Three steps forward and one step back. Those words, more than anything, described Dave Speer's personal journey of late. Eighteen months have now passed since a worldwide blackout has brought humanity to its knees. Most haven't survived. Those most vulnerable were the first to go. The weak followed closely behind. It seemed that to make it, one needed to be at least one of three things: very strong, very lucky or very well prepared. It helped to have a mission: something to accomplish of tremendous importance. Dave was indeed very strong. The United States Marine Corps had made sure of that. As a prepper he was much more ready than most. Lucky? Hardly. But he was used to making his own luck. In this installment we follow Dave as he leaves the chaos of Albuquerque behind him and strikes west toward California. He's getting closer now to finding his kidnapped daughter. He can feel her presence in the air. But not so fast. Things haven't been easy on him since this journey began. He couldn't allow himself to think they'd be easy for him at the end. Every time he thought things were going his way he'd been sucker punched. And things weren't about to change now.