When Relle went back inside the farmhouse, Cedar was already busy starting the fire. The old house was cold.
Cool air poured into the poorly insulated living room. Raindrops fell onto the tin roof with a heavy patter.
Relle busied herself busy pulling out the squash and sausage. She began to peel and cut the squash, placing it in a large pot with a bit of water and whatever seasonings she had left.
"Did Arlo leave?" Asked Cedar.
"No, I invited him to have dinner with us and put his camper in our yard for the night," Relle explained. "I...I think it might be best if we leave the farmhouse. And if we are going to do that, I would like to learn about what is going on. Arlo knows more than any of us here. I'd like to hear what he has to say."
"Are we gonna go in the RV?" Asked Sage, suddenly excited about the prospect of traveling in something other than the old car that sat in the shed.
"No, no, we'll take our own car," Relle said.
"But what about gas? Did mom and dad fill it up?" Cedar interjected.
"We should have enough gas to get us to Billings. Hopefully we can refill there. Arlo said it wasn't hit with a bomb so maybe it's all fine there. Who knows, they could even have power and water," Relle explained.
"I wanna go in the RV," grumbled Sage who sat beside the fire, playing with a toy on the ground.
With some occasional help from Cedar, Relle had a full meal finished before Arlo came and knocked on the door. Sage was the one to open it.
Relle looked up from the food she was preparing. Arlo gave her a short nod before stepping into the farmhouse. He gave a small, nearly unnoticeable smile to Sage.
"Thank you again," he said. "It seems I was wrong about the storm."
"It's no problem," Relle said. "We haven't had a visitor in months. I think even some of our closest neighbors left, but I can't be sure. They all live pretty far from here."
Arlo took a seat at the dining room table with Cedar and Sage, while Relle poured them each a bowl of squash soup and a plate with onion and sausage. As all four began eating a strange silence covered the room.
Relle had many questions that she wanted to ask Arlo, but she wasn't entirely sure where to start.
"We haven't left this farmhouse since the explosions happened," she began. "I haven't seen what everything out there looks like but...I don't think we have enough supplies to last us through winter."
"Finding food and supplies can be a real challenge." Arlo said as he finished the last of his meat. "And like I said gasoline doesn't last forever. Without any power pumps don't work."
"Then how have you gone so far in your RV?"
"I've modified it to be an electric vehicle. Most of the time I use it's solar panels as the power supply," Arlo explained as if it were a common thing to do to a vehicle.
Relle was impressed by that. She supposed in a world with no power, something that ran on solar power was priceless.
"I don't think it's a good idea for my siblings and I to stay in this farmhouse all winter. I'm kinda worried that we will run out of supplies and not be able to get out because of snowfall...do you think it's smart for us to take that car?"
Arlo was quiet for a moment, looking at his soup. Slowly he looked up, his grey eyes met with Relle's.
"If you are worried about not having enough supplies, then I would leave. If I were you, I'd get as far south as you can. When winter hits you'll be without access to food and warmth," he said.
"That's why you're headed south?" Relle asked.
"Mostly, yes," Arlo said.
"Will we be able to find our parents?" Cedar asked suddenly. He stared at Arlo as if the older man had all the answers in the world.
Arlo gave Cedar a sympathetic look, "I can't say. Perhaps they are still in Billings like your sister said. If you go there, you could find them, but there's a real chance that..." He didn't need to finish his sentence for Relle to know what he meant.
After dinner they cleaned up and Arlo returned to his RV fairly quickly, leaving the three siblings in the quiet farmhouse alone.
"Are we leaving?" Sage asked.
"I think it's our best option. It sounds like we don't know what to expect but...I think it's best for us to leave," Relle said.
"But what if we can't find mom and dad?"
"Then we continue doing what we've been doing, surviving. We're nearly out of wood here and the food we do have won't last the winter. If we stay here...we just need to leave. There should be supplies like food and water in Billings, maybe they even have power there," she continued.
"Why don't you want to go with Arlo?" Cedar asked.
"Because I don't want to be stuck in Billings. I want to be able to leave if we have to. If we find mom and dad I'd like to come back to the farm," she explained.
The two younger siblings exchanged glances to one another. Cedar nodded to Relle.
"Why don't you guys go pack a bag to go. Bring warm clothes and your toiletries," Relle said.
They two younger children ran off to their bedrooms. Relle stood alone in the firelight. She gazed around the house. She was born and raised in the little farmhouse.
She had tended the fields for as long as she could remember. It felt painful to think that there was a chance that she would not be returning to the little home.
Nevertheless, for the first time in a long time, Relle felt excited. It had been a long while since she went anywhere. She felt unsure of what to expect.
Just outside of the farmhouse, Arlo found himself sitting comfortably inside his RV. A solar-charged lantern hung in the center of the vehicle, illuminating it well enough to see.
He sat at the little table that was behind the driver's seat in the RV. At the table, he gazed over his map. Rain poured over the camper, creating a loud, rhythmless noise. He enjoyed it, however. The rain seemed to ease his mind.
As Arlo gazed over the map, the pile of blankets on the couch began to move. Slowly, a young man sat up. He stretched his arms over his head and gazed over to Arlo.
"Where are we?" He asked.
"In the middle of northern Montana," Arlo said, still looking at the map. "Mostly just farmland."
"I thought we were going to Bismark?"
"We are going to Billings," Arlo corrected with a hint of annoyance in his voice. "And we are headed there tomorrow. The rain came and I decided it was best to stop for the night."
The slim boy shrugged. "I'm gonna make some coffee," he said.
Arlo rubbed the furrow between his eyebrows. "Maddox, it's nearly nine at night."
"You know I always thought that if the world ended, time wouldn't matter much," Madd said leaning back on the couch. "Then I got stuck with you."
"It's not easy to come by coffee," Arlo added, glancing back at the map.
"Staring at the map isn't gonna undo all this, you know," he gestured with his hands to all around himself. Madd fumbled with a lighter as he pulled a box of cigarettes out of his pocket. He lit one, as he contemplated how much he wanted a cup of coffee and if it was worth fighting with Arlo about.
"Do that outside," grumbled Arlo.
Madd let out a long sigh and walked out into the rain. To his surprise, they were parked in front of a small farmhouse. Within the house he saw warm firelight. He wondered why Arlo had chosen to park here. Perhaps he knew these people.