Allistor wrote it all down.  “Okay, good.  I’d like to add that we should keep an eye out for items of value.  To be sold on the market.  Gold, gems, rare items like that Mustang.  Anything that other people will pay klax for.  We can convert them to system points to grow this place.”  He wrote down wine on his list.  “I want to take a trip to the winery soon.  Hope it’s intact.  Wine sells for good prices.  Plus we can hold some back for personal use.” He grinned at them. “But the most important thing is to keep an eye out for threats.  I think maybe the titan scared off most of the lesser monsters.  But now that it’s gone, they’ll almost certainly return.”

Lilly asked, “What if we run across other survivors?”

Allistor hadn’t considered that.  “I’m not sure.  I think if you know them, or they’re townspeople, bring them here.   Anybody else, be suspicious.  I’m not saying shoot on sight.  But don’t disclose the existence or location of our Stronghold.   Let’s say we take them to a neutral place… say the church.  The steeple is still there, so there’s at least some kind of shelter.  Leave them there and report in here.  At least until we get the radios up and running.”

They talked for a while longer, then broke up into two groups.  Allistor was going with Amanda to find medical supplies, Sam, Meg, and Lilly were going to start hunting for the radios, and both teams would grab any useful items they found.

Allistor drove his pickup out and hooked it up to the trailer.  They were going to start at the doctor’s office here in town.  But after, they’d be going the four miles to the regional hospital to see if it was still operating and grab whatever equipment they could if it wasn’t.

Once again, they left Nancy and Chloe behind, along with the two men who were sleeping, to guard the Stronghold.   Allistor needed to figure out a way to secure the doors from outside, so they didn’t need to leave someone behind all the time.   He was already missing Sean’s Engineering skill.  Maybe he could pick it up himself or convince one of the others.

He parked the truck in an alley behind what had been the doctor’s office.  It was part of a row of storefronts just off Main Street.  The roof was gone, and the glass front was shattered and twisted.  But the three other walls remained - at least the lower six or seven feet of them.

The inside was scattered with debris.  The carpet was squishy, soaked by a broken pipe somewhere in the building.  Allistor stalked through all the rooms, making sure the place was clear, and went to go find the water meter and shut it off while Amanda grabbed whatever supplies she wanted.