The shelter, which I had thought could still house a few more people, seemed much more cramped with all four of us inside. We kept the door open, and that helped, but it still seemed much smaller now than it ever had before. I couldn't help but smile.

"We lived in a somewhat safe place in Texas," Jasper began as soon as we were settled. "I mean, nothing as large scale as the college idea, but it was still safe-ish. And we did have radio contact with other camps. But fewer people returned every week from raids. My friends and I thought it would be best if we came north, then went west in the winter, then make our way back south until we hit a safe zone."

"But, of course, that's where we had our problems. We couldn't always agree where we were, and got turned around easily. And then, sometimes they just sho....shocked us and disappeared." he changed his mind mid-word, glancing at Alice.

She stared at him with rapt attention. It sounded as though he had meant to say they had shot themselves.

I only half listened as he continued his story. He couldn't have been older than twelve or thirteen when this started. Still, he sounded like he knew what he was doing, despite his age. Edward asked a few questions about places Jasper had passed. But it was pointless. We were the first people he had seen for three months, since his friend Maria died.

So when he finished his story and Alice threw her arms around him in comfort, I wasn't really shocked. He was though, and was frozen for a second before he awkwardly put an arm around her as well. Then she pulled back, blushing madly.

"Umm..." Jasper pulled his map back out and unfolded it. "It's not a great map, kinda small, but the college site is properly marked, and most major roadways. So long as we can find something near here, we should be able to make the trip."

Edward studied the map as well. "I don't know where here is, but about two weeks ago, Alice and I passed this Interstate." He gestured to something on the map. I moved so I could see. "If we were to go to it, we could get to this highway here," more pointing, "and then we'd be able to follow roads to the colleges."

"I don't like that idea." I said. "Too many broken down cars on the roads. And a lot of them have the previous owners still in them, too stupid to get out. But in a lot of areas it's still an unbroken line of cars. Nothing on earth will get me on the roads."

"That's true." Edward conceded. "But we don't have to walk on the roads. We just need them as a guide. We can walk parallel to them or something." He paused and looked deep in thought for a moment. "Jasper, what weapons do you have?"

"I've got a gun. I'm down to my last few rounds though."

Edward sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose between his thumb and forefinger. "This is why I hate guns." he muttered.

"Oh, shut up." I said. "It's not that hard to get more ammo. There's a place about two hours from here with plenty. We can go tomorrow to stock up. I'd like to take as much as possible with us. I wouldn't worry about food. I'm assuming we all know how to find edible food. We should take some water, though." I began pacing a bit. "We should stock up on ammo, maybe try to find a few other hand weapons." I spared a glance at my new companions. "We should also be able to find some new things for you to wear. So I figure we should be able to leave in a week, we'd waste to much time waiting for winter."

"Sounds like a plan." Jasper said.

"Yeah, I'm in." Edward grinned.

"And me." Alice added.

So, they have a plan! Yay.