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to roll over and brought her hand up to ward off the blows. The bat mangled three of her fingers. She let out a grunt that became a wail.
    The next strike shattered her elbow. The next one cracked her collarbone. The next one came in from the side, hitting the soft tissue of her belly. It knocked the air from her lungs and something ruptured inside her.
    It took five minutes for Angie to die. Holly kept beating the body for ten. Just to be safe.
     
    * * *
     
    She left Angie in the office building. There were no junkies in the hallway, or in the stairwell. She found one asleep in the lobby, a young man, and crushed his skull with a pair of blows from the bat. Then she wiped the weapon clean on the dead man’s shirt.
    Not far after Universal City the Cahuenga Pass became Van Nuys Boulevard. She spent the night in the back room of a grocery store that had been picked over by looters. An hour of searching in the morning gave her a few lone mystery cans and some chocolate bars that had fallen behind a register. They went in her backpack and she continued north.
    Holly kept her eyes peeled for a bicycle. She couldn’t believe she’d never thought of that before. Such a perfect way to travel these days. Van Nuys Boulevard was too shopping-oriented, though. Not many apartments. She found a sports store later that afternoon, but it had been looted. It didn’t look like the type that had bicycles anyway.
    Another day of walking. Three more grocery stores. Five times she had to hide from junkies. Once was a huge pack, like the start of a marathon. They were chasing a pair of cats. She watched from a small restaurant patio. She hoped the cats got away and got back to their families.
    She was in the heart of the valley, at the intersection of Van Nuys and Sepulveda, when she saw him.
    A man stood in the southern half of Sepulveda. He was young. His dark hair was cut short. He was wearing a rumpled suit. An expensive one, like Paul used to wear.
    ‘Hi, there,’ he said. He didn’t call out. His voice carried across the silent intersection.
    He was moving slow. There was a pistol tucked in his belt and a dark gym bag slung over his shoulder. He was calm and rational.
    ‘Are you okay?’ he asked. ‘I’m a doctor. I can help you if you’re hurt or—’
    ‘I’m okay.’
    ‘Good,’ he said with a nod. ‘My name’s Sam.’
    ‘Holly.’
    He nodded. ‘It is really nice to meet you, Holly. Which way are you headed?’
    She pointed up Sepulveda with the bat. ‘North.’
    ‘Anywhere in particular?’
    ‘Maybe.’
    He spread his arms in a gesture of trust. ‘I’m headed that way too. Sacramento. Maybe we could travel together.’
    Holly closed her eyes and gripped the tape-wrapped handle of the bat. ‘I don’t know,’ she said. ‘Things ended messy with the last person I traveled with.’

PREDATOR AND PREY
     

    It had been six months since the world ended.
    For Barney and his team, it had been some of the best months of their lives.
    Of course, the current delay made that easy to forget. He came back down the hall and gave Monica a questioning look. She shook her head and her long braid swung back and forth like a pendulum. Barney rolled his eyes. ‘What’s the hold-up, guys?’
    Big Jay and Derek looked up from the lock. ‘Hey,’ said Derek, ‘it’s not a normal office door. Sue me.’ He tried to sneer, but with his buck teeth and sharp nose it just made him look more like a rodent.
    ‘It’s been five minutes.’ Barney shook his head. It made his whiskers scratch on his collar. ‘Get it open.’
    They nodded. Derek pushed the pry bar along the edge of the door. The metal teeth worked down alongside the frame and he threw his scrawny weight against the bar’s length. He felt for the right vibration and gave Big Jay a nod. The large man shook his right leg. It was probably still sore from his first attempt to kick the door open. He’d almost snapped his ankle on it.
    ‘Move, big guy,’ grunted Derek.
    Big