<span style="font-weight: bold"><span style="text-decoration: underline">Filion Family - the Bronx</span></span><br/>The Honda Odyssey arrived at University Heights on the east side of the Harlem River. Joe pulled the vehicle into a parking spot and stepped out. He walked to the rear and opened the hatch. He slipped on his Load Bearing Equipment (LBE) and slung his AR-15 over his left shoulder with the rifle slung on his right side. He inserted a thirty round magazine into the well, pulled the charging handle to the rear, locking the bolt in the open position. Then he tapped the magazine release, allowing the bolt to spring forward chambering a 5.56mm round.<br/><br/>Theresa and Joe Junior stepped out as well. They insured the windows were closed and the vehicle was locked. They did intend to return to the minivan when they were complete. Both of the other two pulled on their Assault vests. Joe Junior's vest was one his dad was issued and used before he left he New York Army National Guard in 2014. The other was one they picked up at the Army Navy surplus store in White Plains after that disturbing video from News 12 in the Bronx.<br/><br/>The three of them checked their weapons, gathered empty rucksacks and a few bottles of water from the cooler. They each downed a liter bottle of water and tossed the empties inside before closing the hatch. Then they donned their protective masks. There was no need to wear the things until now.<br/><br/>As they climbed up onto University Heights bridge, they found a High Mobility Multi-Wheeled Vehicle (HMMWV) belonging to the 222nd Military Police Company parked on the bridge. Joe and his kids checked the vehicle. The driver sat at his seat with his hands on the wheel. The cavity where his face should be displayed rotting flesh and was not recognizable as a face. It appeared that a shotgun slug or some other high caliber projectile splattered the contents of the young MPs skull into the interior of his Kevlar helmet.<br/><br/>An M249 Squad Automatic Weapon (SAW) remained mounted on its pintle in the gunner's cupola centered on the roof of the truck. Joe handed his rifle to his son and climbed inside through one of the back doors. He forced his way into the cupola, which was nothing more than a ringed opening in the roof. He opened the cover feed tray on the Light Machine gun, peering inside. The weapon appeared to be fine. He pulled the charging handle to the rear, locking the bolt open. There were no rounds in the way, so he closed the cover feed tray and pulled the trigger while holding the charging handle. It slid forward easily without any interruptions. The gun appeared to be in working condition. After pulling it from the pintle, he handed it down to Theresa. "You think you can handle that thing, Sweetie?"<br/><br/>Theresa tried desperately hard to conceal her excitement. Her face must have been lit up inside the mask, but neither her father or her brother could see the ear to ear smile of being handed the SAW. "Sure thing, Dad!" The 20 year old blonde responded. Joe squatted down and looked around the interior of the vehicle. He found an ammunition can containing two 100-round boxes of linked 5.56mm ammunition. These would fit the SAW Theresa was carrying. She slid her Mossberg shotgun around to her back and slung the SAW over her right shoulder so the Light Machine Gun rested along her left side. Theresa is left handed.<br/><br/>Within several minutes, the trio made their way up onto the bridge. When the 827th Engineer Company attempted to blow the University Heights bridge connecting West Bronx with Washington Heights, it left large connected chunks of the bridge draped and scattered across the very large abutments sticking up out of the water. Although, one would never be able to drive a motor vehicle across this bridge, a human being with complete control of his or her faculties could negotiate the crossing without falling into the River. It would be a challenge for the recently deceased to get across. At least Joe and his kids had never seen one try. A few fell into the river last week, but they disappeared under the surface.<br/><br/>Joe had taken the time to train his kids how to move tactically. Theresa laid prone on the leading edge of the bridge on the east side of the river and watched as her brother climbed down onto the bridge debris. She extended the bipod of the machine gun and scanned over the sights as her father instructed her. The three communicated by hand and arm signals. Every several steps, they would turn and look at each other simply to insure that they were OK. The Army likes to use an expression,<span style="font-style: italic">Keep your head on a swivel</span>. Essentially this means, maintain situational awareness or knowing what is going on around you at all times. So, as Theresa watched the far side of the river, her father watched her back and her brother negotiated the crossing. Once Joe Junior was on the far side, Theresa would cross and establish security on the far side and then her father would follow. Once they were all together, they would head into Washington Heights and Upper Manhattan looking for supplies they could use.<br/><br/>The trio was mostly interested in medical supplies, but would also pick up any useful item they happened upon. Finding the M249 SAW was a stroke of luck and they could use it. Hopefully, they wouldn't run into an opportunity to use all 200 rounds they had linked and available, but if the situation presented itself, they were ready. Theresa was quietly hoping it would happen.<br/><br/>As they headed south along 10th Avenue and Nagle Ave, under the raised rail tracks, they couldn't help but notice how oppressively quiet it was. This was New York City after all. This was one of the busiest cities in the world. If someone told either of them three months ago that they would be the only three people walking into Upper Manhattan alone, without a soul around, they would have laughed.<span style="font-style: italic">'The only three white people maybe, but not the only living souls.'</span>They didn't even see any ToGo Goons staggering around. Which was a good thing. Joe thought about Pam and Lily and Bella. He couldn't help but wonder if he would ever run into his wife and daughters again. The sobering thought raced through each of their minds as they slowly made their way south.