Frankie snorted. "I think California was supposed to slide into the ocean?"
"Be glad it didn't," Roark replied, "or I never would have found your frozen ass."
Frankie stuck his tongue out.
Sawyer chuckled. He forgot just how much those two used to bicker. Of course, it was all in good fun. They were totally devoted to each other. They reminded him of his relationship with Stefan, minus the bickering.
"Anyone hungry?" he asked. "There's a supply pantry downstairs full of food."
"Wait." Roark held up his hand. "If the doors were open like you said, how come this place wasn't cleaned out before now?"
"Everything on the main level was cleaned out," Sawyer explained. "This stuff is down in the supply room, which was still closed up until I opened it."
"No one was in there?" Frankie asked. "Isn't that what the damn thing was built for? To hide people in case of an invasion?"
"Like the secret entrance, I don't think people had a chance to get there before the mechs were on them. I found several bodies in the corridor leading to the bunker entrance and signs of a gun battle just outside the door. The storage room was untouched."
He'd found the same thing at all the entrances into the complex. The first few days of being here had been hard, especially when it came time to remove all the bodies and bury them. He tried to keep track of as many as he could so there was some sort of list of the dead in case their families survived and wanted to know.
Maybe he should mention that to Roark.
"I kept a list of those I buried," he began. "I couldn't identify all of them, but most either had dog tags or ID badges. I figured the families might want to know what happened to their loved ones."
Roark gave a curt nod. "I'll take the list back to headquarters."
"How are you going to explain who buried them?" Frankie asked.
"I'll just tell them that we buried the dead. They don't need to know about Sawyer."
"There are still areas of the complex I haven't been able to access. I don't know if there are more bodies or not."
"Could there still be people alive in here?" Roark asked.
"I don't think so." Sawyer winced as he imagined anyone still being alive inside the massive complex. He didn't understand how they could survive. "The mechs did a pretty good job of tearing the place apart."
"It probably wouldn't hurt to try and get into those places you haven't explored," Roark said, "even if it's just to make sure there are no bodies in there."
"I've been trying, but without electricity, I can't get the doors open. They're sealed up tight."
"Maybe we can take a look at a few of these doors." Roark rubbed his stomach. "After we eat."
Sawyer chuckled. "How long has it been since you've had a Twinkie?"
Frankie swallowed so hard, Sawyer could see his throat muscles move. "You have Twinkies?"
Sawyer nodded. "Five or six cases of them."
Roark's eyebrows lifted. "Seriously?"
Sawyer nodded again. "Yeah. Twinkies, Oreos, Ho-Hos. There's cases of them in the storage room." He shrugged. "I guess the soldiers here had a real sweet tooth."
"Do you know how much you could trade a single Twinkie for?" Dahl asked.
Sawyer snorted. "I could get more for the toilet paper."
Dahl's jaw dropped. "You have toilet paper?"
"Dahl, my man, there are pallets of toilet paper in storage."
