hood ornament as it flew and recognized it as a Buick.

The car hit the wall roof first. With the screech of metal on rock, Jack cringed as it had slowly descended down the wall. The sound sent shivers down his spine.

The Buick came to a stop, hitting the gravel embankment with a crunch. A weight moved inside the car, Jack guessed the poor soul that was inside it, and the car tilted ever so slowly and thumped back onto its wheels. It looked like something in a junkyard now, completely destroyed.

Eyes wide in fear, Jack turned to the others and quickly blurted, “We need to get out of here!”

Bryan was still in awe of what he saw happen in the mirror but still couldn’t bring himself to believe it. “Yea,” he shuddered “We really do!”

Both girls where now turned around watching out the back window, they had just barely seen the car tip and come to a stop. Their faces shocked in horror of what they just saw.

Rachel turned to Bryan and Jack with neck breaking speed. “What are we going to do?” she cried.

Sara had started weeping for the man in the car. Was he dead? He had to be after that she thought.

Jack’s mind was racing, playing out scenarios one by one of how to get everyone out of there. It felt like his brain was in overdrive as he closed his eyes and watched it all go by.

Every way he tried to imagine it, they still had to confront jimmy and his posy. Opening his eye’s he turned to Bryan with a frown. “There is no way out of this without having to confront them,” he finally concluded.

Bryan looked at his brother and noticed the gold had returned in just a tiny rim, smaller then Sara’s had been the night before.

Something inside told him he had to trust what Jack said. “Ok, well then let’s do this right.”

Jack nodded and took his pack from his brother, closing it back up, throwing his dead phone and charger in just in case. Bryan tried to hand him his dagger, but he refused it for now. He knew Bryan was much stronger then him and if it came to it, it would be more useful in his hands.

The boys tried to be valiant and told the girls to stay put while they handled it. That went over about as well as if they had suggested handing the girls over to the posy and running.

That settled, the girls took the bags and at least agreed to stand behind them somewhat.

All set, Bryan and Jack looked to each other. Bryan grinned with a laugh, “ We’ve fought each other so much the last ten years, let see what we can do turning ourselves on someone else for a change.”

Jack laughed at that, remember all their brawls growing up. He knew Bryan was trying to raise some courage in himself just as much as in Jack.

His thoughts drew towards having to confront Jimmy again, especially after seeing him throw a car, he was unsure of how this would go.

Jack thought of all the books he had read and what the heroes would do in this situation. He breathed deep and remembered everything he had watched in his mind.

Jack's mind cleared as he worked it out in his mind. Immediately he felt that this was the best possible outcome and started to form a resolve for what had to be done. As he became sure that this was the right action, he focused on what was to come.

Having finished gathering his things and himself, he felt something within himself rise up.

He could feel pressure building inside himself. Was it fear? Anticipation of what was to come? Excitement? He wasn’t sure, but it felt like ice water was rushing up his spine to his brain. Or was it the other way around? Jack had no idea, but it was new and it calmed him.

One more nod to his brother that he was ready and he reached for the door handle. His fingers tingled and the door handle pulled itself and he pushed it open in surprise. What was that?

This was about to get interesting he couldn't help to think as he smiled to himself. Stepping out of the car, Jack turned to face the coming confrontation.