***

 

Brooke tossed her survival pack in the back of the Land Cruiser. Both John and Emily had similar bags prepared, already loaded inside.

 

“You guys ready?” Brooke asked.

 

Emily trotted out the front door and climbed into the back seat.

 

“I'm ready,” Emily said.

 

“Where's John?” Brooke asked.

 

“I don't know,” Emily said, flipping the pages of a book she had brought with her.

 

Brooke headed back inside. She wanted to get out of here before dark. With martial law now in effect, there would most likely be a curfew, along with roadblocks. She was hoping to miss both.

 

“John?” Brooke yelled.

 

“Coming,” John answered.

 

John came around the corner of the living room holding the American flag that had been given to them when his father died, along with a family picture.

 

“I didn't want to forget Dad,” John said.

 

Brooke's eyes started to water. She walked over to him and wrapped him in a hug. When she let him go, she wiped her eyes and grabbed the picture of her husband out of John's hand.

 

“Good job, honey,” Brooke said.

 

“How much water are we bringing?” John asked, trying to change the subject.

 

“All of it.”

 

Brooke and John emptied the storage space under the shed. The back of the cruiser sagged a little bit from the extra weight, but they managed to get everything packed. The drive to North Carolina would take four to five days, depending on how much she pushed it and any setbacks they ran into.

 

She knew the extra weight would use more fuel, but if they ran into trouble, the supplies could be the difference between life and death. And in addition to being able to survive, the potable water and supplies they had packed were now the most valuable currency in the Southwest, which could buy her way out of a sticky situation down the road.

 

“Everyone have their sunglasses?” Brooke asked.

 

“Yes,” Emily and John answered.

 

Brooke hopped into the driver’s seat and cranked the engine to life. She clicked her seat belt on and backed out of the driveway.

 

Even though she didn’t think there would be any roadblocks set up until that evening, she decided to take the back roads to the interstate just to play it safe. No reason to call attention to herself with a car loaded down with supplies.