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could. But things have changed in a way you will never know.”
    She turned behind her to the provincial forest on the other side of the fence and gazed through the trees, searching; it had been a conservation area and a sanctuary for the animals. Then she stood and looked all around her as far as she could see.
    “This stillness is unbelievable. Even the animals Jon. I don’t know how I’m going to deal with this.”
    She knelt down again.
    “Bless you sweetheart. I’ll love you forever and… I suspect I’ll be joining you soon.”
    She pulled a small jewelry box from her pocket, opened it, and held a locket in her fingers. Inside she had placed a picture of the two of them together. She slid off her wedding band and put it in the box as well. Then she tucked the package over his heart and wrapped the blanket securely around him again, covering his face.
    “Don’t you laugh at my sentimentality Jon — under the circumstances, it really isn’t funny.”

Chapter Five
    As the Crow Flies
    (January 15th, Year One, PA)
     
     
    Kate trudged through the shallower, knee-high drifts wherever possible, aware of the trickle of melting snow streaming into the gutters, the handle of a hammer sticking out of her coat pocket. She pushed across her front yard and up the curving steps to Wendy’s garden, finally jiggling the latch to her neighbour’s front door. Then she pulled out her hammer and shattered the glass.
    I t seemed extraordinarily hot in there; a horrible stench hit her immediately, and she backed out onto the porch, gasping, and coughing a hacking cough. Holding her coat collar up to her nose, she re-entered, devastated that her friend was on the floor close to the entranceway. The gas fireplace was still burning.
    “Oh Wendy,” she cried. “Somehow, out of everyone — I thought you might have survived this.”
    Stepping around the body she proceeded to the kitchen and opened the fridge. There was jam, almond butter, cranberry juice, a package of processed cheese slices, carrots, onions, and potatoes; everything else was not worth the risk. She laid the items out on the counter and began to search the cupboards, selecting canned beans, instant soup, salsa, and an assortment of crackers, cookies and chips.
    While packing the food into bags, a sudden clang of metal left her standing still, trying to figure out what it was; it had come from another room, not too far away. Then, after a second abrupt twang, she slowly pulled a knife out of the cutlery drawer.
    Kate was not small in stature, a lmost as tall as Jon — who had not only trained her in self-defence, he’d been fairly impressed by the manoeuvres she’d proven worked on him. But, in her sapped condition and a gazillion unknowns still to be resolved she regretted even leaving the house.
    Dashing past Wendy to the entranceway, she was nearly out on the porch when a disparaging peep stopped her in her tracks. She sighed with relief and gazed across the room. How could she have forgotten? Keeping the knife just in case, she crept around the corner past Wendy’s bedroom and peered into the office doorway at the end of the hallway.
    “ Oh God… you’ve got no food or water,” she exclaimed, gaping into the tall cage that was sitting on top of a table. “Where has my mind been?” Two sparsely feather cockatiels, one white and one grey, stared at her with eyes that bulged in desperation. She promptly opened their door and they staggered out onto the table.
    She put water down for them immediately, and while they drank, poured out a generous amount of their seed mixture. “As soon as the weather permits, the three of us are heading south, my friends — and not stopping until it’s warm! Not until we are on the beach and under the sun. What do you think about that, eh? As the crow flies my friends.”
    As the two of them dug into their food, s he regarded them thoughtfully. “I’ve got a load of groceries to drop off — but I’ll be back for you