Until the End of the World (Book 3): All the Stars in the Sky by Sarah Lyons Fleming Page B

pineapple chunks, they’re empty. The gas tank door of every car has been pried open.
    Armed with a phone book and map, Peter, Jamie, Shawn and I prepare to leave the RV parked outside of town. Bits holds Hank’s hand and tries not to cry.
    “I can stay,” I tell her and kneel for a hug. “I will if you want me to.” She shakes her head and buries it in my neck. “I promise I’ll stay next time, okay?”
    I kiss her and Hank’s heads, add in one for Ash, and get in the backseat of the pickup with Jamie. Shawn drives and Peter holds a map marked with an X for every gas station. We’ll try the ones on the outskirts first and then move into the city if we have to. I think of how resigned Bits looked at the idea we might not come back. I don’t want her to get used to losing people. I clench my fists and ask someone—my parents, Adrian, John—or some thing to get us back okay.
    “Ugh,” Jamie says, “didn’t these people get tired of looking at the same thing all the time? It’s looked the same for over a thousand miles.”
    “Grass, trees, lake,” Shawn says. “Lather, rinse, repeat.”
    “You guys are from Massachusetts, right?” Peter asks.
    “Yeah, right outside of Boston,” Jamie says. “We bought a house there.”
    “Expensive as shit, but we could swing the payments because my lady brought home the bacon,” Shawn says.
    Jamie was a lawyer in her past life. “Shut up, Shawn,” she says.
    “You guys know she made close to two hundred thou a year?”
    I look at Jamie, whose olive skin has reddened. “So you were a fancy lawyer?”
    “Yeah, corporate law.”
    “You worked for the devil?” I ask, and kick her foot with mine.
    She kicks me back. “Yes, yes, I worked for the devil. But I swore I’d only do it until my loans were paid back. Then the house was expensive. We were thinking of selling so I could quit, but…” She points out the window at the new, unimproved world we inhabit.
    Shawn says, “The neighborhood had great schoo—”
    “So, now you know,” Jamie cuts him off in a tight voice. What she used to do isn’t a big deal, but something sure seems like it is to her.
    “Don’t feel bad,” I say. “Peter had a lot more money than you. He did evil stuff with lobbyists.”
    Peter turns in his seat. “It wasn’t evil stuff. It was—”
    “Did you save people or animals or the environment, or even the country from a foreign threat?” He shakes his head. “Then it was probably evil. Or pointless.”
    “I’ll give you pointless,” he says with a laugh.
    “Don’t worry, we still love you,” I say to Jamie. She wraps her arms tight around the knees she’s brought up to her rapidly rising chest. “If we can love Peter after that, we can love anyone.”
    I can tell she doesn’t want to have a breakdown right now, if ever, and it looks like she’s heading that way. I tousle Peter’s hair to let him know I’m kidding. Peter catches sight of Jamie and hangs his head. “It’s true.”
    Jamie gives him a quivery smile and smacks the side of Shawn’s head. “No, if we can love Shawn , we can love anyone.”
    ***
    The first gas station comes before we hit the town, just behind a Staples and a garden supply store. It’s a no-frills kind of place, with no roof over the pumps or a tiny store, but the expanse of concrete is blessedly empty. I stand in the truck bed and watch for Lexers. I’ve barely had a chance to get my bearings when Shawn curses. “The tank’s already open. Nothing.”
    We head for the next on the list. It’s only a few blocks away, and it takes us three passes before we’re sure it doesn’t exist any longer. Shawn leans his head on the steering wheel and sighs. “What’s left?”
    “7-11, which is down this road, or we can try the one that’s farther out,” Peter says.
    “Oh, thank Heaven for 7-11,” Shawn says, and rolls down the main drag.
    Everything from fast food to medical supply stores line the sidewalks. Most of the buildings