The drive to the highway was full of bickering between Simone, Kaz and Andy. Since there wasn't enough room, Kaz had to sit on Lacie's lap, which she was sort of okay with. It's not like Kaz was too heavy. Simone sat in the middle, squished between Andy and Lacie.

Lacie had to admit, being around this many people in a little space was weird. Also, it was really warm. Sleepiness fell heavily upon her.

"Hey, Kaz?"

"Yeah, hun?"

"Can I take a nap?"

"Sure." She leaned forward and settled her cheek against his back, putting her arms around him.

"Does this work?"

"It's alright. Now go to sleep."

"Okay." Lacie yawned, closing her eyes. Kaz was actually pretty comfortable. 

Music started to play softly, ironic since it was metal. 

"Kaz, is she asleep?" Andy whispered.

"I think so," Kaz replied. The music turned up a little louder.

"What the hell is happening?" At that exact time, a huge, low boom came from behind them. Simone whirled and gaped out the back window.

"Holy shit," she whispered in shock. "I think someone just bombed the school."

"SHIT! DAVE! AND RAMSEY" Kaz almost shouted. "I completely forgot with all that's been going on, shit shit shit shit shit!"

"Who's Dave, and who's Ramsey?"

"We've got to go back!"

"We're not fucking turning around, Kaz."

"We have to!"

"No, we don't."

"I'm gonna hurt you." Andy took her eyes off the road and glared.

"If you want to hurt me, you're going to have to wait until we're out of this truck, unless you want to die." Kaz's silence answered her. "I thought so. Now, all other things aside, what the actual fuck are we gonna do?"

"I have no idea."

"Well, we're screwed."

"Okay, how is Lacie still asleep?" She wasn't, not really. She was wide awake now. All of this, this Purge-y stuff, was suddenly real. Laws didn't exist. Chaos reigned. Nothing could stop anyone now.

It was scary as heck.

"I have no idea," Andy sighed. 

Silence fell on them like a weighted blanket for a while. Then, Lacie fell asleep. For real this time.

~~~~~~

"Lacie. Lacie. Wake up." 

"No."

"Yes, you goof. Now come on, we have to hurry." Lacie opened her eyes at the sound of Andy's urgent voice. Kaz had gotten off of her, and Simone was... well, she didn't know where. The other girl's hand was on her shoulder, shaking her awake.

"Alright, I'm awake." She tried to stifle a yawn.

"Okay, now get your lazy ass up and let's get a move on. Most of the stores have already been hit, but we found this sheltered strip mall that looks promising."

Andy pretty much dragged a half-asleep Lacie out of the car. Once she was sure Lacie could keep up, Andy let go of her hand. Lacie couldn't say she wasn't disappointed.

After all, she did have a huge crush on Andy.

A few yards away, Simone and Kaz were leaning against the brick building. Simone held a large, aluminum baseball bat, and Kaz had a meat tenderizer.

"What the heck?! Why a meat tenderizer?"

Kaz shrugged. "It gets the job done. Plus, you know, I do like to beat some meat." Andy rolled her eyes and interrupted before Lacie understood the joke.

"Okay, guys, come on." They all looked up at the strip mall and sighed. "Hey, it's better than nothing."

The first store, a huge clothing department, bore them with armloads of clothes. Not brand-name, but still fashionable.

The next, a small tech shop, got them almost nothing, since they didn't know how to set up the phones. 

After that was a restaurant, which they didn't even bother trying.

Next, finally, was a Dick's Sporting Goods. Andy whooped in joy.

"I'm going to bring the truck over, because there's no way in hell all the stuff I take will be able to be carried between the four of us." Lacie, Simone and Kaz exchanged exasperated looks before walking into the store.

"Okay, calm your asses down, we're not gonna hurt you," Kaz yelled, annoyed. People were hiding behind registers and shelving units, albeit not very well. "Well, unless you try to stop us. Then we will."

Once Andy got there, it was a party. They grabbed clothes and shoes and water bottles and hats and everything else they could ever want.

Then, they found some weapons. Just a couple hunting knives and hatchets, but Andy was elated all the same. 

"Now we can actually defend ourselves! Hallelujah!" She tore a long-bladed knife from its package and looked around for a sheath. Once she found it, she strapped it around her leg and slipped the knife inside it.

"Damn, now I look even hotter!"

"Damn right sis!" Kaz said, tucking an arm around her. They took a quick mirror selfie and went back to the others.

"Is everyone ready to go?"

"I think so. Can I change first?"

"No problem, Little Flower. We'll wait in the truck for you."

"Actually, there were a few more things I'd like to pick up," Simone added. Andy nodded and hugged her.

"See you in a few." Lacie hurried off to the bathrooms, her arms laden with clothes. She ignored the urge to try on all the new items she'd picked and put on a pair of black workout leggings, a black hoodie with a matte black Nike logo, and tucked a black Adidas hat with white piping over her head.

"Simone?" There wasn't a reply. Lacie started to panic. What if someone got her and she wasn't able to defend herself?

She raced frantically through the store, calling Simone's name.

"Calm down, I'm right here." She appeared from behind a shelving unit with a large backpack in her hands, stuffed to the brim with the things she'd taken. "Now let's go back before Andy throws a hissyfit."

They went back to the truck in silence. Kaz resumed his position on top of Lacie, Simone in the middle. 

"Where to next?"

"Anywhere. I've got enough shit to last me another life."

"Home."

"I agree. There are some things I'd like to take care of."

"Alrighty then, off we go."

"Hey, can we stop for food? I'm hungry."

"There's probably no one working there, you idiot."

"Yeah, but we can like rob a store and shit."

"You've got a point there."

"C'mon, drive faster! I wanna get home!"

"I gotta pee!"

"My legs are going numb."

"It's kinda cold in here."

"What are you even saying, it's hot as heck!"

By the time they got back to their small town, everyone had argued with everyone at least once. 

"Now, Kaz can go look for his little boyfriends-"

"Shut up, Andy!"

"-and we can do something productive." Kaz fidgeted.

"Can we get going already?"

"Yeah, let's go."

Andy once again kicked the truck into gear and headed back to the school.