He sighed and took the few steps to where the man’s handgun had fallen, picked it up, and put it in the back of his jeans. “I’m gonna take this,” he said. “You’d be wise to find yourself a weapon too if possible.” He put his rifle back in the car, then he leaned on the doorframe and looked at us. “The world’s gonna be different for a while,” he said. “You either adapt, or you die.” Then he smiled and gave us a salute. “Good luck.” We watched as he got in Bridget, pulled back onto the road, and disappeared around the bend.

I let out a squeak, and Tuck’s breath released on a whoosh. “What the fuck?” Charlie said.

“Should we…” I pointed at the man. My voice was shaking. My whole body was shaking. And I had no idea where to go with that question. Should we what? The man was clearly dead. There was a hole the size of a baseball in his chest, and he was staring blankly at the sky.

“There’s nothing to do for him,” Tuck confirmed. “Let’s get out of here.” He looked at me. “Walk off the shakes. It’s just adrenaline. You’ll be fine in a few minutes.”

I gave him a jerky nod. I couldn’t even think straight. We’d just watched a man die in front of us. He’d been shot point-blank over a car and now he was dead on the side of the road. What the hell was happening? I couldn’t get a grip on this reality I’d suddenly found myself in. I was mentally flailing.

“This is fucked,” Charlie muttered. He linked his arm with mine and we held each other up as we walked past a sign that told us we were headed toward Silver Creek situated somewhere in a world I no longer recognized.

chapter twenty

Tuck

I glanced back at Emily and Charlie. I was shaken by what had happened, but Emily looked like she was barely hanging on. As much as I wanted to stop and let her come to grips with what she’d just witnessed, I also knew that moving her body was going to help. And unfortunately, even if it was unlikely, taking the time to process also meant risking Leonard returning with his rifle blazing, deciding that three witnesses to the murder he’d just committed was unacceptable. Regardless, Leonard was right on one count—the world had changed in the last four days. And it was only going to get worse the longer the power stayed off.