alice and ko ko had split up. alice ran into the ((where is this taking place? desert? woody area? corn fields? what?)) while ko ko doubled backed and returned to the house. squall had disappeared and so had his car. in the garage, ko ko threw a bunch of gear into the back of her truck. squall had always seemed like a decent guy, but if there was trouble, ko ko wanted to be prepared. guns, ammo, and three camping gear sets were placed in her 1979 FJ55 land cruiser, the iron pig, along with the usual gear always kept in there for off-roading emergencies. she backed out of the garage, but then remembered something.
there was eric, still standing by the cat lady's house, holding onto poor tickle by the collar. "hey kid, wanna hop in?"