Much to my surprise, Johnny from across the street was already onboard along with the Pitts. How glad I was to see them all safe and sound ,although saddened to learn we, along with the Widow Montgomery, were the only survivors on the street. Johnny explained how he had found the elderly woman beneath a pile of rubble where her house had once stood. Bravely, he had stayed with her until our rescuers appeared. The Pitts were not so grateful. Keeping their faces long and their eyes hard, they commenced to complain about the cramped quarters in the military vehicle and how they had been inconvenienced in a million different ways by both the explosion and the handling they received by the soldiers.

"And keep those two brats away from us, if you don't mind, Mr. Stevens," Mrs. Pitt announced as she clutched her patent leather purse close into her lap.

The tone of her voice set me off. As much as I would have liked to have kept my cool, I couldn't resist speaking out. "You should consider yourself lucky to be alive, Imelda Pitt. Marcy and Marv are the last thing you have to worry about. Just look at us. Of the entire neighborhood, only eight of us survived. You were fortunate to be amongst us."

Before she could say anything to rebuke my statement, the vehicle we were riding in took a tremendous jolt. Shouting could be heard all around us along with the sound of glass breaking and the crackle of fire. "Looters!" one of the soldiers announced as he entered our compartment. "We're in for a bumpy ride. A group of them have climbed aboard and are attempting to breach the portal. We're going to plow our way through."

A bumpy ride wasn't the half of it. With crying twins and grumbling Pitts, not to mention worry about Ginger's and Mrs. Montgomery's conditions, we finally made it to the safety of the nearest army base. Although we were all hospitalized, we were all survivors. On my wife's request, my in-laws were transported to the same base and kept in isolation until the evil strain of Quantric was eradicated from their systems.

Although the hated war still rages on unnecessarily, we are all located in a place of security and under military observation. How long it's going to last is hard to tell. We were all exposed to Quantric and went through a traumatic experience, but we survive and thrive. I would say we were all as satisfied with the circumstances as could be permitted but, alas, the Pitts will never be satisfied with anything no matter where they are. They still grumble every time the twins go near them but...such is life...especially life in wartime.