The hardware store's upper floor held more than any of them expected — generators still boxed, fuel canisters stacked neatly along a back wall, camping stoves and propane tanks untouched by whatever chaos had swept through the lower level weeks earlier. Erik moved through the aisles with quiet, focused efficiency, cataloguing what mattered most while Kai and Ben worked the far side of the store, hauling supplies toward the stairwell where Penelope waited to sweep them into her space.
"This is better than I hoped," Kai said, dragging a generator free from its shelf. "Actual real, functioning electricity. I might cry."
"Save the tears for after we're home," Killian said, checking the loading dock door for signs of movement before continuing past it. "We're not finished yet."
