"Thanks." Jess nodded at the man who'd handed her the tray. "Suppose we should be grateful. Good meat is gunna to run out real soon here with everythin' larger than a cat dead." She noted with a resigned sigh. At first she hadn't even been aware that he was talking to her. She felt out it, like being in some sort of surreal dream. It had been all to real as she buried her family but now that she was here, it just felt like some sort of strange nightmare. She waited for the volunteer to pile on the chili, beef and potato, finding a empty table to sit at.
 
After settling down, she rubbed her temples then stuck the plastic fork into the potato and slowly scooping out the innards so she didn't have to eat the bitter brown skin. She needed a shower. She could smell the smoke, ash and other particulates on her clothes. Her tired eyes cast over the man who'd given her a tray. "I'm Jess, by the way. How long you been here?"