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The button flashed signaling it was searching for a response. Bryan stood up from his chair and walked over to the refrigerator. Opening it he pulled out a beer. He opened it and started drinking.

Bryan didn’t know how long it would take for his connection to get reestablished so he had an idea. He would go out and grab a few more cans of supplies from the grocery store. There were enough food in the house, but he wasn’t sure how the weather would be during the next few days.

Bryan returned to his house. He carried a bag with cans of pasta, chili, soft drinks and a six pack of beer. They would be enough to last him almost a week. Bryan returned to his chair and sat down. A half finished beer sat beside the chair. He drank from it. The can was almost room temperature, but was good enough.

The screen flashed and blinked. It didn’t appear anything was happening. Bryan decided to get into his beer more before figuring out what else he could do.

He woke up in his bed. Bryan didn’t know what time it was or how he got there. It was dark both in his apartment and outside. Taking a breath he reached for his lamp. The light switched on. He was relieved there was still electricity. Bryan walked out of the room and into the bathroom. Next he went to check on his computer.

There still wasn’t a message or any sign of connection. It had been over six hours since he last remembered. Figuring he should get some more sleep Bryan headed back to bed.

Morning didn’t bother him. Even with it’s silence he felt comfortable. Bryan simply lay down on the bed and stared into the ceiling. He dozed off again. Bryan woke up. He didn’t know how long time passed. Crawling out of bed he made it the computer.

There were no messages from the man. Bryan sat down in the chair and checked the time on the clock. It was after 2 p.m. He wondered where the time went. Bryan grabbed a soft drink out of the refrigerator. After taking a big swig he figured it would be a good idea to get some bottled water or juice to last him a few extra days.

Bryan figured he would get around to checking empty homes to see if there were extra supplies. It might be a long time while before people return. He loaded the juice into his fridge. The water he just placed on the floor.

Bryan returned to his computer and stared at the screen. Nothing happened. No message and no signal. Bryan brought up a game. He played it for half an hour before getting and idea.

He stood up and found his flashlight. To pass the time he would check the houses in the next block. There were four houses. As far as he knew they all left the town when the quarantine was placed around the town. Bryan didn’t know whether anyone died in the houses, but he figured it would be a good idea for him to tough it out. Maybe they would have something he didn’t find in one of the stores.

Bryan rechecked the computer. He looked for any way to boost his signal with the new programs given to him. There was nothing. He took a deep breath figured it was time to check the houses. Maybe they’ll give him something more than food and alcohol.

The door to the first house creaked open. Bryan felt glad someone left it unlocked. He waited a minute, "Is anyone home?"

He didn’t want to announce his presence, but felt better saying something. Bryan waited. There was no sound. It made sense. The people was one of the first family evacuated from the town. They left as soon as the first trucks drove by announcing the quarantine and the safe zone just outside of the town.

Bryan walked through the living room. It was large. The room was almost as large as his entire living room and kitchen. Bryan stopped at a shelf of movies. A lot were ones he had seen or at least knew of. Not being impressed with the selection he walked into the kitchen.

It was decent sized with extra appliances he might use in case his stopped working. Bryan walked over to the large two door refrigerator. Swinging the freezer side open he found a selection of frozen meat and vegetables. He hoped for find frozen pizzas and other meals.

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