The sun had almost set over the city casting everything in an orange glow. The groans of 'them' echo through the streets but the two survivors walking on the road ignored them.

Dakota looked over his shoulder, "Okay, I think we lost them."

Ayumi looked at the mansion, "Do you think they'll be alright?"

"They had some pretty heavy firepower and they seemed to trust that commander person. I think they'll be alright. How long will it be until we reach the supermarket?"

"Well, the direct route is blocked by 'them' so we're taking an alternate route. On foot, it might take, two and a half hours. That's if we don't run into any problems."

"Yeah, plus, it's going to be dark soon. What if we found a car?"

"With a car, maybe half an hour if we don't run into anything."

"Okay, there are several cars on this street. Maybe one of them has the keys inside. Let's start looking." She nodded and they started checking the cars They spent the next few minutes checking various cars, trucks, jeeps, and SUVs but none of them had the keys inside.

Dakota sighed after checking yet another vehicle and not finding the keys. He walked across the street and looked inside the cab of a blue truck. He climbed into the driver's seat and started looking for the keys. He sighed and was about to step out when he noticed the very edge of something sticking out of the sun visor. He opened it and the keys fell into his lap.

"Hell yeah." He put them in the ignition and turned them. Nothing.

"What?" He turned them again, still nothing. "You've got to be kidding me." He turned them two more times but nothing happened. "Dammit!" He slammed his hands on the steering wheel.

Ayumi heard his shout and walked towards the truck. "Dakota? You alright?"

He sighed and exited the truck. "Fine." He walked in front of it and opened the hood. The smell of something burnt assaulted his nose and smoke rose up from the battery. He coughed and waved the smoke away. "Well shit."

"What, what is it?" Ayumi walked beside him and coughed a few times. "Ah, what is that smell?"

"I'm no mechanic but it looks and smells like the battery is fried."

"Fried? How?"

"No idea." Dakota put the hood back down. "Let's keep looking." Ayumi nodded and they searched the rest of the vehicles on the street but didn't find anything. They turned right at the intersection and started to check the cars on that street but came up empty again. By now it was starting to get dark but the street lights had yet to turn on which puzzled Ayumi.

"Okay, we have two options. We can push through the night or we can find shelter and rest. What do you think?"

"I think we should take shelter for the night."

"Alright. Let's hope one of these houses is unlocked."

They walked down the street checking the houses as they went. Eventually, they found a house at the end of the street that was unlocked. Dakota whistled to Ayumi and waved her over. She jogged over and watched his back as he slowly pushed the door open.

"Hello? Anyone here? We're friendly so don't shoot."

No one responded. Dakota carefully walked into the living room with his gun drawn. He checked the kitchen and then the bedroom finding no one. "It's clear."

Ayumi entered the house and closed the door before locking it. It was pretty dark and she went over to a lamp to turn it on. Nothing. She pursed her lips and walked over to a second lamp. Nothing. "That's strange."

"What is it?"

"The lamps won't turn on."

"Have you tried the light switches?"

She walked over and flipped it on. "Nothing. Did whoever live here forget to pay their electric bill?"

"The kitchen light won't work and the fridge is off so, maybe."

Ayumi sighed, "Just our luck." She walked over to the window and noticed that the street lights still hadn't come on leaving the street bathed in darkness. "Alright, something is going on with the power because the street lights aren't on."

"I wonder," Dakota muttered. "Ayumi, Paul and I saw a bright flash before 'them' broke into the mansion. I think that might have something to do with the power."

"How so?"

"I don't know. I do know that Paul's watch stopped working immediately after it happened. Factor in the truck, this house having no power, and the street lights not working that flash as something to do with it."

Ayumi thought for a second, "Could it have affected the entire city?"

"Maybe."

Ayumi sighed and held her head. "Well, I'm not going to worry about that right now. Let's get some sleep and we'll get to the supermarket tomorrow."

Dakota rubbed the back of his neck. "Right, about that. There's only one bedroom."

"...Oh." She blushed and looked away. "Um, I can sleep on the couch if you want."

"No! No, it's fine." Ayumi smiled at him. "I mean, we have slept together before." Her face turned red as a tomato and she raised her hands. "I-I didn't m-mean it like t-that!"

Dakota's face burned and he looked away. "I-I know you didn't. So, you're okay with, sleeping together?"

"Y-yes." She shuffled past him and headed to the bedroom. She was starting to undress when Dakota walked in. "I'll just wait until you're done."

"I-It's fine. You don't have to leave."

"Are you sure?"

Dakota didn't see it but she was smiling. "I'm sure."

"Okay." Dakota stepped back into the room and started to undress. He put his clothes on top of a dresser and turned around. Ayumi had finished undressing and the only clothing she was wearing was a black bra and panties. Her face was a deep red and she looked away but didn't try and hide herself. Dakota's eyes started to wander; from her face to her C cup breasts, to her flat stomach, and finally, her hips and legs. "Beautiful."

Somehow, Ayumi's face got redder and she looked at him. Her eyes also started to wander from his face to his chest. She averted her gaze when she saw the growing bulge in his underwear. "I guess we should try and get some sleep."

Dakota looked away and nodded. "Yeah."

Dakota climbed into the bed and Ayumi did so as well. They kept a bit of distance between them and tried to fall asleep.

August 31st

Beep! Beep! Beep! Beep! Beep! Beep beep beep beep beep beep!

A hand reached out and slapped on the nightstand looking for the alarm. "Who set, the damn alarm," a male voice groaned.

His hand found the edge of the clock and pressed a button silencing the alarm. He rubbed his eyes and opened them. Sunlight filtered through the window casting the room in its light. He felt something move against his side and looked over. Ayumi was resting her head on his shoulder with one of her arm slung across his chest and her legs intertwined with his. Dakota blinked a few times and felt his face rapidly heat up.

Ayumi shifted some more and yawed before her eyes slowly opened. "Good morning."

She smiled and there was a hit of red on her cheeks. "Good morning." They got lost in each others' eyes and unconsciously leaned in.

BEEP! BEEP BEEP! BEEP! BEE- Dakota slammed his hand down on the clock and unplugged it. "Fucking thing."

Ayumi giggled and to Dakota, that was the best sound he ever heard. "Let's get dressed and head out." Dakota put his clothes on and walked out of the bedroom. "I'll be ready in a minute Dakota."

"Alright." He pushed open the front door and stepped outside. The sun had already risen and the street was empty; he looked left and saw a car setting in the driveway. He walked back inside and looked for the keys. He found them hanging by the door and walked back to the car. He climbed inside and turned the keys. Nothing.

"Damn."

He popped the hood, got out, and opened it. It didn't look as bad as the truck but he could just smell that something was burnt. He closed the hood, "It was worth a try."

He heard the front door open, "Sorry for the wait."

"It's fine. What were..." He trailed off when he saw her. Apparently, Ayumi was tired of her school uniform and decided to change clothes. She wore a Violet colored shirt and dark blue shorts. "What do you think," she asked, nervously.

Dakota smiled, "Looks good."

She sighed in relief, "Glad you like it. Does the car work?"

"No."

"Well that's disappointing. I guess it's more evidence that the flash you and Paul saw has something to do with the power being out."

"Yeah, what's the quickest route to the supermarket?"

"Follow me."

The sun slowly climbed higher as the day went on. Dakota and Ayumi have been traveling for well over an hour, closer to two hours, now and have left the suburbs and entered the city. They haven't run into any problems and they both hope it will stay that way. They turned left at the next intersection and ran into a problem. A tractor-trailer had rolled over and was blocking the road. Worryingly the trailer was leaking and they smelled gasoline.

"Well shit. Can we take a different route?"

"Yes, but it would dramatically increase our travel time."

Dakota sighed, "Looks like we're going over. Come on, I'll boost you up." They walked over to the cab and Dakota readied himself. "You ready?"

Ayumi nodded and ran forward. She jumped putting her right foot in Dakota's hands and he pushed her upward. She pulled herself up the rest of the way and turned around. Dakota backed up and Ayumi nodded to him. He ran up and jumped placing his foot against the cap and pushing up. Ayumi grabbed his hand and helped pull him up.

"Well, that was easy."

Ayumi crossed her arms, "What, did you think I would have trouble pulling you up?"

"Um, a little?"

Ayumi smiled at him, "I was part of the athletics club before this started. I'm stronger than I look."

Dakota smiled at her and jumped down. He scanned the street and didn't see any immediate threats. Ayumi jumped down behind him and readied her crossbow. They moved up the street to the intersection and checked left and right. "We're clear." They walked across the intersection and continued down the road. They froze when they heard the distant sound of gunfire but continued on a second later. It grew louder and more intense, "I don't think we should get involved in that. Can we take a different route?"

"Unfortunately, the next intersection is about two kilometers ahead of us."

"Great. I hope whatever is going on is done by the time we get there."

The gunfire started to die down before it abruptly stopped. When they got to the intersection they found shell casings and empty magazines but no sign of who was fighting. They didn't stick around and continued heading straight before turning left. "How much longer until we reach the supermarket?"

"Thirty, forty minutes. It's not much further."

They took a turn off and followed that road; after thirty minutes of walking they arrived at the supermarket. The parking lot had a dozen cars in it and as they got closer they saw that the front entrance was blocked off. "Looks like someone is already here."

"Yeah. Come on, we'll enter through the back."

"Why?"

"Whoever is in there may not be friendly. If we went through the front we would have to move the barricade and that would alert whoever is in there."

She nodded and they headed to the back. They found an open loading bay and climbed up. "We should close the door so 'them' can't get in."

"Good idea." Dakota hit a button and the door started to close. When it shut the storage area turned pitch black.

"Wellllll shit."