When Nicholas awoke, he was only slightly aware of the fact that he was on the floor. What he was very certainly aware of was that every inch of him ached and his eyelids were almost swollen shut from previous crying that he didn't even know he'd done. The previous day was a blur as if he'd been drunk the entire time, even though he'd only really been drunk once or twice before the infection. The very few rays of sunlight that broke through, coming in past the glass windows and opened, previously-automatic door of the Walmart burned the parts of his eyes that were open. Very slowly, and very carefully, he pushed himself up off the floor and looked around.

A fire was still blazing nearby, signaling that Nicholas hadn't spaced Alissa's body far enough from some obviously flammable objects that were now unrecognizable. The flames weren't dangerous and were in fact dying, and as Nicholas finally recalled everything that happened, the only thing that was on his mind was that he wished the flames had engulfed him while he slept.

Then, the second thing he realized was that Mattie still had not returned. He looked around groggily, confused, disoriented. It was early morning - it couldn't have been any later than eight o'clock, but it was plenty late enough for her to have made her way out on her own.

His voice came out hoarse and cracked from thirst, crying, and grogginess. "Mattie?" he called out, as loud as he possibly could - which wasn't very.