Driving west through Pennsylvania and Ohio, Ish meets small groups of survivors, but they cling to their familiar haunts, refusing to join Ish on his journey. As he passes over the Sierra Nevada mountains, he runs headlong into a wildfire. With no one to battle it, the unchecked fire is too intense, so he detours through a small foothill town. Eventually, he returns to his parents’ house and stocks up on food from an abandoned local supermarket.

Digression: Because those who control the water make sure it is always flowing—in spite of their impending deaths—those who survive will always have running water.

Ish fights boredom by focusing on daily tasks—cooking and cleaning, taking care of the dog, Princess. With a clinical eye, he observes the environmental changes wrought by human absence: Leaves and trash litter the streets; dogs have assumed the dominant position atop the food chain, at least in the cities. As Ish walks Princess one day, a pack of dogs follows them, and he fears he might be their next meal. He makes it back to his car safely but thereafter resolves to carry a gun at all times. The bigger problem is ants. The insects swarm through the house with little to stop them, until one day they vanish.