“I am not alone.” 

He said that to himself over and over. And truly he wasn’t. His group was currently at eight. It had swelled to twelve last year but one family wandered off in the winter and did not return. But there were times when it felt like the opposite. Most had partnered up, made mini families. He wasn’t very social in the before times and he naturally held true to that style now as well. But being in this group was important. It allowed for mutual protection and aid. A better lifestyle than being alone and scavenging for everything.  Susie was the youngest, a daughter of Mark and Jen. She would sometimes come over to him and ask youthful questions. At first he was annoyed by her, but now he smiled as she approached.
“Did I tell you about the dinosaur I saw in that magazine?” she asked, her eyes gleaming with pride.
“Yeah you did, but tell me again.” He didn’t fault her for the conversation. It wasn’t necessary but it was soothing on an audible sensory nerve.
Mark was friendly enough, but Jen was wary of him. She would often collect Susie quickly when she noticed them together.
The other four in the group were two couples, Benjamin and Sylvie were in their sixties like him. They knew of the world before and he felt comfort in that, having someone else who could relate. Benjamin’s health has been declining and he knew one day soon some decisions would have to be made. Sylvie knew it as well. You could see it in her eyes. The last of the group were Donald and Preston. They had met scavenging, and whether out of true love or necessity they had paired up. They were both strong, and good hunters. He knew they were the strength of the group, but they mostly kept to themselves. He looked at his group of eight, all survivors, huddled in a small house in a small town. He knew the world was failing, or at best continuing the descent to the end, but he took one small comfort still,
“I am not alone.”