The inner circle of the detour signs looked as if a horrible natural disaster had swept through about a month prior, and the residents had been spending all that time trying to clean up and rebuild. Shop windows were boarded up and glass remained in the streets in some areas. A lot of buildings were charred from fires set during the riots and still some vehicles were left melted to the pavement. Dom drove slowly through the area so they could all get a good look at their surroundings. One of the most basic strategies any professional sketchy person is taught is how to scan the area around you and memorize it so you know where to go in escape.

Normally a City Hall parking lot is filled with police cars and other types of official vehicles. Code Enforcement, Animal Control, sometimes construction workers fixing up the building. When the group pulled into the parking lot of this City Hall, though, there was nothing. Not even any leftover cars from the people that abandoned them in the beginning days of the conflict. The building stood massive and almost sinister; dark bricks and blacked out windows with shiny glass doors that reflected the sun so you couldn't see inside. Dom parked as close to the building as he could before they got out, planning ahead once again in case they needed to make a quick getaway.

A large banner hung above the doorway with the word 'Wanagi' painted on it. There were dozens of childrens' handprints decorating the edges as well as suns with faces, flowers and other happy images. It reminded Tori of the banner she had to make in sixth grade for a choir performance; usually when someone wanted something this big and this cheery out in the open, it was because they were trying to put on a really big and really cheery front. Tori looked around at the others faces, relieved to notice they reflected the same distrust as hers.

Dom led the way into the building with Tori behind him, then Marie, Diana and Matthew bringing up the rear. The building looked like it hadn't been touched unlike the others around it. As soon as they stepped into the bottom floor waiting area they noticed three armed guards. One guard looked up when he sensed their presence and then said something to the guard at the desk in a language none of them understood, and a few minutes later that guard nodded to the third guarding the staircase. All three of them looked like traditional Native Americans, complete with moccasins and beaded jewelry. Only difference was they had some pretty non-traditional handguns.

They were lead up the stairs to the second floor, a large open space with offices on each side. The first office on the left looked like the biggest. It had a huge window right by the staircase that looked out at the other offices next to it and the downstairs area. Tori figured this must be where the boss liked to hang out. The guard leading them pointed to a spot on the ground and made a grunting noise which they took to mean stop, so they did. He knocked on the door of the big office and waited for the voice on the other side before opening the door. A very stern looking man sat behind a luxurious mahogany desk with papers and a couple radios in front of him. When he looked up and saw the group he nodded in the direction of the guard and continued writing while the guard filed the group inside.

The man behind the desk was as dark as the guards but he passed on the traditional dress. He wore a fitted midnight blue suit, so dark that it was almost black. The color really suited his skin tone and hair, which was jet black and razor straight, hanging down to his shoulders. There were a few spots on the wall that were discolored, giving the effect of pictures missing from their usual spots. As Tori looked around she gathered that the man either didn't have family of his own or at least didn't have any pictures. There were none on the walls and none on the desk either, only a few folders and a cup full of pens. The man continued writing with his eyes down on the paper in front of him until he finished with a great flourish and flick of his wrist, the unmistakable gesture of a signature. He put the pen in the cup with the others and picked the stack of papers up, knocking them against the desk to straight them all out before putting them back in the folder to his left.

"So, I see we have some new arrivals. Heard the broadcast did you?"

"Yes, we did" said Dom. "We were heading west towards Alaska from Chicago when heard your broadcast in Omaha."

"Excellent, glad to know the repeaters are still in good shape." The man grabbed the few folders on his desk and fed them into a filing cabinet just to the left of the desk, shutting and locking it with a key that hung around his neck. "So tell me, why'd you come?"

"Well we figured if you were set up enough to have a broadcast reach that far you probably had good accommodations. Stockpiles, general good behavior, things like that."

"Still rough out on the road?"

"No shortage of dead bodies and people that want to rob you, that's for sure." Diana and Marie looked at each other briefly before turning their eyes back down on the floor.

"Well you are correct. We have a large supply of food and fresh water. We have electricity thanks to some of the plant workers that came back when they heard the broadcast and got some of the power going again. We have accommodations nearby including a large apartment building that has power, heat and running water. The kids are particularly fond of the YMCA a couple blocks from here. It has an indoor pool, basketball court, teen center with billiards and ping pong. There's no shortage of your old life here."

Dom and Matthew exchanged a stern look and Matthew answered back quickly. "So, what's the catch then?"

"My dear boy," said the man, clasping his hands in front of himself, "where are my manners? My name is Quidel, but most just call me Del."

"My name is Matthew, this is my brother Dom, and this is Tori, Diana and Marie." Everyone smiled and waved when their name was called.

"Well Matthew, the catch is this; we ask that everyone that stays within our boundaries works with a certain work camp each day. We have the women fixing clothing, running produce stands and taking care of the young ones during the day while we have the men clearing buildings and houses of rubble, rebuilding and painting. There are the gardens also, which anyone can tend to if they prove to have a green thumb."

"That's not sexist at all" Marie blurted out, receiving a bit of a chuckle from Del.

"So basically it's manual labor all day for room and board?" asked Matthew.

Del laughed. "If you look at it that way, I suppose. Before civilization really took off, before technology and skyscrapers and all of that, people worked. Don't get me wrong, people still worked in today's times, but back then they really worked. Everyone knew the pain and exhaustion of a hard day's work in the fields or down at the creek washing clothes, churning butter or tending to the animals. People have become soft over time. They expect too much for what little they do. Technology has advanced in such a way that we try as hard as we can for eight hours a day to build things that can make us even lazier than we already are during the sixteen hours a day we're not at work.

"The thing is, if we're going to get back on track, we're going to have to bring back the work ethic of the old days. Teach the young ones we have now the real value of a dollar, and what can happen to their lives if we get out of control again. We've only been operating for two days since it took a while to get everything set up, but we're already turning into a well oiled machine. We exchange whatever cash people have for poker chips, and use the chips as currency. Since paper money is going to be irrelevant within the month, we've decided to use chips in this new town we've built as a way to extend the economy." Del licked his lips at the feeling of the word 'money' coming across them, a tick that hadn't gone unnoticed by Marie.

Dom listened intently, nodding along at points of interest in Del's speech. Tori stood close by him as did Diana on the other side, with Matthew standing next to Marie just behind them. Del rattled off his speech from behind his desk, shuffling through papers as he talked. Tori got a feeling of excitement from him, but something made her feel like it was disingenuous. Del's eyes were cold and hard, a very deep brown that almost mimicked the jet blackness of his hair.

"We have our own type of police force" said Del, continuing his speech. "Some of my men are armed and patrol our little town on foot, making sure no one is trying to steal from the produce stands or any of the shops. Everyone is still in a state of panic right now, so we can't be too sure who is capable of what. If you are caught breaking any laws that were in play during the existence of the United States, you'll be subject to an open hearing, attended by everyone in the town. Evidence will be put forth, you'll be given a chance to defend yourself, and then judgment will be made by myself, based on the general consensus of the people."

"That works for now, but what do you plan to do in a few months?" asked Dom, shifting his weight to his other foot. "I feel like it would be more prudent to have a vote of the people that live here and see who they would like to be in charge."

Del's eyes glossed over and he looked absolutely malicious for the smallest space of a second,

"The biggest thing we focus on though are the fields and gardens. There's two trucks that leave from city center in the morning to go out to the fields on the outskirts of the city. We harvest wheat, corn and hemp, and the field workers are entitled to a marginally larger portion during meals for their harrowing labor. The gardeners tend to the soil and pick whatever is growing when need be. We've had two successful days out there so far, and the folks that volunteered seem to really revel in the labor. So I put the question to you; would you rather take one of the two jobs inside the city, or go out to the fields?"

"I'm not sure if we'll be staying in the city just yet, I'll have to talk everything over with my family and see what the general consensus is."

"Is there more of you then?" asked Del.

"No," said Dom, turning a bit with an arm extended back towards the group, "this is my family."

"Well we do have people that show up here every day looking for shelter and a sense of normalcy. If you take too long to make your decision you might end up missing out on a housing spot."

"We'll be back later today with an answer" said Dom.

The group turned and left the office with a kind wave to Del. The guard that had brought them up was waiting outside the door to take them back down so he led the way to the front door. Dom nodded in acknowledgment and the guard did the same, taking his original spot back by the staircase. When they piled back into the car the air of indecision was palpable. Tori had a weird feeling in her gut, like Del wasn't a man to be trusted. Dom was looking out the windshield towards the direction of the fields, and she wondered if he was considering working for them.

Dom looked around them for a minute before taking a deep breath, holding it, and puffing it out. "I don't know guys. I guess it's a way to get in on the ground floor of a rebuild, which sounds funny to say since the world we lived in was just fine a few days ago." He glanced out the window and then at each person in the group, one by one. "We're gonna have to get back in somewhere, sometime, and we might as well take the opportunity since it's here."

"I don't feel right about it Dom" said Marie, toying with one of her bracelets. "This all seems like it came together way too fast to be real. I mean, we've seen a bridge full of dead bodies and buildings collapse from explosions and fires, and here's just this quaint little town with a market and 'housing.'"

"I feel the same way" said Tori. "If we stay here we're going to have to look out for each other, keep a really close eye."

"I think anywhere we stay is going to feel like that, at least for a while. Let's take the afternoon to drive around and get a feel for the place, see what some of the locals are like. Maybe take a look at the housing if we can. When the end of the day comes and we've seen everything we can put our thoughts together and decide what we're going to do." Everyone nodded in agreement so Dom turned and headed back downstairs.

Matthew started the car, ready to survey the area. The three girls sat in back with their eyes peeled and Dom sat shotgun with his phone out. The cell towers didn't work in most areas since local governments shut them down in an effort to deter the riots, but he was still able to use the notes app to put down thoughts as they went along. The sun hung high in the sky and Tori noticed it was just after noon. The streets surrounding the City Hall building were bustling with people who had stopped working for their one hour lunch break. At least she assumed it was an hour since that's what most construction people got. She knew this from her Uncle being a contractor. Some of the storefronts had signs in them advertising fresh meat and dairy while the corners were stocked with people working farm stands. Matthew pulled over and parked on the side of the road so they could get out on this main strip and talk to some of the people.

Tori took interest in a particular shop that looked like it was sort of tucked away in the corner. An alleyway ran between it and the building next to it and the door was situated kiddy corner to the alley. She noticed a small sign that hung above the door, marking the place as 'Alice's.' There was no way to tell what the store held since the windows were blocked and nothing sat outside. Tori tapped Diana on the hip and nodded in the direction of the store, taking her hand to pull her across the street. Her face burned at the hand contact with Diana, but mostly because it felt good and she wasn't used to being close with someone like that. Another small sign that nestled into one of the smaller windows of the door said 'We're Open' so Tori turned the knob with her free hand and entered.

The inside of the store was pretty dark. A dusty chandelier hung from the ceiling and gave off a little light but the dust inhibited a lot of it. Native American products lined the shelves and cases throughout, with clothing and things like dreamcatchers hanging from the walls. Two glass cases on each side of the store held jewelry, glass pieces and loose precious stones. Baskets lined up next to each other had everything from earrings and necklaces to headbands and face paint. The clothing on the walls was authentic leather, easily noticed from the smell of the store. Pants and shirts, scarves made of silk and even full ceremonial headdresses. Tori admired a particularly large one with red and blue feathers sticking up from the back when a stout woman appeared from the stock room.

"Hello there, can I help you find anything?"

"Um, no, not really" said Tori. "I just noticed this place was a little tucked away compared to all the other stores so I figured I'd come over and check it out."

Diana was huddled over one of the glass cases, searching through the different pieces of jewelry. She came across a set of earrings that caught her eye and perked up to find the the store owner.

"Can I see these earrings?" asked Diana.

"Sure" said the woman, making her way behind the glass case Diana was in front of. "Point them out."

"These ones."

The woman pulled the earrings out of the case and set them into Diana's hand. They were small brown wolves, hand-carved out of wood. The amount of detail was impressive. Diana held them up by the hook and looked at them closely in the case light, noticing they even had paws carved into them.

"How much are they?" she asked.

"Fifteen dollars."

"Then I will take them" said Diana, lying them on the case so she could fish some bills out of her back pocket. She counted out a ten and a five and handed them to the woman, grabbing the earrings and turning around to face Tori. The woman looked at the bills and back to the girls, realizing that they were new in town. Diana held the earrings up to Tori's ears to see what they would look like and smiled. "I thought the color would compliment your eyes."

Tori felt tears stinging but she blinked them away before they could fall. "Well that was really nice of you. Thanks for thinking of me." She took the earrings and put them in, checking the small mirror that sat on top of the case. "I love them."

"Well you did help me out with the whole story about my parents and stuff. Not to say that I bought those for you because I owed you, I didn't, but I think that kind of inspired me to look for something that you'd like."

Tori brought Diana into a hug and squeezed her tight, one hand on her waist and the other tangled in her hair. She snugged into her neck, breathing her perfume in deep. It'd been a few days since any of them had showered but with Diana you couldn't even tell. She was still as fresh and smelled just as good as the day they left. Fearing that the hug was going too long, she stepped back once and was halted by Diana's hand on her back. She looked up into the caramel pools that so mimicked hers when Diana moved forward to close the gap between them, hesitating about half way. Tori could feel the hot breath on her lips, feel the shaking of her own legs. Diana finally closed the gap and pressed her lips onto Tori's, pressing firmly for a full second before pulling back.

"Ever since last night I've been wondering what it would be like to be the one that initiated a kiss like that. It was a lot more nerve-racking than I thought."

"Yeah, it takes little bit of getting used to" said Tori.

Diana thanked the woman and they left the store to find the rest of the group, returning to the street hand in hand. Tori watched Diana out of the corner of her eye as they walked. She had a smile on her face that didn't seem to be going away anytime soon. Tori really loved it when Diana smiled. There was a hint of wonder in it, in a way that she'd been void of any real happiness or reason to smile for such a long time and having it come back to her was paramount. The rest of the group could be seen on the next corner down from them checking out fresh fruit at a farm stand. Tori stopped Diana before she could cross the street, pulling her towards herself out of sight of the others.

"I really like this" said Tori, holding their entwined fingers up. "I haven't had someone I've been close to in a while either, and I know that you're-"

"I know what you're going to say" said Diana, putting a hand flat on Tori's stomach. "I'm not gay and you don't want to just be an experiment for me, stuff like that. I understand, and I don't want that either. But ever since I first met you in the record store I've been thinking about you all the time. I never considered myself to be definitely straight since I had never tried exploring my sexuality. With you, I feel like we could be a great couple. We've become great friends in just a few days and I feel really comfortable around you."

Tori blushed and smiled. "I feel really comfortable around you, too."

"When I look at you I don't see a woman, I see a person, and one that I could get used to being with pretty easily."

"It's easy to say, but when it comes down to it you need to be sure that you're comfortable with everything. That's why teenage experimentation is so important. A lot of girls think they'd be into it, see someone they have a girl crush on and try it out to find they hate it." Tori's stomach was doing flips and she tried her best to concentrate on the conversation so she didn't get sick. She thought it was similar to the feeling you get when you take a hard test that you really studied for and hoped to get a good grade on but ended up getting a B minus.

"I understand. If you don't want to see this along we can just call it right here, I won't be upset." Diana had a really good poker face, but Tori knew better. She was juggling fear, excitement, reluctance and something that felt like hunger. Trouble was, she knew she wasn't hungry.

"It's not that I don't want to, it's that...I'm scared. I like you, and I don't want to get hurt again."

"It's OK. It's probably not the best time for something like this anyway. We're all so stressed and I know you're worried about your family and you don't need to be worrying about if I'm gonna flake out on you and kill all of your happiness. I wouldn't want-"

Tori reached forward and took Diana's face in both of her hands, kissing her again in the middle of the sidewalk. This time she nibbled on Diana's bottom lip, causing her to gasp and open her mouth so Tori could use her tongue. They locked lips for a full minute before breaking apart, standing in each others' grasp, panting hard.

"I don't want to lose this potential" said Tori, taking Diana's hand back in her own. "Like you said, I've had you on my mind since the minute you walked into the store and I want to see where this could go."

Diana smiled and squeezed Tori's hand, then the two of them moved to find the group again. They walked hand in hand down a crowded sidewalk towards their friends, people giving them mixed looks of happiness and uneasiness. Tori was used to it but she knew Diana wasn't. She pulled Diana close to her and they walked together in step, smiling at each other with exuberance to squash anyone's uncertainties.

The shops on this street were mostly for household items and clothing. It was amazing how fast people had 'repurposed' the items left behind in the big box stores. Anything that could potentially be sold was looted from the bigger stores within the first two days but a lot of it was still being set up. It had only been a little over a week since the conflict started but the further west you went, the more it actually started to look like the wild west again. The new town they found themselves in, called 'Wanagi,' seemed to be the first try at settling things down in the area. There hadn't been much time to get everything situated so outside of the first few miles there was still a lot of debris and stray cars. Most of them had already had the gas siphoned from them for the work trucks but no one had the means to actually move the cars out of the way. The ones that were in front of the shop streets they were on now volunteers actually pushed away to the far side of the City Hall parking lot.

Only one apartment building seemed to be in use for housing since most of the other buildings around were commercial. Tori looked up at the building and wondered what floor they would be on if they stayed. At that moment Dom waved from across the street, flagging them down to join the others at a little show that was being performed on the corner. They crossed the intersection and stood next to the rest of the group, trying to see over the people in front of them to find out what was going on.

A monkey with a vest and top hat was walking around to the people in the front row. They held out quarters, and the monkey would walk up to them, take the quarter and put it in his shirt pocket, then tip his hat. Marie was giggling like a little kid and some other people in front of them were smiling like it was Christmas morning. They watched for a few minutes and then broke apart from the pack, walking in a group a little ways down the street to the left.

A man in tattered jeans and no shirt was in the middle of the street at the end of the block, surrounded by guards from the Honovi tribe and a group of residents. Tori and the rest walked to the crowd to see what was going on while the man in the street ranted and raved about something they couldn't understand at first, but at closer listen they realized he was drunk.

"They aren't looking out for you! They're looking out for themselves!" The man yelled and spun in circles, trying to face each of the guards that honed in on him with guns drawn. "You see them right now, guns pointed at me because I spread truth! You can't trust these people, and if you follow them you allow them to use you for all that you're worth!"

One of the guards shot his sidearm into the air and the crowd screamed in reaction, drawing the man's attention for the split second needed to take him down. Two guards jumped in and tackled him to the ground, wrenching his arms behind his back so they could zip tie his hands together. The man kicked and screamed as they tried to handle him and ended up having to hog tie him so they wouldn't get kicked, carrying his body to the truck like a stuck pig. The guard who discharged his firearm waved everyone away and the crowd dispersed quickly, not wanting to get any attention of their own.

"So, what are you guys thinking?" asked Dom.

"I'm thinking we don't really have anywhere else to go except for L.A to Tori's family" said Matthew.

Tori perked up at the mention of her family. "Yeah but it's really dangerous out that way. I'd rather have us stay here and see if Del maybe has a way to get a message out that far, see if we can bring them to come to us."

"Well that's three" said Dom, looking to Marie and Diana. "Care to make it unanimous?"

"Sure" they both said at the same time, looking up at the apartment building same as Tori had been. "Every town has its crazies, right?" asked Diana.

"OK then. We'll drive back up to City Hall and let Del know we're staying and see if we can get our housing arrangements before the end of the day. If we do we'll unpack the car and get everyone situated and try to get a good night's sleep. Hell, we might even get beds."

They walked back to the car and piled in once more, heading to give Del the good news. Everyone around would turn and watch them drive by when they heard the car coming, something that seemed a little odd to Dom. When he would turn a corner he could literally follow some peoples' eyes all the way around, almost like they were watching him. He wasn't sure what the deal was, though, since the population of the little haven seemed to be about half white and half Native American, and both sets were watching them. Some more intently than others, but they were all indeed watching.

Dom pulled into the parking lot and left the car in the same spot by the door he had the first time. They filed in through the front door but instead of being led up the stairs the same guard held out a hand stopping them.

"Del isn't in the building at the moment. He asked me to watch our for you folks and see about your answer. Have you come to a decision?"

"Yes" said Dom, shaking his head. "We've decided to stay. Will you be able to give us housing assignments? We haven't had showers in days and would like to get some rest before the work camps tomorrow."

"Sure thing." The guard pulled a piece of paper out of his pocket and unfolded it. "You and the other boy will be in four fourteen, and the three ladies will be in four sixteen, across the hall. They are both two bedroom shelters so you ladies will have to draw straws to see who has to share."

Dom stifled a laugh and put up his arm to block a swing from Diana. He grabbed her hands and held them together so she couldn't hit him and made a face at her, shaking his hips like one dance in a chicken costume. They laughed together and turned on their heels to head back out to the car, Tori smiling all the way behind them.

When they got inside the building the first thought was that it had electricity so they'd be able to use the elevator to transport their things. Unfortunately, the tribe had shut the elevators down to save the electricity they did have, so they were going to have to lug everything from the trunk up four flights of stairs. Granted there wasn't a ton of stuff, but everyone was feeling a little exhausted with the lack of a proper diet and shoddy sleep. Matthew and Dom hauled the cooler up to their room and the girls grabbed all of the sleeping bags, making only two trips necessary to get everything. When the rest of the bags were up on the fourth floor Dom stopped between the rooms with the green one on his arm.

"Tori, take this" said Dom, reaching into the green bag and pulling out a walkie. "We'll be able to communicate with these. Keep them down low and out of sight, I don't want anyone to know we have them, just in case."

"OK" said Tori, taking the radio and tucking it under her arm. "Should we set up some specific times of contact in case things go bad?"

"Good idea. We'll go through the next day or two and get the schedule and then figure out the best times to set."

"We should also set a meeting spot. You know, a, uh, what's that word?" Marie asked.

"Rendezvous" said Diana.

"Yeah, a rendezvous point. In case we get separated or whatever."

Dom smiled at the girls before opening the door to the boy's apartment. "You guys are pretty good at this, you know."

The girls laughed and headed into their own apartment, eager to see what it looked like on the inside. They were pretty decent sized and all looked different, since these apartments belonged to people recently that had abandoned them. Most of the stuff was still in place, including the kitchen appliances and furniture, but a lot of things like food, jewelry and TVs were gone. A big stand sat kiddy corner in the top left part of the room which looked like it housed a nice sized flatscreen at one point. The walls were a boring white which was normal for apartments. The carpet seemed new, which was a nice touch. The apartment held no pictures or any other kinds of identifying information on the family that once lived here. A ceiling fan hung over the dining room table, something that made Tori miss home when she saw it. There were two bedrooms and one full bathroom; the question was, at least for Marie, who got to have their own bedroom.

"How do you wanna do the rooms?" she asked.

Diana walked up behind Tori and wrapped her arms around her waist, snuggling into her neck with a small laugh. "I think I'll bunk with Tori."

Marie smiled and rolled her eyes. "Naturally. That works for me." She turned and picked up her bags from the floor, dragging them into the smaller room next to the bathroom.