As he approached the edge of the suburban streets, he began to look around to see what was taking place around the area.

He had only traveled a couple miles, but the scenery and atmosphere had quickly changed from the secure quietness of the city to a somewhat cluttered  landscape filled with distraught houses and a moderately large field to his right.

The sun looked as if it was about quarter day, which was a little concerning.  He knew that would only leave him about half a day to explore and start his trek back to the city.

There were various plumes of black smoke rising across the horizon, so it was evident there were quite a few residents in the area.  The only question was who.

The only weapon he had for protection was Sam, which was good for a bash or two, but would not really withstand any prolonged engagement.

He played with his grip on the suitcase as if testing in his mind how he would swing it if he had to.

To his left was a string of houses, with a couple figures walking around the front of a house that was obviously occupied.

He decided to approach and get a feel for the area.

As he stepped closer he was greeted by an average height man who looked to be in his mid to late 30's.  He was unshaven and dirty, holding a wrench in his left hand.

"Greetings.", he said to the man as he shifted his grip once again on his suitcase.

"Hey! What's up?", the man said as he continued toward what appeared to be the remnant of a vehicle.

"Hi, I was wondering if you could give me some directions?"  He set his suitcase down making a mental note of the position of the handle in case he had to lunge for it.

"Directions?  Well, in front of you is Scott, that's me, behind you is hell and if you keep walking in the direction you were headed, you should hit the abyss by the end of the day."

"Oh, sorry.  My friends call me Lunk.  Well, at least they used to when I had friends."

"I won't tell you what my friends call me, but you can call me Scott."

The second man who was almost hidden completely behind the vehicle slowly poked his head around and into sight, "Don't let him fool ya, he ain't got no friends neither.", he said in a gruff rumbling voice and he bellowed out a huge laugh.

"My name is Pete, where you headed Lunk?"

"I was hoping to do a little exploring and maybe find a little food."

"You got anything for trade?", said Scott with an almost eager anticipation as he looked at the suitcase on the ground.

"Not much.  I have a few articles of clothing, a pair of socks, some cardboard, a blanket and a couple ibuprofen."

"Ooh, we have a winner!", said Pete in his growl.

"Alright! What should we give 'em Pete?", asked Scott.

"How about a squirrel?  How many those profen's you got?", said Pete.

"Well, I think I have five or six, but I would like to keep a couple, how about i give you three?", said Lunk.

"Three, huh?  Squirrel gonna cost you four, but it's already cooked and all.", said Pete.

"Cool, good trade.", said Lunk.

Lunk pulled his suitcase down and opened it up.  Scott watched over his shoulder to see if there was any treasure that perhaps was not mentioned in the conversation.

He was surprised to see the contents were exactly as Lunk described.

"Do you mind if I eat here?", asked Lunk.

"Not at all, we can sit here and make fun of Scott if you want.", said Pete.

The three of them laughed, and for a brief moment joy filled the air as a quick glimpse of the old world seemed to illuminate around them.

The squirrel was good, even though it was a few days old.  Much fresher than anything Lunk had eaten in weeks.

He decided to spend some time here and learn more about the burbs before venturing too much further in.  But if the residents were anything like the two he just met, he felt like luck would be on his side.