No electricity meant no way to pump fuel. An hour of poking through the zombie infested remains of a small prairie town brought Tom out with the electric pump. He said he learned all about such things on the farm growing up and was now very glad he has some practical knowledge that could help them out. They could keep the cars fueled, so long as they could find a gas station and get the storage tanks opened. They also grabbed a dozen two gallon fuel cans from a big box store and had them filled up and strapped on top of the van, with two more in the cruiser. They had a tarp over the ones in the roof rack, but Max was still nervous about driving around with all that fuel over his head.

After dropping Tom off in North Platte, Max planned to move on to Iowa, where he knew his friend Bill would welcome him and anyone he brought with him with open arms. Bill went way back with Max, they grew up on the same street when they were kids and attended the same schools, albeit Max was four years younger and had not ever gone to with Bill at the same time. However as the only two boys on a street full of girls the two were bound to become friends despite their age difference. The friendship born in primary school continued through high school and even prospered into college and beyond. After college Bill had moved around a lot, returning to Denver from time to time until finally settling down with his wife, Trisha, in Iowa. Still he and Max took turns hosting each other's families on alternate years and everyone got along very well together. The annual get together in Colorado or Iowa was something both families had grown to love.

Unlike Max, Bill had started his family early, barely out of college and he had five children now, the oldest was seventeen and they alternated in gender down from there every two years. Max had kidded Bill that he and his wife were like machines, you could set a clock by the birthing of their children.