Furious and craving any kind of sugar, I cross the parking lot to Wal-Mart. As I get closer, I realize that all the lights are out, and the parking lot is empty. A big sign across the front reads "OUT OF BUSINESS".

I whirl around to face the city's main street. Half the stores are unlit. Some of the lanes are unpaved. There are covered wagons mingling with the cars.
 

~