Tribes

by Mia Frances

she grabbed up the empty pack and, spying trail meals hanging from a display, quickly dumped them in. She still had room to spare. Passing an overturned shelf of soap, she picked up several bars and threw them in too. Discovering large bags of popping corn perched atop what had once been the vegetable bins, Alex filled the pack to the brim, strapped the flap down, and then stuffed the side pouches with more. Small and light to carry, one bag could provide enough food for a meal for all of them. It wasn't very nutritious, but at least it would be filling, quiet their hunger for a while. All she needed was something to pop it in. Alex noticed some rectangular-shaped, long-handled utensils hanging on a nearby wall. On closer inspection, she realized they were old-fashioned, campfire popcorn poppers. She grabbed two of them, figuring they could probably be used for other things too. Hanging next to them were a dozen, aluminum foil pans of Jiffy Pop®. She took them too. Alex pushed and shoved, straining the seams, trying to fit as much as she could into the packs. What she couldn't put inside, she strapped to the outside. That was it. She couldn't carry anymore.