“I’m fine.” Hopefully as cold as he felt the others of his kind would feel worse in trying to follow them this far north. He remained scrunched up as he was, while she drove and finally gave into the temptation to rub warmth back into his arms as they moved off the highway and towards a small town. With a nod at her question he straightened, zipping up his jacket with trembling hands and opening the door. The cold air stung him- clinging to unseen downy feathers and chilling the skin underneath. He exhaled a white plume of breath into the frosty air, clutched the crowbar and crossed the remaining distance to the storefront. He pried off the brittle boards of old wood off the door and then lead the way inside. With a flashlight in his freehand he shined the light across the shelves and down the aisles, proceeding in.

Nothing sprung from hiding to assault them and for that he was thankful. Shakily exchanging his tennis shoes for winter boots. He picked a better jacket and added scarf and gloves to his attire- bundling in his body heat. Grabbing a large duffle bag from a different section he brought it over to Cassie to begin stuffing. “Start grabbing as many water bottles as you can. We can store them in the car.” He sat down a moment “we should eat while we are here. What do you have a taste for?”