I woke alone, sitting up gingerly and groaning as my sore muscles protested my odd sleeping position in the cramped back seat of someone else’s car. The sun hit my eyes and I squinted as I climbed out to see Charlie and Tuck walking toward me. “Where were you guys?”

“Searching the vehicles. A lot of them are unlocked. When the comet hit and the drivers—” Charlie gave me a pointed look “—dissolved, they obviously couldn’t lock their doors,” he said, delivering the line smoothly like the professional actor he was.

He continued to stare at me when I didn’t respond. Finally, I shook my head. “Yeah, no, I’m not going to be able to do that.” Playing make-believe in this situation was going to be more work than anything and I was too tired and uneasy for that.

Charlie sighed. “It was worth a try.”

I looked around at the cars. Obviously whatever electrical situation had occurred to cause this mass breakdown also meant they could only be locked manually or not at all.

He grinned, then handed me something from his pocket.

I looked down. “A granola bar?”

“Yup. I had one too.”

“I don’t have to pretend that you’re my hero,” I said with a smile before leaning up and kissing his cheek.

Tuck pulled open a car door to our left and rummaged through it for a moment before heading our way. I leaned against the car and stretched before peeling open the granola bar and taking a bite. It was stale and delicious and once I got back home, I was never going to take food for granted again.

“Hey, I gotta go to the bathroom.” Charlie pointed off the side of the highway where there were some bushes right before a steep incline. “Be right back.”

I nodded just as Tuck made it to where I was standing. “Good thinking about searching the cars,” I said, holding up the granola bar before taking another bite.

He looked back over his shoulder. “That dude Neil is gone, and he packed up the last of the cereal.”

“Oh. Well, I was sick of that anyway.”

Tuck gave me a wry smile before opening the car door, grabbing his duffel bag, and beginning to unload his pockets of the things he’d collected. I spotted beef jerky and protein bars, some candy and a few packs of gum that I really hoped wouldn’t become a necessary meal at some point. When he stood again, I wiped my hands on my pants and stuffed the now-empty wrapper in my coat pocket. “What’s the plan?”