“Sure,” Samuel smiled. “I won’t be long.”
The two men were ready to leave the hospital not long later, Samuel saying a sad goodbye to Cassie and promising her that if he had the opportunity, he would try and find a way to let her family know where she was. He wasn’t hopeful for Cassie’s immediate chances: with two broken legs there was no way she could get out of the hospital without support and if anyone like the group of men who had come in for the medicines returned, she had no way of defending herself.
Samuel told Austin everything he remembered about the five leather-clad men who had burst in with weapons. In hindsight, it was obvious now that they had been stealing all the medicine to stockpile for their own gain. In a world without any money, other forms of currency would quickly emerge, and it made sense that those who held the bulk of the most sought-after resources would have the most power.
What that meant for Samuel and Austin however, was that they were very far down the pecking order. Both had lost track of their rucksacks inside the hospital, leaving them with only the possessions on their bodies; and with Samuel in an entirely new change of clothes, he felt like he had lost a great deal more than what was visible on the surface. He didn’t really feel like himself anymore, but knew it was not the time for an existential crisis. There were bigger problems going on in the world than his own and he would just have to sit on his fears and concerns and soldier on until it was safe for him to open up again.
“We need to get some gear,” Austin remarked, saying exactly what Samuel was thinking. “We can’t leave the city until we’re more prepared.”
“Should we go back to my apartment and regroup?” Samuel suggested, glancing around and getting his bearings. “We haven’t made it far; it might be the most logical option?”
“No,” Austin shook his head, “we should keep going forward. I’m sorry Samuel, but returning to your place is a step in the wrong direction. We need to get some gear and get out of this city. I need to get back to my family.”
“Okay,” Samuel replied, understanding where his friend was coming from. “Let’s head down here, I think there’s a sporting goods store or something on the corner.”
As the two of them started walking it became hard to ignore how much the city had already changed around them. Daylight had given way to dusk which was rapidly becoming nighttime, the sun seeming to set much quicker than in the earlier days of summer. Fires that burned down alleyways and around corners became more visible, with shadows creeping up the walls and the echoing cries of people in the streets growing more eerie and unsettling.
Reaching the sporting goods store, Samuel and Austin found the front window already smashed in and the area surrounding the cash registers entirely ransacked. It was clear that in the immediate hours after Trident’s collapse, thousands of people across the city had desperately tried to acquire cash, stealing from stores and homes alike as they tried to guarantee their safety following the crash.
It was easy to understand why people had gone to such lengths, but the more intelligent among them would’ve been focusing on other resources as opposed to physical cash. As much as it pained Samuel to admit, the men who had broken into the hospital and stolen all the medication were incredibly smart. That would be among the most valuable of resources in a few days’ time, with perhaps only food and weaponry surpassing its importance.
“We should be able to get a lot of the basics here,” Austin nodded as they walked further into the store, stepping away from the dim light that the setting sun outside provided and into the dark, half-ransacked store. “Let’s split up and see what we can find.”
“Okay,” Samuel nodded, having a basic list of what they were looking for in his head. The first thing needed to be a flashlight or finding anything else would be difficult. He craned his head upwards to read the signs that hung over each aisle, locating the Lighting aisle and walking toward it. Once equipped with a flashlight, he widened his search, tracking down a rucksack to fill with everything else they needed.
To say New York City had been without order for a number of days now, the contents of the store were still in relatively good supply. Certain things had been pillaged beyond belief. The hunting section of the store stripped bare, with not even a single ball of dust left on the shelves. But other than that, there was only a fairly minimal level of theft that had taken place so far. Samuel didn’t struggle to find a more comfortable outfit to change into and by the time he met back up with Austin, both of them carried almost full rucksacks of supplies.
“Good haul,” Austin grinned, “I’ve managed to find almost all the camping gear we might need. I’d thought that stuff would’ve been taken already.”
“Me too. I’ve got a stove and plenty of matches,” Samuel pulled a few items out from his rucksack to show Austin. “Found these too,” he added, holding up a pair of walkie-talkies, “thought they might come in useful.”
“Yes!” Austin took one from his friend with a smile, ripping it out of the packaging and checking the batteries in the back. “Great idea. This is excellent.”
“Is there anything else you think we need?”
Austin nodded. “Some form of protection.” Austin had seen the state of the hunting department. “But I’m not surprised that’s all gone.”
Samuel rubbed a hand on the back of his neck, not quite as enthusiastic as Austin
