The group traversed the desolate landscape for what felt like an eternity. There was nothing alive. There was no hope of finding anything alive. All they had to do was walk, put one foot in front of the other in hopes of finding civilization again.
They'd been under stress for most of the day. They'd had limited food and water. The five people who'd been on the freeway were almost accustomed to the growling stomachs and burning throats. The other four men were used to the thirst and hunger but for different reasons. They'd been through similar circumstances while fighting fires. The big difference was that they knew that once the fight was done that hot food and cool water would be waiting for them. That was no longer the case.
"It's getting dark, Cap. We'd better try to find someplace to spend the night," Johnny suggested. Mike had begun to sag, so had Roy. The group stopped to consider what the youngest paramedic had said. The sun was beginning its downward trek behind the burned out buildings to the west. He didn't really want to spend the night among the ruins. They were scary enough during the day. At night Johnny had the feeling they would be terrifying.
"Yeah," Captain Stanley sighed. The man seemed to visibly deflate at the idea of spending the night. He ran a weary hand over his face before turning to face the others. "Yeah, you're right. I was hoping to get to the beach before nightfall."
"There's a building up ahead that might not be too bad," Spencer stated. His neck was tired from staring at his feet while walking. He'd started spending most of his time looking around. The whole landscape gave him the creeps but he was able to look beyond that to find what they'd needed.
"Which building is that?" Chet asked. Mike was now walking with him, leaning heavily to his right side. His leg was like a firebrand of pain with every step. Mike's head hurt from where it had been cut and he ached. But he refused to be carried. There had been enough of that going on all ready.
"Two blocks ahead on the right hand side," Spencer reported.
"We're not spending the night out here, are we Cap?" Chet asked. He really wanted to go home and spend the night in his own bed. The five from the freeway were too accepting of the fact. It was like they'd reverted to their basic instincts, namely, survival. That was not a place that Chet wanted to be.
"Sorry, Kelly, we're going to have to rough it tonight. When the sun goes down it's going to be dark. Very dark. We need to conserve the batteries in our flashlights for as long as possible. Besides, I don't want to get lost," Captain Stanley informed him. Hank hadn't seen the building. He supposed he should have but his attention had been mostly on keeping the group together. Everything else had fallen away in importance.
"Whatever you say, sir," Chet mumbled. He had to squint to see the building the younger man had indicated. From this distance it just seemed to blend into the background. Chet hoped the kid knew what he was talking about.
"We'd better get going. If the clinic was any indication, we will want to be situated before nightfall is complete," Ponch stated. He knew it looked like the world had been scorched to its bones but he wasn't willing to take the chance. He was the only one who was armed. If people like Jake showed up in the night, they were going to be outnumbered and outgunned.
"He's right. Let's go," Johnny agreed. Ignoring Roy's protests, Johnny caught hold of his nearest arm and started forward. They had some ground to cover and not a lot of time to do it.
"Things must have been pretty bad at the clinic, huh?" Mike said to Marco. He was trying to keep as upright as possible but even after the short rest he was beginning to slump again. Damn but he hated being injured.
"I don't think we can even imagine how bad it was," Marco responded. He glanced at the other five. Now that he thought about it, Roy and Johnny had an edge that hadn't been there before. He wondered if they'd have it for the rest of their lives. He hoped not. It didn't suit either man very well.
"Hopefully we'll never know for sure," Mike breathed. Then he concentrated on getting to the building. He suddenly needed to have solid walls around him. If he'd thought further, Mike would have realized that none of the walls in Los Angeles were particularly solid at the moment. Luckily, he didn't pursuit that line of thought.