I thought that Chicago have a good amount of people there, considering it's the nearest 'big' city, but all I found was a small family. There must have been something in the man's blood, because while his three kids made it, his wife didn't. He's with another survivor, a woman that has to be half my age, but at least it's something. Not only doesn't he have to sleep alone, but they're well on their way to repopulating the Earth.

But even if they can make the next generation, where does that one go to make the next? And the next? I told them about the last group I met, but they didn't seem very open to leaving the city. In a way, I don't blame them. They have enough food and supplies to last a few years, but I doubt all that packaged shit is healthy for you in the long run. But I got to take my share, in return for playing babysitter for a bit. I told them the story of the Temple of Doom, as I've started to call it, and they loved it. The kids, that is. When the grown-ups came back, they weren't too believing about the mine chase. Said it sounded like something out of a video game. (I never got into those things. Sure, it's amazing what advances were made, including the 'interweb', but considering the world went to hell before I got a good understanding of them...)

Still, I was able to restock. A new lighter and a can fuel for it...it should last me a good while, which is good, considering that firemaking with a pair of stones was the one thing I never got the hang of in Boy Scouts. A flashlight that claims to never need new batteries or bulbs, and some food. My bag's starting to get heavy, but not enough to weigh me down, which I'd prefer over the huge backpacks that were in the department store. I'm not going camping, I'm trying to survice. And a few cartridges of ammo. That's one thing they've improved on...the Webley got me through a lot of tough scrapes, but I'm enjoying the Glock. Wasted a few rounds getting the feel of it, but I've got some to spare. Never know when it'll come in handy, for hunting or, well...

It's not like I want to kill someone, but I doubt I'll have the choice. If it's going to be me or them, it's going to be me. Simple as that. In any case, I'm still keeping in practice with the bullwhip.

I'm going to head back on the freeway tomorrow...though it's pretty swamped with cars. There might be some with gas in them, but it'll be hard getting them out of the mess, which is why I'm going to stick with walking. Slower, but more reliable.

Besides, I need to break in the new boots. Nice and comfy.

( Don't Call Me Junior )