Apocalypsis 01 - Kahayatle

Peter’s going to be?”
    “Don’t forget to add gardener to your list,” I reminded him.
    “Of course.   I have promised you tomatoes and you will haff dem.   I just haff to find some seedts.”
    “I have some.   In the backpack.   My dad bought them for me … before he died.”
    “Oh,” said Bodo more quietly.   “Dat’s nice dat he did dat for you.   He wass a good guy, huh?”
    “Yeah.   He was a good guy.   A really good guy.”   I think he would have liked my two friends a lot.   Peter, because of how strong he ended up being, even with all the adversity he’d suffered, and Bodo, because of his boundless energy and constant happiness, despite all the reasons he had to be sad.
    “My job is going to be getting our food stores set up and contingency plans in place.   I also like to cook,” said Peter.
    “I have no idea what my jobs are going to be, other than teaching you guys how to do some krav maga.”
    “You are in charch of our defenses.   Dat’s important.   Maybe one of da most important thingks.   Without good defenses, we will be da dinner.”
    I don’t know why, but his words made me feel good - like I was important to our group.
    We continued on for another two hours in relative silence before Peter spoke up.   “Do you guys mind if we stop?   I’m tired and really hungry.”
    “No, I think it’s a good idea.   How about we stop at a car this time?   This part of the highway seems kind of abandoned.   I haven’t heard any sounds or seen any lights up ahead at all,” I said.   “Maybe we could sleep on the seats or something … have a comfortable bed for a change.”
    “I’m okay to rest for a while,” said Bodo.
    I pulled up next to a large SUV that was parked on the shoulder.   I got off my bike and walked around it, putting my face up to the darkly tinted windows, making sure there weren’t any surprises within.   I don’t know what I expected to see, but I did it anyway.   Nothing seemed out of the ordinary.
    Bodo tried all the doors and they were locked.
    “Well, that’s dumb,” said Peter.   “Who locks the doors of a car that’s out of gas when there’s no more gas around?”
    “Someone who owned the car, I guess.   Old habits die hard.”
    Bodo went over to the side of the road and came back with a rock, using it to smash the driver’s side window so he could reach inside to unlock the doors.
    I went over to the passenger side and climbed in, putting Buster down on the floor in the back seat.   He immediately sniffed around, investigating all the parts of the car that might have crumbs for small dogs lying around.
    Bodo reached over and opened up the glove box.   I pulled things out of it, wondering why I’d never thought about doing this before.   People usually kept all kinds of good things in their cars.   This one had maps and a small flashlight, which I tested and found still worked.   I stuck it in the waistband of my pants.
    Peter was in the back seat.   “Hey!   There’s gum back here.”
    He handed a piece up to me and Bodo - they were kind of sad-looking, having suffered the Florida heat for who knows how long.   I stuck mine in my pocket for after dinner.   “Anything else?”
    “Nope.   There’s a gas can in the back but it’s empty.   And a blanket.”
    “We’ll take the blanket.   We have room on the trailer, I think.”
    I got out of the car and went over to the trailer, pulling out the things we’d need for our dinner.   Bodo came around to help me, and together we set up the small camp stove, the pan and got the noodles and sauce ready.  
    “Um, guys?” asked Peter from the car.
    “Yeah,” answered Bodo, busy screwing on the canister of fuel to the stove.  
    “I think you should come here for a minute.”
    “What is it?” I asked, busy organizing the few dishes and utensils we had, to try and make a real event of this meal.  
    “Just come here, please.”   His voice had taken on a new urgency, so I put the things down I was messing with and walked over.  
    “What’s so dang important that you couldn’t just tell me …?”   My voice trailed off as my brain tried to fully appreciate what my eyes were seeing.   “Are those …?”
    “I think so,” said Peter in a hushed voice.   “No wonder the doors were locked.”
    “What’s up, guys?” asked Bodo over my shoulder.  
    I stepped back so he could take a look.
    “Whoa.   Dose are tiny bombs!” he said excitedly.