We almost made it.

The truck started coughing about a mile out of town.

Shane used the remaining gas to drive to the side of the road, doing what he could to shield the truck with a thin screen of roadside trees. He turned and looked at the stuff Kyle had put in the back.

"Mostly food," Kyle said, answering a question his brother hadn't asked. "Some warmer clothes."

Shane nodded, his face going still the way it does when he's thinking. Kyle and I waited for what he wanted to do. Finally, he said, "Okay. What we have now is worth more than what we might get. First order of business is gas. I have an empty gas can in the back, but it wouldn't hurt to grab another if you can find one."

Turning to Kyle, he said, "Try the gas station first. My wallet's still in the glove box. See if the pumps still work. It's not like I'm worried about cost at this point. If it works, great, get as much as we can now."

Shane grimaced. "I can't go because of my ankle, so you and Raleigh are gonna go. I'll stick around here and keep an eye on things. Kyle did you find any other guns?"

Kyle nodded. "Two."

"Lucky." Shane smiled. "Okay. I'll take another just in case. Raleigh, you take the other. What you're gonna do, is your gonna fill up one can and either you or Raleigh is gonna run it back here, then we'll meet the other in town and do what we can to stock up on fuel. We'll go from there. Good?"

Both Kyle and I nodded, and Kyle handed me a revolver. Shane kissed my forehead.

He didn't say anything though. Not good luck or goodbye or see you later.

Following his lead, I just left with Kyle. I didn't look back.

Later, I found out why Shane did that. Why he still does even after losing people. Shane never says goodbye.

He's just gotta act like we'll always see each other again. Shane doesn't see the point in saying goodbye. He says that it doesn't do anybody any good.

I'm not sure I necessarily agree with him, but that's just how he is.

Kyle set the pace at a light jog, the gas can rattling against his leg. We ran in silence for a little while, until a thought occurred to me.

"It's quieter if we walk," I said.

"It's slower. We want to be in and out. The longer we take, the longer Shane's back there by himself," Kyle snapped, obviously still mad at me.

Annoyed, I snapped back, "Dammit, Kyle. I said I was sorry about the backpack. It was a mistake, okay?"

"Uh-huh." Kyle kept running, going just a little faster.

"So what?" I hissed. "You're just going to hold it against me for the rest of my life?"

"You mean for whatever's left of it?" Kyle shot over his shoulder, and I stopped running. His words rang in my head, leaving a sour taste in my mouth.

He looked back and stopped running, too.

"What did you just say?" I asked, my voice low. I stared at Kyle, my anger raising my heart rate in a way a mile-run never could. He stood watching me, and I walked toward him. "What did you say?" I struggled to keep from shouting.

Kyle looked down, then back to me. "You heard what I said. The small mistakes are the ones that get you killed."

"That's what you think?" I demanded. "You think I'm going to get myself killed?"

"No." Kyle's cheeks were a little flushed, his eyes over-bright with anger. "I think you're gonna get Shane killed because he's going to do something stupid to save your ass. That's what I think. I think you were lucky that Shane brought you back home when this all went down." He paused, breathing a little hard, but he wasn't finished. "I think you're weak. That's what I think."

After that, all I could do was stare. I wanted to scream back at him, denying all of what he had just said, but I couldn't. Hadn't I thought the exact same things?

He was right. I was lucky that Shane had brought me with them. So I just started running again, making Kyle scramble to keep up.

We slowed down as we approached the town, and Kyle turned off the road to approach from a more covered position.

We stood in the surrounding trees, watching the town for a while, but saw zero movement and started moving toward the gas station. Like in most small towns, the gas station was right at the edge.

When we got there, we immediately knew that life just wasn't going to be that easy. There was no power here either.

No way to pump the gas. Kyle and I both swore.

"Can we just go directly to the tank that supplies the pump?" I asked, my voice low, my eyes scanning around us.

Kyle shook his head. "We wouldn't be able to get to it. They're locked and we don't have the tools to get it open. We're just going to have to siphon some gas."

"You know how to do that?" I looked at him briefly, the revolver in my hand.

"It's not like it's a difficult concept." Kyle picked the gas can back up and started walking down the street, looking for a car we could get gas from.

But I'd just about had enough.

"You can drop the asshole act any time now. If we're going to talk about mistakes, why don't we talk about how the medical supplies should have been the first thing you put in the truck, huh?" Kyle turned and I stood with my hand on my hip before walking closer to him, getting up in his face as best I could, considering he stands a whole head taller than me.

"And as far as Shane, he's just as likely to get himself killed saving your ass too. He's just that kind of guy and you're his brother." I paused, glaring. "So how about this? Plan A is neither of does some stupid shit that gets him killed."

"What's Plan B?" Kyle asked, looking at me a little warily now.

I felt a harsh laugh rush out of my lungs. "If I get Shane killed, feel free to shoot me."

"And if I get him killed?" Kyle asked stiffly.

"What do you think?" With that, I started walking again.

That agreement actually still stands, but we both know that if anything actually did happen to Shane, knock on wood, that the other is all we would have to hold on to.

Looking around, I still wasn't seeing any cars, so I turned back around to Kyle. "It'll be faster if we split up."

I held up my hand when he started to argue and was surprised when he actually fell silent. "I know that's not always the best idea, but like you said, the longer this takes, the longer Shane's by himself." I glanced at the watch I was still wearing. "I'll take the next street left, you take the next street right and we'll meet back at the gas station in forty-five minutes."

Kyle stared at me like he was trying to guess my weight. He sniffed and his lip curled a little, but all he said was, "Fine. Forty-five minutes."

He took off without another word and I sighed. Kyle and I were going to have to find a way to work this out.

At least now I knew his problem was something more substantial than that damn backpack.

I turned onto a quiet street lined with cute brick houses and groaned when I realized that each and every house had a garage.