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What’s your name?” Daniel tried to be nice. The girl was very shy and it took her a minute to answer while she drank more water.
    “My name is Kaylee.” She said, sitting Indian style next to Daniel.
    “Well, Kaylee, I’m Daniel. Where are your parents?”
    Kaylee didn’t answer. Instead she pointed to the store in the distance where the fight had taken place last night. “We were in there.”
    “How long have you been out here?” He asked, choking back the lump in his throat.
    “I dun’know.” Kaylee responded.
    “Okay. Let’s find some place safer to hide.” Daniel tried standing, but every muscle in his body was in pain. He remembered being in better shape not too long ago, but then Basic Training was a lifetime past as it was reckoned in the end of days. After his second attempt to stand, Daniel asked Kaylee another question. “I’m not from around here. Do you know a safe place to hide?”
    “Uh huh.” She nodded, walking toward the unfinished stairwell. There was thunder in the distance, real thunder, not just guns. It was going to rain soon. Kaylee brought Daniel to what he assumed had been her house at first, though he’d be proven wrong. She knew where the key was under the doormat and let them in.
    “Is this your house?” Daniel asked.
    “Uh uh. This is Mister Fisher’s house. He’s my Godfather.” Kaylee said proudly. “He and my daddy were in the Navy. They sailed on a Destroyer .”
    Daniel smiled at how articulate Kaylee was, glad he was there to protect such a precious child, lost in the mess of a dying civilization. Did she even understand what was happening? Did he? “Do you know where Mister Fisher is?” Daniel looked down the hallways, hoping there were no infected inside.
    “He was in the store too.” Kaylee said, sitting in front of the TV. It turned on, but there was only snow.
    “How did you get out of the store?”
    Kaylee shrugged. “I had to go potty. The potty in the store didn’t work.”
    “So you were outside when the crazy people came?” Daniel didn’t think a child as young as Kaylee would know what a Voodoo Zombie was. He was searching for vocabulary she might more readily understand. Daniel had been accused of using big words more than once, which meant he could confuse people without intending to. The person who’d hated that the most had been his Drill Sergeant, SSG Zebulon. Like #24 on Skippy’s List reads: “ Must not tell any Officer or Sergeant I am smarter than they are, especially if it’s true .”
    “Uh huh. Mommy made me run into the bushes, then she went back for Daddy.” Kaylee found a channel on the TV that had something besides snow. It was just the same images he and Lea and had seen for the last week in their hideout. “Is this what is happening?” Kaylee asked. Daniel’s blood froze. She understood just fine.
    “Yeah. I think it is.” Daniel sat on the couch next to the little girl. “I think something really bad is happening all over the world.” Daniel pointed at the TV. “That’s Berlin, I recognize the buildings from pictures… That’s Seoul, South Korea… That’s Huston, Texas.” He looked down at Kaylee staring wide eyed at the silent images flickering by. “Do you know where we are? Like the name of this town or street?”
    “Mommy says we live in Verjin’a.”
    “Virginia is a state. Do you know what town this is? There are lots of towns in a state, and fifty states in our country.”
    Kaylee looked up at Daniel and shrugged. “I’m hungry.”
    Daniel smiled. “Me too. Let’s see what Mr. Fisher has in the kitchen for us.” They found the refrigerator fully stocked, no one but FEMA having been through this neighborhood. Kaylee wanted pancakes, but Daniel talked her into something that didn’t have to be cooked. He was worried about the smell attracting people. A bowl of Cheerios and cold milk was good enough for the both of them. They sat on the couch and ate, watching the same images over and over