off to the apocalypse

looking for safety

when george stepped back in the car i heard a ping come from my phone.
"wait, your phone still works?" george asked, with a quiet gasp. "call clay!".
i took my phone out of my pocket, and george got closer to see what the ping was from.

"it's from clay, he asked if we were okay," i said, typing my response. "he said he's safe, should i call him?"
"yes!" george exclaimed. my phone kept ringing but no answer.
"why is he not answering? he was just online a few seconds ago." i said. "shit. my phone is almost dead. did you bring a charger?"
"i don't know for sure, i might have." george answered, averting his gaze to the bags in the back.

i turned my phone off hoping that it will be useful later. george started driving again.
"so," i said as i grabbed a blanket from the backseat, "what's next?"
"the gas station." george answered quietly. he looked very tired. he had dark circles under his eyes and looked like he was struggling to keep his eyes open.

"maybe we should stay there for the night." i suggested.
george sighed, and looked at me for a split second before focusing on the road again, he spoke softly: "i don't think that's a good idea, people are gonna go to the gas station. i don't wanna run into people. we could get robbed. or worse."
"why would they rob us? is this just you being introverted?" i said, making george scoff.
"no, angela, things are different now. more dangerous. people will do anything to survive."
"well you just look very tired, and i think we should take a break." i argued. "did you pack any weapons, we could defend ourselves."
"i'm not tired!"
"yes you are!"

after a few moments of silence i spoke again. "you know we have more chances to survive if you're alert and energized."
george hesitated before speaking. "you know, you're right." i could see the gas station in the distance. "i'll see if it's safe first, yeah?"
"okay."

when we arrived at the gas station it was dark and abandoned. george took out a gun from his bag.
"wow i see you've really assimilated to american culture." i joked, making george chuckle.
"what culture?" he laughed, tossing me a gun.
"i don't know how to use this."
"you're gonna have to learn." george says, taking the gun back. "stay behind me, and take the knife just in case."

we clear the whole gas station and take our bags to settle down inside for the night. we block the doors and start looking for anything valuable. as george lights a lantern i find some snacks.
"i didn't notice until now but i'm so hungry." i say sitting down on my sleeping bag.
"woah me too." george says grabbing a chocolate bar. "we'll gather all of the food here tomorrow morning."

we talked for a while about nothingness. i don't remember about what, all i know is that i fell asleep soon after.

when i wake up i see george is already up.
"what're you doing." i ask rubbing my eyes.
"i found a map, i'm trying to figure out where we should go."
"we should live in a cottage in the middle of nowhere." i laughed.
"yeah, with two cats and a dog."
"and a big garden where we grow our own fruits." i smiled. george smiled back at me. at that moment everything was perfect.

but that moment was disturbed by the sound of our car starting.