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deserted road in near silence. Alec could feel his father’s eyes on him from time to time, but he said nothing. He didn’t care what Jack had to say and he especially didn’t care what his father had to say. Even if he was a different person it didn’t change the past. Just because he was here for them now didn’t change the fact he wasn’t there for them when they needed him, when she needed him.
                  “Keep a close watch when we get into town. When we left St. Louis things were just starting to get bad, I don’t want to imagine how they are now.”
                  Alec answered him with silence. He looked out the window and was greeted by empty fields. It was almost like the world hadn’t gone to hell. He remembered coming to this place when he was younger and it always felt empty. Fields with nothing but a few cows sprinkled throughout, the occasional farm house in the distance, and corn, lots and lots of corn. As they approached the town he could see a couple of cars abandoned on the side of the road, but that was the only thing different he remembered, until they actually got into the town.
                  His father slowed to a crawl as they drove down the street towards the main square. The town was small, one grocery store, the mandatory McDonalds, and a hardware store, but they all happened to be located on the main square. Many of the houses were boarded up; many more had handmade signs warning against trespassing.
                  “Get ready.” His father said.
                  The road leading to the square was blocked off by several parked vehicles. He could see a few people walking past in the distance eyeing them warily. His father pulled the truck to the side of the roadway and parked it. He laid his hand on the rifle lying in the middle of the seat.
                  “I’m going to see what I can find out. Sit tight here and if you hear me call then use this.”
                  Alec looked past him. “I’m not sitting here in the car.”
                  “I don’t know what it’s like here if-“
                  “I’m not a child.”
                  “I’m not trying to say you’re a child I-“
                  “Then don’t treat me like one. I don’t need your protection; I don’t need you to watch over me.”
                  His father sighed and looked down at the staring wheel. “Alec-“
                  “Don’t. If you asked me to go with you because you thought it would help us get closer or so we could talk you were mistaken. I came because I wanted to know what was going outside of our little area. You may want things to be better between us,” his father looked back up at Alec, and he turned away, “but I don’t.”
                  They sat there in silence for what felt like forever; finally his father grabbed the rifle and got out of the truck. Alec followed. They had only gone a few steps before a man stood up from behind the line of cars blocking their way. The man’s face was covered in an unattended beard that hid nearly everything outside of his eyes. His unkempt hair suggested a man that was spread too thin, while his eyes shown with determination.
                  “Can I help you boys with something? “
                  They both stopped a few steps from him. Before his father could say anything Alec noticed a man slowly come up behind them. This man had a rifle causally slung over his shoulder. His father must have noticed him as well because his body stiffened slightly.
                  “We’re not here to cause any trouble.”
                  The man with the beard looked them up and down. “That’s good we’ve got enough trouble as it is. My name is Whitford.”
                  “I’m Grant and this is my son