The van comes to a truck stop are the sun goes down. It has lights on and there is a sign out front. WE ARE STILL OPEN.  BEST CHICKEN STEW. ACCEPT LAS VEGAS SCRIPT OR COMPERABLE TRADE GOODS. There are a few cars and motorcycles parked out front. In the back there is a chicken coop and a garden. The van pulls up in the parking lot and stops.

“You think we should try it?” asks Mia.

“Well, they actually have real chickens so hopefully no mystery meat in the stew” responds Shyla. “At best we might be able to find out some information on Vegas.”

“What do you think they want for payment?” asks Mia.

Shyla shrugs. “Well, we’ll find out”

The girls get out of the van and enter the truck stop. Inside they pass through the deserted gift shop and mini mart. The gift shop still has various knick-knacks that usually populated such shops. Only they were under a heavy cover of dust. The food shelves in the mini mart were bare. There was a light on in the restaurant part ahead.

The girls enter the restaurant. There are about a dozen men seated at tables. They are well armed and give the girls a hard stare. They continue to the counter where an old man who must run the place is standing. He seems like a friendly guy but is very nervous. The girls sit down at the counter.

“So, what can I do for you two young ladies?” asks the old man.

“The sign out front said you had the best chicken stew” answers Shyla. “Me and my wife here could use something to eat.”

“We can do that” answers the man. “There haven’t been any supply trucks since the war, but me and Gladys still get by.” There is an old woman in the kitchen who must be his wife. “We can raise some chickens and do a little gardening. Not much but then again, we don’t get that many visitors.”

“So how much for the stew?” asks Shyla.

“Oh, it’s no charge for you little ladies” says the man sitting at the end of the counter. He gets up and comes over to the two girls.

“That’s alright” says Shyla. “We can pay.”

“Oh, I insist” says the man. “I mean everything is on the house for us. Isn’t that right Bernie?”

The old man nervously nods. “Yes sir, Mr. Campbell” says the old man. “You and your men are always welcome here.” He then nervously leaves for the kitchen.

“That old geezer and his hag of a wife know what’s good for them” says Campbell. “So, you and your WIFE” he emphasizes the last word. “Are going to Vegas. So, you two lovebirds just coming for a visit or you plan to settle down?”

“We’re just checking the place out” answers Shyla. “I hear it’s still intact.”

“Yes, indeed it is” says Campbell. “There were a few strikes at military bases to the north, but the winds carried the chemicals to the east, so the city was spared.” He gestures at the lights. “We even have electricity from Hoover dam. The whole grid is up and running. Probably the only city on the continent that still has fully functioning power.”

“Can’t wait to see it” says Shyla.

“Of course, the wops run it fully now” says Campbell.

“The wops?” says Shyla.

“Yeah, you know the mob, the mafia” answers Campbell. “I mean they kind of already controlled the city but after the war they just directly took over. And they run a tight ship. It’s better now that they are in control. I work for Fat Louie. He is one of the top bosses with the family.”

Shyla just kept her face neutral. She had already developed an extreme dislike for Mr. Campbell. Mia was staring at Campbell, and it was obvious she shared her sentiments. Shyla was starting to get a bit worried with the armed men that were with him. She then notices the only other female in the restaurant.

The girl was a young blonde that was alone at a table. She wore jeans and a leather jacket. She also had a T-shirt with cartoon bunnies on it. Her hands were tied together, and she had a sullen and angry look about her.

“I see you notice our bunny girl” says Campbell.

“What did she do to be a captive?” asks Shyla.

“She’s not a captive” answers Campbell. “She is a” he struggles for the word. “I guess you could call her an independent contractor. You see this young girl is a mechanic. Now Fat Louie made a deal with some raider named Tyler. Tyler needs a mechanic and pays top dollar for one. Plus, it doesn’t hurt that she’s easy on the eyes if you get what I mean. Hey, you should have run into Tyler. He was coming the same way you came.”

“Was this Tyler a guy with some motorcycles and two armored pickups?” asks Shyla.

Campbell loses his phony smile. “Yeah, that sounds like Tyler” Campbell says.

“He’s not going to make it” says Shyla. “He seems to be busy feeding the vultures.”

“What!” shouts Campbell. “You saying you two dykes managed to waste Tyler?”

“No, we just found them lying around” answers Shyla. “I guess somebody really didn’t like those guys.”

Campbell nods to himself. “Yeah, somebody must have wasted him. I mean you two girls obviously couldn’t have done it”

“That would be pretty silly” says Shyla.

“That would be” says Campbell. He stands there in silent contemplation. A smile starts to form.

“That actually works out in my favor” says Campbell. “I don’t need to deliver the bunny girl. I mean as far as Fat Louie is concerned, I did and well Tyler just happened to get wasted. Fat Louie already got paid so he’s happy.”

“So, you going to let the bunny girl go?” asks Shyla.

“Are you kidding?” says Campbell. “That bitch is worth a fortune up at the slave market in Salt Lake. Beautiful women are always popular.”

“Is that so?” says Shyla.

“Yes indeed” says Campbell. “In fact, three women would make me even more money.”

Campbell strokes Shyla’s arm.

“Of course I might decide to keep you” says Campbell.

Just then the old man comes with the two bowls of stew. He is shaking as he sets the bowls down in front of Shyla and Mia. Shyla turns to Mia and they exchange a silent look that conveys they are on the same page. Mia spins her stool around to face the armed men. She rests her hands on her pistols. Shyla turns back to Campbell and a smile form on her lips.

“That is a mighty generous offer” says Shyla. “Only there is just one slight problem.”

“What’s that?” asks Campbell.

“You’re going to be too busy being dead” says Shyla.

Shyla grabs the bowl of stew and tosses it into Campbell’s face. He screams and wipes at his face. Shyla then pulls her 9mm and starts blasting away at the armed men in the diner. Mia draws her .45s and starts blasting away. The men in the diner are caught completely off guard.

The guard next to the bunny girl starts to go forward. She casually trips him and he falls to the floor accidentally shooting himself with his drawn pistol.

The two girls stop firing and survey the restaurant. There are dead bodies all over the place. Campbell is still alive and yells at Shyla.

“You bitch” Campbell says. “You think you’re going to get away with this?”

“I already did dipshit” Shyla casually says then puts three rounds into Campbell.

Shyla holsters her pistol and casually walks over to the bunny girl. The bunny girl calmly sits and watches. Shyla pulls out her knife and cuts her bound hands free.

“Thanks” says the bunny girl.

“I’m Shyla and this is my wife Mia” says Shyla.

“I’m Kenna” says the bunny girl. “Look thanks a lot for wasting those creeps. If you’ll excuse me, I must get to Vegas and rescue my wife from that fat fuck Louie.”

“Well, me and Mia are heading there, and we could give you a ride. Plus, we might be able to help you” says Shyla.

“You would do that for me?” replies Kenna. “Why would you do that?”

“Hey us girls have to stick together” answers Shyla. “What do you say the three of us sit down and have some stew and you tell us your story.”

Kenna thinks about that for a moment. “OK why not” Kenna answers.

In the morning the armored van pulls out of the underground garage next to the bunker. Shyla and Mia get out in their leather outfits. Next two motorcycles follow the van. Charlotte and Natasha are on their motorcycles. They pull up to Shyla and Mia and get off.

“Well, I guess this is where we go our separate ways” says Charlotte.

Charlotte and Natasha give their friends a hug.

“Now you two be careful” says Shyla. “Don’t take any unnecessary risks.”

“Same goes to you” answers Charlotte. “If you aren’t back when we get back, we’re coming after you.”

“Same here” answers Shyla.

Charlotte and Natasha get on their bikes and head off. Shyla and Mia get in the van that has front bucket seats. Shyla then turns to Mia.

“You ready to go?” Shyla asks.

“You bet” Mia answers. “I hope those two are going to be OK.”

“They’ll be fine” Shyla answers. She starts up the van.

“How long to Vegas?” asks Mia.

“About a 400-mile ride” answers Shyla. “We should get there in two days.”

“Think we’ll find anything?” asks Mia.

“According to the traders that pass through and radio broadcasts we intercepted, the city avoided any direct hits” answers Shyla. “The mob has taken over but otherwise the city is open for business as usual. Come on you know you can find anything in Vegas.”

The van passes through the ruins of Elko. A tossed stone from some mutants bounces off the side but otherwise they ride through without incident. They head south on a lonely desert highway.

After passing through the ruins of the town of Ely, they notice a large cloud of dust approaching them. Mia brings up a pair of binoculars. She sees some motorcycles and two pickup trucks. Everyone is heavily armed.

“Oh Oh” says Mia. “These guys do not look friendly.”

“How many?” asks Shyla.

“I count about seven motorcycles and two pickup trucks. The trucks look heavily armored” answers Mia.

“Damn I though this area was too desolate to have any raiders” says Shyla. “This van is supposed to be heavily armored with bulletproof windows. I paid a fortune to secretly get this thing outfitted.”

Just then a bullet hits the windshield and bounces off.”

“It works” yells Shyla.

Mia gets up and takes an assault rifle that was on a holder on the wall of the van. The motorcycles spit up evenly and ride alongside the van. They try to take out the tires with pistols. Mia sticks the assault rifle out of a slit in the side of the van on the right side and opens fire. The three motorcycle riders are propelled off their bikes when hit.

Shyla turns the van into the ones on the left. She manages to hit two and knock the riders flying off into the air. The other two cycles pull back farther from the van.

“Hey Mia” shouts Shyla. “Could you take care of these asshats?”

Mia goes over to the left side. Putting the assault rifle through the slit on left of the van she opens fire. The other two riders tumble from their bikes.

“That takes care of the bikes” states Mia.

The pickups hang back from the van. One guy in the back of a pickup stands up with a rocket launcher. He fires and the rocket streaks toward the van. It misses by an inch and hits a billboard up ahead. Debris from the billboard hits the van.

“Oh crap” says Shyla. “These clowns have a rocket launcher.”

Mia goes to the back door and flings it open. The pickup truck with the rocket launcher is fast approaching the van. The guy in the back has just reloaded the launcher and is about to bring it up. Mia fires off her assault rifle at the guy. A burst hits him square in the chest. The guy is thrown back and lowers the rocket launcher and fires it into the pickup. The pickup explodes.

“Hey, I got one” yells Mia.

“Great” answers Shyla. “Now get the other one.”

The other pickup picks up speed and approaches the van. Mia fires at it but the bullets bounce harmlessly off the heavy boiler plating that covers the truck. The men in back also keep down to avoid the gunfire.

Mia in frustration sets down the assault rifle. She reaches into a box and pulls out some grenades. She tosses one and it goes to the side and explodes. She tosses another and it too harmlessly explodes on the side of the road.

“Hey honey could you please quit wasting our grenades” yells Shyla.

“It’s not as easy as it looks” responds Mia.

Mia pulls the pin on the last one. She carefully looks at the distance and then tosses the grenade. The grenade bounces on the road and manages to roll under the pickup. The explosion throws the pickup into the air where it comes down and overturns, crushing the passengers. It continues to slide along the highway. Mia shuts the back door and comes up to her front seat.

“Took you long enough” say Shyla.

“Maybe if you drove straighter, I wouldn’t have had such a problem” Mia answers.

The girls drive on in silence. Mia then turns to Shyla.

“I’m hungry” says Mia.

“It’s getting late in the day. We’ll find a place to pull over and cook some food” answers Shyla.

“You think someplace is open along the way” responds Mia. “I would love to just sit down for a nice meal.”

“I wouldn’t hold my breath” responds Shyla. “But you never know”

Mia, Charlotte and Natasha are sitting around the kitchen table in the bunker. They are all in their underwear. She gets a cup of coffee and goes to Mia. Shyla gives Mia a kiss and sits down next to her.

“So now is a good time to discuss our future” announces Shyla.

“Everything seems to be going great” says Charlotte. “We have plenty of supplies to last us years. Same with the water and electric power.”

“That is true” answers Shyla. “I was lucky enough to get this bunker build and fully supplied before everything went to Hell.”

“Yah, we got plenty of time before we have to worry” says Natasha. “I mean this is pretty fun what we have.”

“Yes, this past week has been relaxing. We really needed to unwind after that ordeal” says Shyla. “But we can’t just sit around all day in our underwear watching old movies and shows, playing games or” she grabs Mia’s hand and gives her a smile, “Other pleasurable pursuits.”

“I don’t know but why not?” asked Mia. “I mean this has been like one big slumber party and what better things do we have to do?”

“All slumber parties eventually end” answers Shyla. “Look we barely survived those hordes of mutants. What if we have other large mutant hordes or well-armed raiders attack us. We need numbers to give us security. You will notice that this bunker has room to accommodate more couples. I planned to recruit more but the war came too early and only us four got here.”

“I agree that more couples would have helped” says Charlotte. “Unfortunately, it’s a little too late to recruit online now that the internet is gone. Hell, even newspapers have quit circulating.”

“True” says Shyla. “Which is why we need to actually go out and find them.”

The three women jump up to their feet.

“Shyla are you serious” says Mia. “Its dangerous out there and besides it would be like looking for a needle in a haystack.”

“I agree” says Shyla and get to her feet. “I think this is just something too important for us. I don’t expect any of you to do this. I will though go alone. I really feel strongly about this. I think God has been watching over us and will continue to do so.”

There was silence from the other girls. Mia grabs both of Shyla’s hands and holds them in hers.

“Hon you are never going anywhere without me” says Mia. “You’ll never get rid of me that easy.”

Charlotte and Natasha exchange a look and nod to each other.

“I think me and Natasha are also with you” says Charlotte. “We own our lives to you. We are all in on this crazy endeavor.”

Shyla smiles.

“Great” says Shyla. “I guess after breakfast we can go over my plan.”

Shyla and her wife Mia had survived the apocalypse. Along with their best friends Charlotte and her wife Natasha, they made it to their fortified bunker on the outskirts of Elko, Nevada. Recently their friends had gone missing on a scavenging mission inside the abandoned town.

The two women approach the outskirts cautiously. Shyla carries her shotgun with her 9mm holstered at her hip. Mia has her twin .45s holstered at her hip.

“I hope they are alright” says Mia.

“I warned them to be careful” says Shyla. “I saw signs of mutants around the area lately.”

They pause at the outskirts as Shyla checks her shotgun. Mia pulls out her pistols to be ready. The two women look at each other and there is a passionate kiss.

“I love you” says Shyla.

“I love you too” says Mia.

They then move forward, wearily scanning the empty streets. The town was a crazy patchwork of stores that looked untouched while others were burned out or looted. After the war various raiders had come killing and looting the town. The survivors had fled and what their fate was is anybody’s guess.

Suddenly some figures ran across the street. The girls bring up their guns.

“I knew there were mutants here” says Shyla.

The war had seen the use of chemical and biological weapons. These weapons caused untold deaths. Many of the survivors were hideously scared and deformed. They now traveled in groups scavenging for food. Mutants had a hatred of anyone that wasn’t scared in the war. Some traders passing through had told of reports they were turning to cannibalism.

The mutants in the surrounding buildings started to make a noise. There was loud yelling. Pipes and clubs were being banged against other pipes or walls. The din of the noise was all around the two girls.

“There seem to be a lot of them” says Mia. “What should we do?”

Shyla gets a serious look and grips her shotgun. “We have to continue on” she says. “Those girls are our best friends. I love them and couldn’t live with myself if I just gave up without trying everything in my power to find them.”

Mia nodded her head with approval. Natasha was her friend since childhood. Charlotte was Shyla’s. The two had met at their wedding and fallen in love. A month later they were married and the four had been inseparable friends ever since.

Mutants start pouring out of the buildings. Shyla and Mia blast away at the approaching horrors. Each blast of Shyla’s shotgun falls several of the mutants. Mia blasts away with her pistols and each shot takes a mutant down.

The mutants, though driven mad with their pain, still had a spark of self-preservation in them. The survivors turned and ran into the buildings to escape the accurate fire of the girls. Shyla and Mia were back-to-back covering the area a full 360 degrees.

“Well, that stopped them for a while” says Shyla.  “Come on, let’s get going”

The two girls start running down the street. They reload while on the run. Mutants from the rooftops toss bricks and stones at them. They manage to avoid them and occasionally pick off a careless mutant that exposes himself.

The girls continued and hit the main street. The mutants were working themselves into a frenzy. They started to once again charge the girls. Once again, a deadly hail of fire dropped the mutants. Only this time the maddened horde didn’t stop.

“Shyla” say Mia. “They don’t seem to be stopping”

Shyla looks around and notices the courthouse. She gestures at the courthouse to Mia.

“Get to the courthouse. It looks like a place we can hold them off” says Shyla.

The girls run to the courthouse steps and start to ascend. The mutants are getting closer. They turn and empty another volley into the approaching hordes. This seems to reawaken the self-preservation mode again and they back off. The girls run into the courthouse. Once inside they close the heavy ornate doors. Shyla finds a lock and manages to lock the doors.

Now briefly finding sanctuary, the two girls turn into each other and rest their foreheads against each other. They keep this position while recovering their strength and seemed to also draw strength from each other. They then straightened up and looked at each other.

“So now what?” asked Mia.

“I wasn’t expecting some many. If I knew we could have brought some more firepower” replied Shyla.

Shyla reaches into her pouch on her belt and pulls out some more shotgun shells.

“That’s the last for me. How about you?” asked Shyla.

Mia looks at the clips of her pistols.

“Not much I’m afraid” Mia replies.

Shyla pull out her 9mm and two clips from a pouch. She hands them over to Mia. Mia holsters her pistols and accepts the 9mm.

“You know those .45s look cool but you really should use 9mm. They have a greater magazine capacity which could come in handy like now” says Shyla.

Mia just kind of shrugs and checks to make sure the 9mm has a round in the chamber.

Suddenly there is the scream of a woman from down the hall. The two girls run down the hall. A mutant comes out of a doorway and swings an ax at Shyla. Shyla manages to evade the swing but falls to the floor. The mutant prepares to bring his ax down.

Mia manages to place a bullet in the mutant. He drops to the floor. Three other mutants come out into the hallway. She puts down all three with well placed shots. Sthe then grabs Shyla’s hand and helps her up.

“Thanks, I thought that mutant was going to cave my skull in” says Shyla. “What would I do without you?”

Mia just smiles and leans in to give Shyla a kiss. Another scream though brings both girls to look down the hall. They continue down the hall only a little more cautiously. The girls come to the entrance of the courtroom. They stop and grip their weapons more tightly.

“Ready?” asks Shyla.

“I was born ready” replies Mia.

Shyla kicks the door open. Inside the courtroom they see Charlotte and Natasha. They are before the bench bound with ropes around their hands and feet. Standing over them is a large and hideous mutant with a knife. Shyla blasts the mutant with her shotgun.

The girls run over to the bound women. They kneel and set their guns on the floor. They pull out their knives and cut the women free. They then help them to their feet. The freed women hug their rescuers. Then Charlotte and Natasha turn to each other and embrace and kiss passionately.

Shyla and Mia pick up their guns as they put their knives back in their sheaths.

“You don’t know how glad we are to see you” says Charlotte.

“I told you to be careful,” says Shyla. “What happened?”

Charlotte looks at the floor. “We were scavenging in the supermarket when they caught us. One minute everything was fine and the next they were all over the place. They quickly tied us up and carried us here” says Charlotte.

“They said they were going to eat us, yuck” says Natasha.

“I’m sorry” says Charlotte. “I know we put you in danger.”

Shyla lifts Charlotte’s head and stares her in the eye. She gives her a smile.

“The only important thing is you two are safe. You mean the world to us” say Shyla.

There is the sound of the front door to the courthouse being busted in.

“Sounds like they’re coming” says Mia.

“Definitely time to get the Hell out of here” replies Shyla.

Shyla leads the girls to the door. She makes them stop as she cautiously steps into the hallway. Down the hall a group of mutants approached. They were led by a huge one that had a deformed head that reminded you of a giant potato. He also carried an AR-15. The leader raised it and fired at Shyla. She was able to duck back into the courtroom.

“Oh great. Mr. Potato Head is armed” says Shyla.

Mia pulls out grenade from her pouch.

“How about we give Mr. Potato Head a hot potato to play with” states Mia.

A big smile lights up Shyla’s face

“What would I do without you?” says Shyla.

Mia gives her a sly smile.

“It’s a good thing you’re so damn beautiful” say Mia. “The only reason I put up with you”

Mia pulls the pin on the grenade and quickly ducks into the hallway.

“Catch” Mia yells and duck back into the courtroom.

The grenade hits Mr. Potato Head in the chest and falls to the floor. Mr. Potato Head stares dully at it. His chemically addled brain struggles to process what happened. The grenade fuse is quicker and explodes. The blast blows up Mr. Potato Head and the mutants around him.

The girls run into the hallway and step over the remains of the mutants. Charlotte notices the axe lying on the floor and picks it up. They get to the busted front door.

“OK” says Shyla. “I think the best thing we can do is just run like Hell. Fight our way through them and get home. I don’t think there are many left.”

The other girls stood around looking a bit skeptical.

“I am open to any suggestions?” says Shyla.

Charlotte steps forward hefting the axe.

“Let’s do it” she says. “I’ve had it with this scum and any that get in my way are in a world of hurt”

Shyla smiles and puts out her knife and gives it to Natasha.

“Let’s go” says Shyla.

The girls run down the steps and into the street. As they start down more mutants come out of the buildings. Shyla blasts the first two with her shotgun. Mia empties her pistol into a few. Shyla turns the empty shotgun around and uses it as a club. Mia knocks out some with the empty pistol in her hand. Charlotte uses the axe to great effect. Natasha manages to stab one in the eye with her knife.

The mutants which are now just a few have enough. Demoralized from the heavy losses they conclude that these girls were not going to be the easy pushover they first thought. The survivors turn and flee.

The girls continue without any further incident. They make it to their bunker. Shyla punches in the code at the gate of the chain link fence that surrounds the bunker. They go to the bunker which looks small from the outside.

They enter though and go down the stairway to the lower level. Here it is much bigger underground. The living room area is spacious with brown carpeting. The walls have paintings on them and there are well stocked bookshelves along the wall. There are several recliners and couches and a big screen TV. There is also a fireplace

The girls go to the couch in front of the fireplace. Shyla goes there and gets a fire started. She turns around and Charlotte and Natasha are passionately kissing. They are oblivious to anything around them. Mia sits on the other side of the couch and waits for Shyla who comes over and sits next to her.

“We did it” says Mia. “Saved our friends and managed to get out alive.”

“Just barely” says Shyla. “If I knew there were so many mutants I would have brought along some heavier firepower. From now on we always go outside heavily armed and always together. This is never happening again.

Mia just nods and casually glance at Charlotte and Natasha. She turns back to look Shyla full in the eyes.

“You know I think those two have the right idea” Mia says with a mischievous smile.

“I’ve been thinking the same thing” says Shyla with her own smile.

Shyla leans down and starts passionately kissing Mia.