Vanish by Tom Pawlik Page A

nothing of what may happen after sundown.”
    They looked at each other for a moment. Conner could see a grim resolve grow on Mitch’s face. “Let’s get moving.”
    The boy climbed into Conner’s car and Mitch opted to stay on his motorcycle. They agreed it would be best to use both vehicles. Maybe they could split up and cover more highway space.
    They headed back into town. Mitch pulled on ahead, following the main street into the business district. Conner could see he was scanning the stores on either side of the road.
    After a few miles, he swerved into a large strip mall and parked outside Earl’s Sporting Goods. Conner pulled up next to him.
    “I thought of a few things we might need,” Mitch said. “There’s a Jewel over there if you wanna get some dried goods and water.”
    “Right.”
    Conner and the boy headed into the grocery store and perused the aisles. Conner grabbed a shopping cart and began stocking up on snack crackers, granola bars, and beef jerky. Anything he thought might last without being refrigerated. Neither he nor Mitch had acknowledged it, but eventually the electricity was bound to go out with no one manning the power plants.
    Conner made a mental note to stop by a hardware store to find a gas-powered generator. He’d also need plenty of gas cans and floodlights. If their theory was correct, they would need as much light as possible after sundown.
    Then Conner realized he had lost track of the boy.
    “Hey, kid?”
    A moment later the boy showed up in the aisle grinning and lugging an armload of bottled water.
    Conner nodded. “Good thinking.”
    All in all, they filled two shopping carts with supplies and wheeled them out to the car, where Mitch was waiting.
    Mitch showed them what he had picked up at Earl’s: three rifles, a pair of shotguns, three handguns, and a few dozen boxes of ammo.
    Conner raised an eyebrow. “I thought you said your bullets didn’t faze that thing?”
    Mitch shrugged. “My aim may have been a little off. Never hurts to be prepared.” Then he showed them a pair of two-way radios he had also found. “I figure we’ll need to keep in touch if we have to split up.”
    Conner scratched his head. “You know, I was thinking we may need to get a generator, too, and some floodlights. The power’s bound to go out eventually.”
    Mitch eyed Conner’s car and shook his head. “You’re gonna need a bigger vehicle.”
    They looked at each other and then at the auto dealership across the street.
    Fifteen minutes later, Conner rolled out of the lot in a spotless black Hummer.
    The boy ran his hand along the leather seat and looked at Conner. Conner just shrugged. “I left them my credit card.”
    A few blocks farther down, he pulled into an Ace Hardware store. They loaded the back of the Hummer with two gas generators, ten halogen floodlights, a dozen gas cans, and a few other items they had thought of along the way. Then they stopped at a Shell station across the street and filled up the Hummer, the gas cans, and Mitch’s tank as well.
    Mitch started up his cycle and gestured over his shoulder. “I’ll head over to the tollway; if you want to, park someplace on Highway 41. If anyone’s heading into Chicago from the north, they’re bound to take one of those routes.”
    Conner nodded. “Sounds good.” He held up the two-way. “I’ll be on channel two.”
    “Gotcha.” Mitch pulled out and headed west.
    Conner turned east. After a few more blocks, he connected with Highway 41 and turned south. He figured he’d stop at the point where he had first encountered Mitch. He wasn’t normally superstitious, but it seemed as good a place as any.
    He rolled to a stop in the middle of the southbound lane and shut the engine off. The cloud bank was getting closer and showed no sign of clearing up.
    He surveyed their surroundings. They were a good distance from any type of shade, so if there were any of those creatures about, they wouldn’t get too close. That is,