I stopped in the gear room and put on my vest, weighted with AR-15 mags and SIG reloads. I belted on my field knife and tucked my balaclava into my pocket. Last, I shrugged on my backpack which contained non-perishable food, bottled water, a first aid kit, and an extra box of ammo.

I shouldered my rifle, a standard AR-15. I had decided a while ago to forgo my trusted M1 Carbine, given that ammo for it was hard to find. I could reload, since I had the components, but I figured I would do that once I ran out of the factory stuff. Besides, Charlie carried an AR exclusively and being able to share ammo was a plus in the field. More to the point, Sarah had taken a shine to the M1 and since she was better with it than I was, I let her have it.

I climbed the stairs to the second floor and walked through a hotel room to the balcony. From there I climbed down the detachable stairs to the ground outside the lodge. We had long ago sealed up the first floor of the lodge, except the area in the back, walling that part off with brick, rock and mortar. All in all, we could withstand a siege if we had to and we had a fast escape route to the river if the walls were ever breached. In a way, I felt like a feudal lord in his castle. All I needed were a few willing serfs and the world was golden.

I went over to the shed and unlocked the door, pulling a mountain bike out of storage. We tried to save as much gas as possible for emergencies and since Charlie was only a mile or so away, it wasn’t worth driving.

“Charlie, you there? Over,” I called on the radio, a little walkie-talkie that had surprisingly good range.