Epilogue
Moe
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Moe unlocked the front door of the grocery store just after sunrise. The metal handle was cool beneath his palm, and the morning air carried that strange Everstill stillness he'd grown used to. Jillian stood beside him, her hand brushing his arm as she stepped inside.
The bell over the door chimed. He took three steps inside and stopped. Something was wrong.
He grabbed Jillian's hand, keeping her at his side. The store was too quiet. The air smelled stale, like the building had been closed for years.
Jillian. "Moe?"
He stared down the aisles, studying the shelves. There were empty spaces.
Half the canned goods were gone. Rows of pasta were missing. The cereal aisle looked like someone had taken everything except two lonely boxes shoved to the back.
"Oh, no." Jillian's breath caught. "This isn't right."
Every week like clockwork, the store would be restocked while the residents were sleeping.
No one knew who brought the food. There were theories that it magically appeared because several of them had tried to stay up and watch for any movement around the store.
But without fail, one morning a week, he unlocked the doors and the shelves were stocked.
Nourishment was one of the few constants in this place. Food appeared. Shelves filled. Produce refreshed. If the men didn't want to cook at home, they could go to the restaurant. It was the town's heartbeat.
"What day is it?" he asked.
"I...I don't know." Jillian closed her eyes. "Let me think." She groaned and blinked. "Tuesday, or maybe Wednesday. God, it's so hard to keep track of the days living here."
Moe moved quickly, his pulse hammering as he headed toward the produce section. Jillian followed, her steps sharp and uneven.
When they reached the bins, she grabbed his arm.
The tomatoes and cucumbers hadn't been refilled. The lettuce was brown, wilted, collapsing in on itself like it had been left out too long.
"Why weren't they refilled?" Her voice trembled. "What's happening?"
He didn't know. And that terrified him more than anything Everstill had ever done.
"We're locking the store," he said, forcing his voice to stay steady. "Nobody gets in. Nobody takes anything."
There was no way to leave Everstill to get groceries. They counted on the food supply. Without nourishment...
She nodded, panic rising in her eyes. "What do we do?"
There was no reason to hide anything from Jillian. She'd jumped to the same conclusion as him.
"We ration what we have," Moe said. "Until the next delivery."
Jillian swallowed hard. "What if there isn't one?"
"I don't know," he muttered.
They locked the store tight and hurried down the sidewalk to the restaurant. Copper was in the kitchen, wiping down a counter like it was any other morning. He looked up when they walked in, and Moe could see the question forming on his face.
"We've got a problem," said Moe.
"Let's step out where it's cooler." Copper shut off the stove where a pot bubbled with water and motioned for them to go through the door. Moe grabbed Jillian's hand and led her into the main part of the kitchen. Only Levi and Wade sat at a booth at the front of the restaurant.
Copper tossed his hand towel over his shoulder. "What do you need to talk about?"
Moe turned away from the others and met Copper's gaze. "The store delivery never came."
The old man frowned, tilting his head. "You're sure?"
"Do you really think I'd fuck around and make something like this up?" Moe exhaled harshly. "We only have enough food for a month if we ration it all. Most of it will spoil before then. Once the others learn, we'll have more trouble on our hands."
The lights flickered.
Once. Twice.
Then everything went black.
The hum of the pie cooler died. The entire building fell silent.
Jillian grabbed Moe's arm. He held on to her, prepared for anything. "Stay close to me."
Moe didn't wait for an answer. He kept Jillian's hand firmly in his as they hurried out of the restaurant, Copper close behind.
The moment they stepped into the street, he stopped.
Everstill was dark.
Every porch light had gone out. The streetlamps stood lifeless beneath the gray morning sky, and the glowing windows that usually welcomed the dawn reflected nothing but darkness. Even the restaurant's neon sign behind them had gone black.
People were already spilling from their homes, their voices low and uncertain as they drifted toward the courthouse lawn. Confused faces turned from one powerless building to the next, each person silently searching for someone who could explain what had happened.
Moe lifted his eyes to the sky.
No wind stirred the trees.
No clouds crossed the pale morning light.
The town was unnaturally still, as though the world itself had paused.
Jillian's fingers tightened around his. "There's no electricity anywhere."
Moe slowly turned in a circle, taking it all in. The grocery store hadn't been restocked. Now the power was gone. The two things no one had ever questioned were their food supply and electricity. The two things they needed to survive.
A knot tightened in his chest.
Everstill had stopped feeding them. And now they had no power, as if the veil had given up on them.
"We're fucked," he said quietly.