Arrival at the surplus store

You follow Ritter's instructions, passing the mall on your way in the opposite direction. You pass through battered commercial buildings, your eyes flicking across the darkened sockets of windows fearful of another ambush. Ritter seems nervous too, surprised by being caught unaware at the roadblock. If you'd tried to go around...

You shake the thought from your mind and turn where Ritter points. The dead strip malls and shopping plazas give way to wrecked row houses. Some of these brick structures have been partially gutted by fires, but many seem fairly intact.

"There," says Ritter as he points to a red brick building on the corner of the street ahead.

You pull to a stop outside.

"Keep your hand off your gun," Ritter warns. "If Old Bill is alive in there then he's gonna be the nervous type. The shoot-you-in-the-head nervous type."

You nod.

"You sure he isn't going to just shoot us anyway?" You ask.

"No," Ritter admits, "but I don't think so."

You step out of the van onto the silent street. The vehicles here are mostly intact, although they have broken windows and slashed tires. The pyromaniacs that torched the cars in the mall lot apparently haven't made it here.

There is no sign marking the surplus store and the entrance is below the street level at the bottom of a flight of steps. You and Ritter descend them cautiously. The door is a heavy iron door with a viewing slot. As you reach out to knock on it a speaker squawks.

"HANDS UP AND HANDS OFF THE DOOR!" The voice declares.

You and Ritter both raise your hands. The viewing slot bangs open and you see a pair of bloodshot eyes. They are only there for a moment before being replaced by the barrel of a shotgun. In the confines of the stairwell one pull of the trigger and both you and Ritter are dead.

"Get out of here," the man says. "I will shoot you."

"Old Bill," Ritter says. "It's me, Motorhead. We did six months together in county. Remember?"

"So you know my name," the voice replies after a moment. "So what? The world has gone to hell and I ain't opening it up for nobody. Now get lost before I kill you where you stand."

Ritter looks at you and shrugs.