Date: Thu, 31 Jul 2008 20:27:11 -0400 From: Dwedno Smith Subject: Beyond Tunnel 9 Nifty readers: This is a final look back at the boys at the mall and the BT series. This chapter will close their following and all future happenings with the mall boys will now be a part of regular Tunnel chapters. Hope you enjoy it and I thank you again for visiting my website in advance if you havent already please come... http://dwedno.altervista.org/links.php For more Tunnel chapters and my other stories. We are still looking for members to join the Dwedno Forum, its free and it give you lots of insite to all the stories and instant e-mail updates when a new chapter comes out. So please take the time and consider becoming a member and being able to leave messages in out 'Shoutbox'-- get inside information on the stories and characters of Tunnel and post comments about your feeling and questions. Most of all you will have fun with the other 170 other members who have joined in already for free, so far. Thanks very much, Dwedno. Chapter BT9 The Exitus at the Mall. It was Christmas Eve, Cody and the boys were decorating their Christmas tree that they had placed out in front of their side of the mall. Cody called Keith, Denny, Steve, and Danny earlier tonight and asked then to come over and help himself, Calvin and Phil with the tree because nothing bad should happen tonight, after all it was Christmas Eve nothing bad happens on Christmas Eve! Cody still had both ends of the mall covered with boys just for piece of mind if nothing else. It had been weeks since any of them had seen a single soul in the area, but that didn't make Cody sleep much better at night. The tension of running the entire mall and trying to keep the boys safe, and more importantly his own ass safe, has worn on him now and he really doesn't want to do it anymore. He has been doing a lot of thinking lately, and even with the bitter cold weather that has set into the Minnesota area he still felt that any place, maybe even his own home had to be better then the mall now. He has spent many a sleepless night because he thought he heard a sound out in the mall or imagined he saw a stranger out there when he looked out the office windows from up above. He just hasn't let on to the other boys about it. He is planning on saying something after Christmas because he was worried his fears would ruin it for everyone. He still thinks about Kate and misses her a lot. Her looks, her smell when she used that perfume he liked, and especially the occasional time he got to spend with her and touch her for whatever reason he could come up with at that moment. He was boarding on obsession with her when in his mind Bryan took her away. He wants to get even with Bryan for doing that. He isn't thinking anything as serious as killing him... like Travis wanted for Tommy, he just wants to cause him pain, like Bryan caused him for what he did by taking his sweet, beautiful Kate away and not allowing him to come with them when they moved out of the mall months ago. Even though deep down inside his mind he knows the decision about who got Kate was up to her, it still bothers him that he never got his chance to try and win her over when baby Joel's daddy suddenly showed up out of nowhere and ruined his chances of any future with Kate. For now though he was enjoying decorating the tree all the boys and no thoughts of Kate or Bryan on his mind. Cody has come to care about the six boys that were left behind at the mall with him when Bryan and Kate decided to make a better and safer life for themselves and their baby a few months ago along with a select few other boys. He cares quite a bit for each of the boys, some a lot, some just because they are his extended family now. Cody's closest friend at the mall is probably Calvin Hobbs. The young master Hobbs has gotten close to the straight or at least he appears to be straight Cody Martin. Calvin who we know very little about so far in the story is 11 plus years old and beginning to show signs of puberty although subtle he is just now starting to grow a few strands of Reddish brown fine hair down on his legs and a few of the same hairs on his arms too. Still not able to cum by any means his 5 foot light weight frame is now about to start doing the things that make a boy into a teen within the next few months if nature has its way with him. With Calvin not totally sure what is happening he has asked Cody a few questions here and there about the small things that are now appearing and happening to his body. Cody, who felt a little honored that Calvin came to him to ask these things explained what he could without feeling too embarrassed himself, but also at the same time, he took Calvin's coming to him personally and started to care more about the boy then the others that were with him in the mall. Cody accidentally walked in on Calvin when he was exploring his body and he was also probably seconds or so from jerking off or at least giving himself a hard-on at that time. That is something that Cody will keep to himself only because he isn't that type of person and doesn't go bragging like some of the boys do in the mall. The tree is now all but decorated and it's time to take a few steps back and enjoy its beauty. Just then Phil came over to him. "Cody I was just out by the side doors and I swear I thought I saw someone out there" Phil whispered. "Did you watch for a while and see if anything else happened?" he asked. "Yeah I did and after about five minutes I didn't see anything else." Phil said. "Well you know as well as I do that there is plenty of light out in the parking area and you can't miss anyone that easily." "I know Cody but I just wanted to tell you." "Okay, thanks." Cody looked a little alarmed but shrugged it off after further questioning Phil after their quick chat. The boys went back to enjoying their Christmas Eve celebration and a few of them exchanged gifts that they got each other from other parts of the mall. The mall is so huge that it's rare that any of them go off into the outer areas to shop or explore alone. Even after all the time they have spent in there, most of the boys have only seen about half of the mall stores in the four storied, huge complex. They are most thankful for the amount of bathrooms and the overwhelming amount of everything else that they have in there but the place is without a doubt enormous and would take days to walk non-stop into each store, not to mention end to end, with each floor covering about a half a mile in one direction. With over 500 stores, amusement rides, and tons of other attractions the boys still have endless things to do inside if they wanted to. Only fear has kept them from totally enjoying themselves. The mall has been on the cool side since they have been there because it doesn't really have a heating system in it outside of certain areas. Heat is allowed in through skylights above the Nickelodeon Universe section of it but most of heat is and was produced by lighting fixtures, other electric devices and also by employees and guests of the mall before they all died off, so without sufficient amounts to keep it comfortable the mall has been quite chilly since the cold of winter set in. The daytime sun heats it some but it just cools back down at night. The boys have all gone into the amusement park several times and had a total blast. When Tommy and the gang came they didn't take the time to stay and get to view even a 1/8 of the mall with everything that happened while they were there. Anyway... It was getting late... well late by their standards well after midnight and the boys that were invited up to help decorate the tree have gone back to their secure area now and one is awake while the others sleep or get ready for sleep and the night watch is on. Back by Cody the boys have all laid down for rest and he has decided to stay up tonight and let the other two lie down and sleep for a change. It was about 2am when he paused the DVD player and headed down to use the bathroom and to get something to drink. He was on his way out of the bathroom when he heard an odd noise. It was coming from the other end of the mall. Suddenly a cry rang out on the radio he was carrying. "THIS IS KEITH WE NEED HELP! WE ARE BEING ATTACKED AND SOMEONE CRASHED A CAR INTO THE MALL DOORS!" A screaming panicked voice yelled into his radio. "Who is this?" Cody yelled back. "It's Keith, is this Cody?" "Yes is anyone hurt?" Cody asked. "I'm not sure yet Cody but we need you here, I don't know where the others are but from where I am it looks like a bunch of half baked are starting to enter the mall and some have guns. THEY ARE STARTING TO SHOOT!" He screamed. "We will be there as soon as we can." Cody screamed back into the radio. He ran to the bottom of the steps and screamed out as he yelled up them for Phil and Calvin to wake up and grab everything they could. He got to the top of the steps and both boys looked panicked. "What's wrong?" Calvin yelled out at him. "There is some kind of attack going on at the other end of the mall and we need to get there now." With that Cody grabbed as much firepower as he could carry and he and the other two headed down and jumped onto one of the mall carts and sped off at a blistering 10 to 15 mph to the other side of the mall. It was obvious that they could run and probably get there too but what shape would they be in when they got there, most likely out of breath and hardly ready to battle anyone. On the way, he explained what he thought would work when they got there. "Look guys," Cody said. "I don't know what we are going to see when we get there but I want you to be as quiet as possible and ready to shoot if necessary. Just make sure you don't shoot one of us. It sounds really bad by the amount of gun shots we can hear so please be careful and whatever you do don't go running out in the open, you will be a target and probably be shot!" He had both boys on the verge of tears as he shouted his directions at them as he drove closer and closer to the other side. A few minutes later as gunshots still reigned in the air they arrived close enough to get off the cart and try and help. As they took cover gunfire was still to be heard but no where near the same amount as they heard a few minutes earlier. They cautiously approached, Cody leading the way with the other two behind him. They saw Keith first and then Denny who was a few feet away from them hiding in a doorway for cover. "Where are Steve and Danny?" Cody asked Keith as they got closer. "I don't know but I think one of them was shot and they are around here someplace." Keith replied. "One of the boys was shot?" Cody cried out. "I think, I haven't moved from here since I saw you coming and so far I have killed at least three of them before you got here, and Denny killed one too. Another is dead in the car that came crashing in through the doors and I don't really know how many others there are, maybe four or five is my best guess." It was quiet now as all the boys lowered their voices to a whisper and gathered together around Keith and Cody as they planned some kind of strategy before moving any closer. Then they started to walk out as a group with guns drawn now that all the shooting had stopped. They got to a corner and peaked around it. Around the corner they spotted a body about twenty or so feet away, it appeared to be Steven and without thinking Keith ran over towards him. Cody and Denny tried to grab him and stop him but it was too late. He got within ten feet of Steve, two shots rang out and Keith was shot and fell to the ground. Cody saw red and ran out and fired several times with his automatic weapon killing the half baked guy who shot Keith and then he spotted another one who was with him over in a corner where he was hiding and killed him. He then turned to go look at Keith. Keith was still alive but shot in the chest and bleeding heavily as Cody got down on his knees beside him. "Watch my back!" he told Phil, Denny, and Calvin who were now with him. He reached out and tried to check the wound as Keith started to lose consciousness. "Hang in there Keith!" He screamed out. "It hurts..." Keith said. "It hurts a lot Cody... I think I'm... I'm gonna die." A tear rolled down Cody's face as Keith took one more deep breath and closed his eyes. He appeared to have stopped breathing. "NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!" Cody screamed out shaking the boy. "You can't die!" He stopped shaking him after a few seconds of trying to get a response. Keith opened his eyes once more and tried to speak. At first nothing came out and then Keith took another breath and spoke softly. "I'm sorry Cody... I didn't want to let you down, I wasn't think..." Keith stopped talking, closed his eyes, and then stopped breathing as he spoke his last words. His shirt soaked in blood, he was dead. Cody wiped his hair from his eyes as he wept over the boy for a moment and then stood up and dried his tears with his clean hand before he went over and spoke to Calvin, Denny, and Phil to tell them Keith was gone. They huddled together as a group for a few seconds to think about that and then Cody broke away and went over to check Steve who was lying about ten or so feet away from where they were grouped together. Steve also appeared to be dead since he hadn't moved since they last looked his way a little bit ago. Cody bent over and checked for a pulse and found none so he walked a few feet back over to the three boys and broke the bad news to them. "Steve is dead too guys. He didn't make it either. I think he lost too much blood. I just wanted you guys to know, I'm gonna go check him closer if you guys are okay." Phil and Calvin began to sob some with the news and Denny just looked sick as they all looked past Cody at the dead boy. "I know it really sucks right now, more then words can say, but please guys keep your eyes open so we aren't next. This is really bad... I don't feel safe right now and I need you three to focus on us and help keep us safe and alive. I don't want to be shot too." They shook their heads in agreement and the two boys dried their tears some trying to calm down as much as possible while Denny checked the immediate area some and Phil and Calvin centered on what was happening and protecting Cody's back. "We can cry over him later, when we are safe." Cody said. "Stay close, and watch my back" he said to the two remaining boys. "I am going to check Steve; he doesn't look too good from here." He walked back over to Steve who was partly undressed and lying in a large pool of blood. His pants and underwear were ripped off of him and scattered a few feet away, his shirt was pulled up about half way towards his head. He was shot maybe twice in the chest or even more but Cody couldn't tell with the bloody mess in front of him. Around the heart area was the bloodiest and apparently he bled out. Cody looked at him for a second. It appeared that whoever shot and killed him also had their way with him before they left, probably before they killed him. The more Cody looked the more it appeared that Steve was raped or something close to that. He turned him over to see if he could learn anything else and from the looks of things Steve was probably sexually abused anally and who knows whatever else before he was killed, not that Cody knew for sure, but the way things looked the boy showed signs that it probably happened. He had blood around his butt and his hair and face was tear-stained and messy. His mouth was bruised and showed signs of being punched a few times; he also had a bloody lip. The once cute brown haired boy now was messed up and disheveled as he lay there lifeless and half naked. Cody got up from his body. He shed no tears this time, his mind somewhat in shock over so much death in so little time he almost appeared to be lost and out of it. Finally Phil yelled to him snapping him from his dazed condition. "Cody!" One of them screamed. Cody looked over at Phil and Calvin. "Yeah, sorry guys I sorta lost it there for a minute." Cody walked over to them. "How bad is he Cody? Is he dead too?" asked Calvin. "Yes, he's dead too. Come on we have to find Danny." As he said that Denny came back over to join them. "I looked around," he said. "I didn't see anyone within fifty feet of us." "Good, that is good," Cody said. "But that doesn't mean there aren't more close by and hiding right now." He added. "Come on lets keep searching guys, we have to find Danny." Denny said. They started walking the area once more, guns drawn, no one taking a chance now. They saw the car that crashed thru the doors, it hit a wall in the middle of the walk way. It was steaming but not on fire. The cold air from outside was filling the mall now and the temperature had noticeably fallen since the car broke through the doors well over 30 minutes ago now, and created a huge hole to the outside. Close to the steaming car there were two dead half baked guys on the ground, one shot and the other appeared to possibly have been run down by the car although it was hard to tell for sure, not that anyone really cared, also one other inside the car. So far they counted at least seven of them dead. They walked a little closer to the smashed opening, almost to the outside area but the cold and wind blowing in drove them back into the mall quickly. No one going out there would be surviving long without a heavy coat that was certain! The temperature had to be -10 to -20 easily not that they knew that but the chill made it very obvious that it was extremely bitter outside. Figuring there was nothing out there to see anyway, they turned and headed back in the other direction. They were being as quiet as possible now. After walking about 50 yards they thought they heard a noise, so all four boys stopped and listened. The noise went away so they continued to slowly walk down the opposite side of the mall that they were just on searching as quickly and cautiously as possible for Danny. Again some kind of muffled noise rang out. They looked at each other but remained quiet for the moment. Cody pointed and they walked that way. Slowly, all four boys looked and checked every inch around them as did their best to keep safe. The noise came again and it was a little louder this time too. Thankfully the mall was bright enough that light wasn't an issue. They came to a store which was lit up and inside there was a little too much damage with things being over turned and scattered around. It was obvious someone was in there recently and it wasn't any of them. "This might be where the noise is coming from." Cody whispered. "Do you want to go in?" Denny asked back in the same tone. Cody shook his head yes and cautiously the boys entered through the main door one at a time, Cody first followed by Phil, then Calvin, and finally Denny. All four were now standing in the main part of the store. Clothes and mannequins were all around them and then suddenly, about fifteen feet in front of them a half baked guy jumped out and fired a few shots. One struck Denny as they all fired back killing the half baked guy in front of them. A scream came from around the corner and was quickly muffled as it appeared whoever was hiding there was now covering or trying to cover someone's mouth and not doing a very good job of it as another yell of help echoed from around the corner. It sounded like Danny. Cody looked at Denny who was a few feet from him and lying on his side bleeding from his shoulder. "Hang in there Denny I have to make sure we are safe before we can help you." Cody said to him. "I know. Go help Danny. That has to be him!" A loud commotion and other noises were now coming from around the corner and suddenly a person came out. It was Danny. He was naked and running to try and escape his captor. Another shot rang out as Cody tried to get closer to Danny. Danny went down and appeared to now be shot too. Cody stopped in his tracks as he saw the end of the gun a few feet in front of him but he saw nothing more. Hidden around the corner was the person who shot Danny and he appeared to be taking aim once more as the gun came out again. He seemed to be aiming in the direction of Danny who was on the floor bleeding from his leg wound and trying to crawl desperately away from the gunman. With little time or option Cody took aim and fired at the gun knocking it out of direct line of fire and then in a huge act of heroism, or call it stupidity if you want, got low and rolled out with the gun over his head and pulled the trigger allowing his automatic weapon to shoot round after round in the direction of the other gunman. He stopped rolling and looked into that hallway and saw the half baked guy down and not moving. He got closer and noticed he was shot several times and was dead. "Wow, that actually worked" Cody said to himself. He walked down and checked the rest of the area and it was clear so he ran back out and went over to check on Danny. He looked over and Phil and Calvin were trying to help Denny. "Are you okay?" Cody asked the naked, bleeding boy in front of him. "Other them my leg I think so. It's killing me! Thank you for saving my life Cody." Danny said. "Can you find me something to cover myself?" Cody smiled at him. "Yeah I will in a second, first I want stop that bleeding. Look, I bet your leg hurts, it's also bleeding like mad. He must have hit something like a main artery or something." Cody said to him. He reached for any piece of cloth close by and applied as much pressure as he could to Danny's leg trying desperately to stop or slow the bleeding. Danny was shot just above the knee in the fatty part of his leg and from what Cody could see the bullet went straight through because there was blood coming from both sides of the leg. He yelled for help and Calvin came over. "Find me something I can use as a tourniquet I gotta stop this bleeding Calvin." "Okay." He said. As Calvin came back with something to help stop the bleeding, Danny passed out. Calvin handed the cloth to Cody and he wrapped it around Danny's upper leg and tied it as tight as he could. After a minute Cody checked and the bleeding slowed a lot but didn't stop so he applied more pressure to the wound and hoped for the best. Cody was covered in blood from hands to elbows as he did what he could to save Danny's life. Across the room Denny was flat on his back and Phil had as much of his weight as Denny could stand pushing on his wounded shoulder. He too has lost a lot of blood and Philly was doing all he could to try and stop Denny from bleeding. At least Denny was conscious so far. "Calvin come here and hold this tightly on Danny's leg for me. I want to go check Denny." Calvin did as he was told and Cody got up and went over to check Denny. "How you doing Denny?" he asked as he got down next to him on the floor. "How do you think! It fucking hurts like anything Cody. You gotta do something to help me!" he cried. "We are dude. We are doing everything we can!" Cody said to him as calmly as possible. Denny's shirt was also soaked in blood just like Keith's was and all Cody could do was think of that as he looked at it after he had Phil back off the pressure on Denny's shoulder so he could look closer. He couldn't really tell if it was slowing or not so he just pushed Phil's hand back down on it and helped him reapply the pressure for now. "Hang in there Denny; we are doing what we can." "I know man but its killing me!" he whimpered back to Cody. Cody got up and went back over to Calvin and checked Danny. He grabbed a piece of clothing and covered Danny's cock and belly some to at least give the boy some privacy. Then he moved to his wound and had Calvin back off so he could look. It appeared that the majority of the bleeding was stopped and for now they didn't have to worry about applying anymore pressure on Danny's leg. "Stay here with him and just make sure he doesn't start bleeding again Calvin. Also if he comes too try and keep him still and yell for me, okay?" "Yeah but where are you going?" "Over to try and help Denny he is still bleeding." "Okay." Calvin said, barely holding it together. He went back to Denny and once again had Phil back off. He took another look and couldn't tell so he told Denny he was going to have to move his shirt. "I don't care just do what you can to stop the bleeding and the pain." Denny begged. With that Cody as gently as possible ripped the buttons open on Denny's shirt and pulled it back. He grabbed what he could and wiped away some blood and more came out but it wasn't bleeding as bad as before. "Put pressure back on it Phil but use this cleaner shirt." He handed him another shirt and Phil went back to applying pressure. Cody looked at Denny and was about to say something as Denny finally passed out. "Well at least he won't be bitching anymore." Cody said. Phil looked at him but said nothing. He didn't know what to say. There was blood all over his hands and it was nothing more then a huge mess. "Look you guys," Cody said. "We have to get them out of here but they can't walk so I am going to go find something we can move them on. I will look around before I go to make sure you are all safe but I have a feeling everyone is either dead now or they left when we tried to over power them before." "But what if they come back while you are gone Cody?" Phil yelled to him. "Shoot Phil... just keep shooting till they die or you run out of bullets. I don't want to go but we have to get them out of here incase someone or a few of them come back. We don't have a choice, so if anyone else comes just keep shooting and you and Calvin do whatever you have in order to protect them. I will be back as fast as I can and hopefully everything will be okay while I am gone." Neither Phil nor Calvin liked it but they both knew they didn't have a choice right now, Cody had to go get something to move the injured boys to a safer spot and now was as good a time as any with things pretty much under control at the moment. Cody quickly checked all around and found nothing so he headed over to the directory and searched for a first aid station. He found one and ran to it. Thankfully it wasn't too far off. When he got there he grabbed as much as he could in supplies and loaded them onto a stretcher. There were three of them and he only needed two so he grabbed some rope he found and tied them together and pulled both of them back with him. It was a slow process but he did the best he could to get both stretchers back to the wounded boys. He arrived back about thirty minutes later and thankfully nothing else happened. He stopped pulling when he got to the main door and ran inside to check on Denny and Danny. "How are they?" he asked Phil and Calvin. "Quiet." Both boys said. "Neither of them moved while you were gone Cody." Calvin said. "Are they alive?" he asked. "Yea, Denny is still breathing." Phil said. "So is Danny." Calvin added. "Good, I am gonna go get a stretcher and we can load them up as best as possible one at a time. Then we can wheel them back to our side of the mall. After that I have to call for help." "Call who?" Phil said. "I am going to call Bryan and see what he thinks." "They are far away Cody... do you really think they can help?" Phil asked. "I don't know Philly but we have to do something or they might die. We all might die if they come back again!" Both boys showed fear in their faces as Cody said that, but right now he wasn't pulling any punches and it wasn't time to sugar coat anything. This was a disaster and it called for as good and rational thinking as possible, even if that thinking was from a fifteen year old boy who was as terrified and confused as could be. One by one all three did their best to lift first Denny, and then Danny up onto a stretcher and then Cody wrapped and bandaged as much as he could using every bit of sterile gauze and cloth he could find to do the job. He also covered Danny with a blanket he grabbed before he left the first aid room. As time passed he now had both boys on both stretchers with Calvin and Phil's help and almost all the bleeding stopped. They each grabbed as much of their weapons as possible and lay them with each boy or carried what they could on their shoulders as they started to push them slowly down the mall and back to a warmer and safer end of the mall for now, as they left the carnage of that side of the mall behind. Cody kept looking back to make sure they were safe but no one else came after them and slowly his fear started to diminish for now. As they got closer to what he called safety in his mind he caught the time from one of the clocks and it was almost 4am. All of them were totally exhausted and messed up, covered in some level of blood as they arrived back to their home part of the mall close to fifteen minutes after that. Cody stripped off as much of the blood soaked clothing as possible once they got back, from himself and then from the wounded boys as he had Phil and Calvin go find as many clean rags as they could and also changes of clothes for all of them. Then he started to clean up the bloody boy's one at a time and as best as he could around where he had already bandaged. They were both still out of it as he did this. One at a time and as cautiously as possible he cleaned and fixed what he could before the three boys carried each of the wounded boys upstairs and placed them each on a mattress on the floor of one of the rooms. By the time everything was done and all of them were cleaned up and ready to rest it was close to 6am. Calvin and Phil went and laid down easily falling asleep from exhaustion and Cody stayed awake and went downstairs to think for a bit. He wasn't going to stay away from them for long but he needed to cry and clear his head and just be alone. He walked over to the outside doors as the night slowly began to end and the sky started to become light with the dawn of a new day outside. A million things ran through his head but the main one was that he had to get out of that mall now. He wasn't thinking rationally and really didn't care where he lived but he no longer trusted this huge mall to keep him safe and he really needed some sleep before he passed out from everything that happened this Christmas Day. He watched the sky brighten in front of him a bit and he looked up into the sky as tears rolled down his face and he asked God why he survived the comet and then he wept loudly for a bit before he got control of himself. Then he headed to the bathroom to wash and then back to be with the others. Around 7am he called and woke up Bryan and filled him in on everything that happened. Bryan told him to hang in there and do the best he could to keep things under control and call back if he needed to talk. He also told him to stay upstairs and keep quiet if they did come back because chances are the half baked wouldn't know where they were hiding. He asked Bryan about coming to help and Bryan flat out told him that it would be close to impossible with so much snow on the ground and he wasn't really sure what else he could do for them but he would talk to Tommy later on. Cody thanked him and Bryan wished him a Merry Christmas and said he was really sorry he couldn't do more before he hung up. The one thing that Bryan did do was calm Cody enough by telling him that they were probably safe upstairs. That allowed Cody to be able to go upstairs and lay down after checking the two wounded boys briefly. He was out like a light and slept for several hours before Phil woke him up. "Cody I am sorry to bother you but Danny and Denny are both awake and in a lot of pain." He sat up and wiped his eyes. "What time is it?" "About 9:30am." Phil said. "Great, at least I got a few hours of sleep." Cody said as he got up. He headed over to see them. At least it appeared that the blood stopped flowing on both boys but he wasn't about to take off any bandages to check further. Nothing was leaking through his bandages. "Cody you gotta get us something for the pain!" Denny whimpered. "Okay. I'll go check out the first aid section and see if they have something, if not I will go grab some aspirin or something to get for you two." "Thanks, and can I get some water please?" Denny asked. "Yeah me too," Danny added. Danny went to sit up and he got dizzy and quickly laid back down. "Wow that didn't feel good at all." He said. Cody headed off after reassuring both boys he would come back with something for their pain. He grabbed his automatic weapon and headed up the walkway of the mall to look for something for them. As he got about 100 yards from their area he could feel the cold. He decided to go get his cart so he could speed around a bit quicker. He walked further and started to get colder. He got to the cart and realized that both boys were still laying there dead and they needed to be buried if not put outside out of respect more than anything else. At least outside they would freeze and nothing bad would happen to them before he could leave. It was way too cold to bury anyone and he wasn't about to worry about what was going to happen to them. He also had to deal with all the dead half baked but he decided they could just rot for all he cared and with the cold blowing into the mall as strongly as it was he was just hoping that would stop any stink from their dead bodies until well after they were gone. He was getting a headache from all this shit and thinking so hard about everything so he decided not to worry about it as he hoped in his head that he would be out of the mall in a day or two and living anywhere but here now. He got his cart and went over and looked at naked Steve who was cold and now stiff as he did his best to move him towards the exit. He stopped when he came up with a better idea. He felt a bunch of emotions including being scared to death, not to mention being very upset over all this and very much hurt any of this had to happen at all on his watch. Right now in his head he was almost blaming himself. He did what he could to take care of Steve's body first. He went to one of the stores and got a heavy coat and came back after getting two blankets. One for Steve and one for Keith as he pulled each of them onto a blanket before dragging then as close to the open doors as possible for now. He felt the bitter cold, even with the sun out and it being a bright day, the cold was way too much to handle without a heavy coat and gloves. He put the heavy clothing on and then managed to drag Steve first and then Keith through the broken glass and twisted metal to outside the mall, each on a blanket so he wouldn't do anymore harm to them. The entire time, the only thought going through his mind was how surreal all this was and how he just wished he could have his old life back, living in the old neighborhood, his younger sister bothering him or his younger brother trying to crack open is bedroom door to sneak a look inside and see what he was up to and why it was shut. That got him so mad when Alyssa used to bother him or his brother Seth wouldn't leave him alone. A tear ran down his cold cheek as he thought about how much he missed that and how he wished he could hear his door creek from 11 year old Seth slowly trying to see into his room. Even though Alyssa who was 8 used to taunt him to no end he wished she too could be doing that right now. Instead he was dragging a teenage boy's dead body outside into the cold winter freeze to put it to rest in some weak and lame half ass funeral service he was about to perform over it for thirty seconds. He checked to see if he was safe and then dragged them through the snow and around the side of the building and out of site. He did this to both boys before almost collapsing himself from exhaustion. He wrapped each of them as best as he could in the blanket that he used to drag them outside with before covering them in snow just because he didn't know what else to do. He said a little prayer, wiped an almost frozen tear away and headed back towards the entrance. Before he went inside he looked around the parking area for a useful vehicle, quickly scanning for anything big enough to use to get away from the mall soon. He didn't see much but he had a plan to go out later with Calvin or Phil and look around for something big enough for all of them to escape in. His mind going like crazy he was doing and thinking about anything and everything he could right now to get away. That now behind him for a bit, he thought about what he would need for the boys as he went back inside, got onto his cart and drove to get some pain pills or anything to ease their throbbing shoulder and leg before heading back to the other side of the mall. He drove to the food store at the other side of the mall and went into the pharmacy area. He wasn't familiar with medicines but he knew enough to be able to get something for pain. He jumped the front counter and started reading bottles. He saw the words Percocet, Oxycontin, and Vicodin and grabbed a bottle of each. He had heard of these before, he just wasn't sure about what they actually did. He remembered taking some kind of Oxycontin for a tooth ache when he was twelve and it knocked him right out quickly. Then being as smart as he was, he went and looked for a drug book and took a few minutes to read something about each of the three drugs he had before leaving the pharmacy with a little bottle of each. As he walked back to his ride he threw off his coat which suddenly started to make him very warm. In all the confusion he forgot he had it on. He drove back to them thinking about what dosage he should give the boys and hoping that they were still alive when he got there. He got there quickly, it was already 10am and Phil and Calvin met him at the bottom of the steps both boys were bitching about the amount of pain that the other two were in and where was he and what was he doing and why was he gone so long. "Both of you just shut the fuck up will you!" Cody said gruffly. The shock value immediately quieted both of them. "I was fucking burying Steve and Keith outside in a blanket, in the fucking cold in the snow so they wouldn't rot and then I went to get some pain pills okay!" snapped Cody. He stormed past both boys as they looked at each other with complete looks of bewildered shock on their faces. Neither of them had seen Cody act this way before. They followed him upstairs but at a distance. He walked into the room and both Danny and Denny started barking at him about the pain now. He looked at both of them and didn't say anything. He opened up the Vicodin and took out a pill for each of them and they took them and each got a cup of water from Phil and Calvin who were standing next to Cody as he handed out the pills. "This should help you as soon as possible" he said. "Thank you." Denny said softly. "Yeah thanks." Danny added. Those words of thanks from his friends seemed to calm Cody a little as he went and sat on one of the chairs next to them. Both boys were stable at the moment and awake. While enough to make them a little pale, apparently their blood loss wasn't enough to keep them from being totally out of it. Cody, who had put his head in his hands a few moments ago, lifted it and looked at them and then at Phil and Calvin. "I'm sorry guys, but this is just too much for me. I didn't mean to scream at you when I got back here but what I just did back there, it really blew my mind." He looked at Denny. "You guys... you are all I have now, at least here... I was thinking about my brother and sister the whole time I dragged Keith and Steve outside. How much I was going to miss them, how much I miss my mom and dad... it just tore me apart inside" Cody said sadly. He lowered his head and said no more as the four of them watched Cody as tears dripped onto the floor below him. No one said anything and Calvin went over and tried to console him by putting his arm around him. Cody reached out and half hugged the boy accepting any love and physical contact he could get at the moment. He lifted his head and looked at them. First Denny and then over at Phil. Both boys were 14 and just months apart in age which was important to him in his mind because he needed someone to count on, someone to have his back, but right now he just needed some support from someone his own age. Danny Jr. was also 14 but has just turned it and Cody didn't see him the same as he did Denny and Phil who always seemed to act older then Danny or even Calvin who was only 11. Now because he was looking for strength he looked at them but he accepted the love and affection from Calvin because of what they had shared together in the past. This wasn't anything gay, this was pure emotion, this was a hurting teenager who just needed some love and support at the moment and he didn't care who saw this right now. His leadership wasn't at risk, hell there wasn't even much to lead right now! However, his mental stability sure was. He sure needed support as he stood up and Calvin hugged him tightly. Phil came over and also gave him a hug of support too. After they broke their embraces he looked at Denny and then at Danny. "If you two weren't stupid enough to get shot I would hug you guys too." Then he sniffed back tears and let a smile go and both boys tried their best to smile back as Calvin and Phil started to giggle. The moment went from fragile to a little bit tender for a few moments. "Are you guys hungry?" Cody asked out of nowhere trying desperately to change the subject. "Starving," Denny said. "Can you get me a big Mac?" he added. Everyone started laughing including both wounded boys. Denny grabbed his shoulder which pained him from the giggles. "Yeah sure," Cody said. "Let me go call Ronald fucking McDonald for you!" That brought a few more chuckles. "I'll go over to the food court and see what I can find. By the way guys... Merry Christmas! This is just how I planned it all out to be last week!" "Right," Philly said sarcastically. "You had all this planned out perfect Co-dee!" Cody chose to ignore Phil some for now and change the subject. "If you two are gonna be okay for a little while, I'll take Calvin and Phil with me to help with the food." "Yeah Cody I think we will be for a little bit. This pill is starting to work a little I think. My leg doesn't feel as bad." "Good, glad to hear it Dan." He paused. "By the way Dan after seeing you naked yesterday for so long... do me a favor... next time you get attacked, keep your clothes on!" Dan turned red from embarrassment as Cody said that to him and the reality of him being naked set in but even in his wounded state he wasn't about to let Cody get one on him. As Cody turned to walk away he yelled back to him. "What's wrong Cody you didn't like what you got to see?" That brought laughs from the other two boys. Cody looked at him. "You don't want to go there man... just don't go there, you won't win!" With that he headed for the door, Phil and Calvin followed. They got outside and Phil looked at Cody. "Man, don't you think that was a little tough to say to Danny. I mean I know you were kidding and we were finally having a little fun but he got attacked and none of us know if he got molested or sexually groped or anything Cody." Cody looked at him and appeared to be thinking. "You are right but I was so bummed I just needed to say something and get my mood up I was ready to lose it Philly but I promise later I will tell him I am sorry and see if he wants to talk about what happened." "Cool!" Phil said. They all got in the cart and he drove off to the food court. It was a chilly ride as the cold from the broken doors filled the mall more and more now. By the time they reached the food court all three boys were talking about wearing a coat from now on. The food court was rather huge and had a variety of odors permeating from it ranging from old and stale food to rotting and gross stink. The boys had cleaned their main area over the time they have spent there and were used to going to one or two places to get their main food supply. Most of it was frozen and used as needed with great help from a microwave oven as needed too. The three of them made up some deep fried food and some meat and cheese sandwiches. They then wrapped and brought everything back to the injured boys. They ate it all together as a group and by noontime they were exchanging small gifts and having as much fun as they could under the circumstances. Denny got up with some help because he needed to pee badly. This gave Cody the opportunity he wanted to speak to Danny alone. Phil was already going because he was making sure that Denny made it all right so he looked at Calvin and waved him out and he got the hint and took off out of the room shutting the door behind him. "What was that all about?" Danny asked. "I wanted to talk to you alone." He replied. "Is something wrong Cody?" "Not really. I was out of line before with you Dan and I wanted to say I was sorry. The naked comment was wrong, I was wrong and I wasn't thinking." He got closer to Danny. "You are my friend and seeing you that way caused me great pain and made me very uncomfortable. I haven't had a chance to ask you what happened or even ask you if you were abused. If you don't want to talk about it its cool but I have to ask Danny... were you abused?" Danny looked him in the eyes. A tear rolled down his face. Then he looked away and wiped his face. "Not sexually Cody. I was abused to the point of that monster ripping my clothes off me, making me feel like dirt and embarrassing me to no end but you guys showed up just in time. I think if he had a few more minutes he would have hurt me badly or even killed me. So I guess my answer is yes and no Cody. But even with that, even with what you said to me before about being naked and that wise crack you made, I'll get to that in a second. But I had a lot of time to think about yesterday over and over. It bothered me... what happened yesterday, a lot and some of what you said before too but you saved my life Cody. I won't ever forget that. I don't know if I am going to live after all this because I lost so much blood yesterday and I am in so much pain but it's my leg and I think its getting better some. But you need to know that what you said before embarrassed me but it didn't hurt me. You seeing me naked... it was just messed up but what you did for me Cody... you saved me twice, once from that beast and then you stopped the bleeding... so you didn't hurt me I promise. Thank you for what you did." Both boys had tears in their eyes now and both felt like embarrassed little kids as they looked at each other. "We are good Dan. I promise I won't ever do that to you again. I was an ass for even saying it. I am sorry." "Its cool Code man... It's cool." "If you weren't in so much pain I would give you a hug Dan but let's save it for now okay?" "Yeah we will owe it okay?" "Sure Dan." Cody went over and opened the door and waved them back in. "We are gonna go out while you guys rest. There is no reason you won't be safe but here is a cell just incase. Each of you will also have an automatic weapon within reach incase something happens. We won't be far off." Cody said to both of them and then he handed them each a weapon and then another pain pill after that. "Thanks." Dan said. "Yeah thanks Cody." Denny added. "Get some rest guys... you need it." Cody said to them. Denny and Danny both took their pill and fell asleep shortly after 1pm and before they did Cody told them both a little more about why he was going out with Phil and Calvin, to look for a decent vehicle to use and all. He didn't get into deep details but he got the point across that they would have a cell phone and guns and both would be alone for an hour or more. They agreed it would be fine. Shortly after the pills kicked in all three boys dressed for the outdoors at the ski store in the mall and then headed outside to look around for a vehicle together as none of them wandered too far off and with each of them carrying a gun for safety there was little worry. They searched the mall parking lot for about twenty minutes before the biting wind and several inches of blowing snow brought them all together to decide on what to do next. Every vehicle that they came across was either locked or obviously had the keys missing because of the situation from when the comet flew over. No one was probably just sitting in their vehicle waiting to drive off. However there were a couple of oddly place cars that seemed to be standing out. They ran to them as quickly as they could and found one after another either crashed or out of gas. They were now freezing and a good 100 yards from the mall when one of the boys looked up and pointed. "Hey Cody look!" said Phil. Cody looked at the parking garage on the other side of the mall which all of them totally forgot about. He smiled at Phil as all three of them then headed quickly in that direction. As fast as possible they made their way there and started to check the lot for a vehicle to drive. They had seven floors of parking garage to check and as Cody said, someone had to be in here when the comet hit. They found car after car unlocked on the first three floors of the garage but no keys. Finally on the fourth level success reigned. "CODY!!!" yelled out Phil his voice echoing off the concrete. "I got keys in this one!" Both Calvin and Cody ran to Phil who was standing in front of a newer type of SUV which looked like it barely fit into the confined height of the parking garage. Cody got in and turned the key and it fired up. The radio came on but it was all static so he quickly shut it off. The gas gauge read ¾ of a tank and the odometer was at 6703 miles. It was basically brand new. The other two boys yelled out with glee as they got in and shut the doors. Cody was in the drivers seat with Phil next to him and Calvin in the back seat. Slowly, as they sat waiting the SUV began to warm up and after about ten minutes of him reading the owners manual and the other two playing with all the extra's and the automatic seats and so on they had some heat. "Now we can go where we want guys. Look this small plaque says automatic four wheel drive!" Cody said. "The book even says it too! Looks like we can make it to find a better vehicle with this now or at least not worry about freezing anymore." "Cody you can drive right? I mean you are 15 you have driven before haven't you?" Phil asked. "Yeah, of course, I got my permit back in January when I turned 15 next week I will be 16 and I went out a lot with my dad and mom. I just never really drove in the snow." "Great," Phil said. "I guess you will now" he added jokingly. "Yeah I know, I am a little worried but it's not like I will have anything or anyone to drive me off the road" Cody said. "Yeah, I drove too but the comet hit before I was able to get my permit not that it stopped me. I found a few cars and drove before coming to the mall" remarked Phil. "Kewl so you can drive too?" Cody asked Phil. "Yeah I guess but I'm not great at it just yet." They laughed. "Then when you drive I'm staying out of the car!" Calvin said, making them laugh again. This was so exciting for them. With all of them being so busy in the mall the past few months they thought little of travel or going any place for a drive. "This will do for now but I think we need a bigger and better vehicle if we are going anywhere." Cody said. "Going where?" both boys asked him. "Well, I might as well tell you what I was thinking. I don't trust the mall anymore, I mean this side has a huge hole in it and its freezing cold so I was going to ask Bryan when I call him later if he thought we might be able to come out and live there." "That's suicide Cody!" Phil said. "The roads have up to a foot of snow on them and we will need gas and food! The guys are wounded and it's so far for us to go!" "I know Phil but what else is there? I don't feel safe in the mall anymore!" Cody said. "Well I know its cold and all but I am not ready to leave yet, especially if we are gonna go that far in this bad of weather conditions." Phil said loudly to Cody easily making his point. Cody looked at Calvin. "What do you think?" "Me?" Calvin replied. "Yeah, you have just as much say as we do Cal. Do you want to stay here or leave?" "I really don't know guys. I didn't even think about leaving till you said something now. I just don't know." "Think about it Cal. We don't have to decide yet and there is no rush." Cody said. "Okay I will." Calvin replied. "But right now I just think I want to be some place safe and warm and this thing we are in is awesome and warm!" "Yeah I know, ready to take it for a drive?" Cody asked. "I've been ready Cody but we can't go far remember Danny and Denny are hurt in the mall." "Yeah... I almost forgot with all the fun we have had in the past half hour." "When we get back inside I am going to ask them what they think about us leaving the mall too." Cody said. "That's only fair since they are hurt and I really can't help them anymore then I already did. Guys, we might have to do this for them if anyone because I don't want them to die!" That got Phil thinking. "You might be right Cody. We might have to leave to save their lives. Bryan and that Tommy guy probably know lots more first aid then we do, even if they are so far away" Phil said. "Hey maybe you can find one of those big things that Tommy drove here in, that way we would have a place to sleep and put food and all" added Calvin. "That would be great Calvin but with this much snow on the ground it would never get through it." Cody said. "Oh... I didn't think of that." Calvin said dejectedly. Cody started the car and backed up slowly. He stopped and shifted the car into drive and slowly took off. He began his decent down the concrete road pretty much going around in circles but lower by a floor each time until he hit the bottom and then the snow. He gave it some gas and was outside in it now slowly moving along and getting used to his first lesson in the snow. "You gonna practice any?" Phil asked. "That's a good idea. Let's look for an empty area." He replied. They drove out to the edge of the mall and Cody found a big spot where there was nothing but snow. He began driving the SUV a little harder and sliding around in the snow. He did some stop and go and then some skids and 180's. "This is fun!" Calvin said excitedly. "Maybe but I am starting to get seasick." Phil said joking around. They laughed and then Cody decided he had enough and headed back to park the car so they could check the guys. He parked on their end of the mall directly in front of the doors and they got out and after he locked the car he unlocked the mall doors and they went inside with him locking them behind himself. He thought for a second about leaving them open with the other end of the mall all but wide open and accessible for anyone to come in but he decided not to risk anything and he just locked them. They headed inside and up the steps to check the boys. Both were sleeping and appeared to be fine. After they got things together Calvin went on watch at the window and Cody went to be with the wounded boys. After he sat with them for a bit he decided it was time to call Bryan and discuss things. The phone rang three times and finally it was answered. "Hello?" Bryan said. "Bryan its Cody... I just wanted to call you to tell you that the boys are still alive and the five of us are huddled up here staying warm and trying to make the best of this. I don't feel safe here anymore Bryan... I am scared... I wanna leave even if the others don't. Bryan hang on Calvin is yelling something." He put the phone down and Bryan could hear some commotion in the background and then a few gun shots. There was a scramble and then Cody returned to the phone... "Bryan a few of them are back, they are downstairs and shooting up at us. Calvin saw them and without thinking began firing at them or they probably wouldn't have found us up here." ---More gunshots but this time closer--- "Oh my God! Bryan there is gunfire on the steps outside this room..." The phone made a fuzzy noise and he could hear commotion in the background but nothing too distinct. Then more gunshots... Bryan began to grow more and more nervous as time passed and he could hear very little from the other end of the phone. He hung on and yelled a few times into the phone but there was nothing heard but distant talking or yelling and then finally after close to ten minutes of listening to all this a voice finally came back to the phone. "Bryan its Cody... we got them bastards! Five more came back and tried coming upstairs to get to us but myself, Calvin and Phil, killed them all! There is blood all over the hall and I really don't like it here anymore..." you could hear his voice starting to break up and Bryan knew he was on the verge of crying... "We have to get out of here soon Bryan this isn't how I wanted to spend Christmas... burying two of my friends in the snow out back and trying to keep two others alive... they are alive now but I don't know if they will make it." "I don't know what to tell you Cody... I am sorry... I just don't know what to say, we are so far away from you." "I don't care Bryan I would rather die trying to get to you then die here alone and scared. Please tell me if for some reason we make it there you will let us stay with you or some place safe? Please?" begged Cody. "Of course Cody... I swear you can." "Then I need directions... tomorrow when its light and I can see better... We are going to try and find a reliable big four wheel vehicle and head your way... as long as my cell works you can guide us in there... please Bryan... I am begging you for help." "Okay Cod... take a deep breath kid... if you can make it here and you can stay here." "Thanks Bryan... I will go out with Calvin or Phil tomorrow and we will find something bigger then we have now to drive with a lot of room and then pack up what we can and I don't care how long it takes, as long as we have some food and the boys are okay we will head out towards you." "Okay Cody... we will talk in the morning. You be careful Cody... and take care don't forget to call me in the morning so we can discuss everything!" "Thanks Bryan, I won't forget... ...and Bryan...?" "Yes?" he said. "I...I...I love you man... please know that... myself and the others we all miss you and love you even if we didn't know you that well... we just want a place where we can be safe, cared about, and sleep without being scared... so I just needed to tell you that." "Thanks Cody... I love you too bud." "Talk to you tomorrow Bryan, Merry Christmas," Cody said despondently. "Merry Christmas Cody... tell the others I said the same for them too." "Okay I will. Good bye Bryan." "Bye Cody." Cody put down his cell and looked at the others. "You all heard me and I hope you don't fight me on this" he looked at Phil. "I know you don't want to go but I can't stay here any longer Philly." "I know Cody, I disagreed before but I don't feel safe here now either. I wonder why they came back." "My guess is they might have seen us driving around in the parking lot or maybe it was others from last time" Calvin said. "Wow, good point" Cody replied. "I didn't think about that. We were out there for awhile and all over that parking lot. We could have been seen easily during that time." "Yeah..." Denny said. "So you wanna get out of here as soon as tomorrow?" Changing the subject quickly back to leaving. "I do, do you feel up to going?" Cody asked Denny. "I feel like I want to live and no offense Cody but it's just not safe here anymore and you don't know enough to keep me and Danny alive if we get worse or something." "I know, first thing in the morning we have to go out and find a bigger or better vehicle and then there is no reason we can't leave tomorrow or the next day." Cody said. "The sooner the better I think!" Danny added. They didn't do much more talking about it after Danny's last comment they sat around and thought in quiet and Danny, then Denny too asked for another pain pill about an hour later and then they decided on some dinner. The night was mostly quiet and peaceful as each of them took turns checking for intruders on the cameras and out the window. There were some video games played and for the most part the night went by without much happening until another request for more pain pills around 3am. Cody was awake having slept from around 10pm till Calvin woke him at 3am when Denny wanted another pain pill. Calvin went to sleep and Cody decided to take the next watch after giving both boys another pain pill. Seems that's about all the two boys wanted lately was something to kill the pain, some water or help to the bathroom which meant using one of the boys as a crutch there and back. Morning and sunrise came and by 7am a half asleep Cody was awakened by Phil who got to sleep most of the night. Cody went to lay down some even though he knew he wanted to do some vehicle searching. He told Phil to only wake him if something serious happened otherwise let him get some good sleep until noon. He instructed him on everything else as he usually did and then went to lie down in a quiet area for the next few hours. The morning came and went and before long Phil was waking Cody. He went to wash up and get the sleep out of his head and before long the boys were having a quick bite to eat. Then Calvin stayed with Denny and Danny this time as Cody went out with Phil in the car in search of a better and bigger vehicle to travel in so they could get ready to leave the mall and their nightmare behind. Cody gave Calvin his usual instructions and made sure his gun and a cell phone were close by and Denny and Danny were okay before he left with Phil to go vehicle searching. He figured they would be gone a few hours and knew they had at least close to four hours before the sun would start to set. It was another beautiful day as the sun warmed it up close to zero degrees outside. There was little to no wind today and the sun was doing well to blind both boys as it reflected off the snow around them as Cody drove out and about in the area looking for something bigger to use for their venture out into the world. They got around with little trouble but the snow did hamper their travels and after an hour of searching all they achieved was to bring the SUV's gas tank down to half a tank and not much more. They were now out of the mall area all together and close to Cody's house so he talked it over with Phil and they decided to stop at Cody's place first and then take a quick run to Phil's house and go check them for anything they might want to take along with them when they were ready to leave. They wasted about thirty minutes each and by 3pm were out looking for something to drive once again. This time though the back seat was full of things that both boys got from their homes and loaded up to bring along as mementos or just stuff they didn't want to leave behind. As the sun started to head down the boys made one last look around for something they could use. They came across a goldmine of sorts. As they were going down one of the main highways they came across a lot of recreation vehicles. They were bigger travel vehicles and they immediately stopped and got out to check them. After cleaning off a few they went to get inside them and they were locked so Cody shot his way inside the office and grabbed some keys. Before long he fumbled his way through a bunch of keys and found the proper key to get inside the vehicle. Both boys looked around in awe as they saw plenty of room and lots of things to make their trip go well. Cody grabbed the booklet out of the glove box and started to read about it and see if it could do the job. It was a four wheel drive vehicle and had a bathroom and could hold plenty of water and propane gas. According to the information sheet enough to last them quite awhile. There was a sheet on the dash that said a lot of things about what the vehicle was capable of and how far they could go on a regular tank of gas and so on. It talked about heat, air conditioner, and so on. He felt pretty secure that this would work so he talked it over with Phil and the two of them decided to give it a drive in the snow to see how it rode. They went out for a few mile drive. It wasn't the best ride they ever had but it didn't get stuck in a foot of snow with all four wheels guiding it so they decided it would work. They brought it back with them and parked it out front for now and then they went inside to work out all the details with the other boys. They decided to get more propane and plenty of drinking water and food and the only thing they needed was some luck and plenty of gas to get them from point A to point B. Their biggest problem was the size of the gas tank which was small, about 25 to 30 gallons and their gas mileage in the snow would probably be bad at best. The manual did say that the propane gas can and would heat the inside of the vehicle without a problem so at least if they got stuck they would have some help there. The vehicle even had a generator onboard but that would need gas to run. There was a small separate tank for it and there was a switch that allowed them to go back and forth to it so it could run off the main tank or the reserve tank. The boys discussed worst case scenarios and spent a few hours planning on how they would handle anything that could happen. They walked the mall and shopped for things they would or could need in an emergency situation and did whatever they could to plan out everything that may happen, that included bringing coolers of food and some survival equipment incase the worst happened and they got stuck and needed to camp out. They went to the camping store and loaded up on sleeping bags and tent gear and anything else that they may need in an emergency too. Then they decided to take a walk to one of the stores and check out a navigation system and see if that would help. Something Tommy never thought about doing for whatever the reason, but that's another story for another time. Anyway...as night fell, there was lots of conversation and figuring out what was right and what was wrong and by midnight the boys had decided to make the trip and leave the mall after a call to Bryan in the morning to finalize everything. To be continued... email - dwednomail@hotmail.com website - http://dwedno.altervista.org/links.php