Dry

Snapshot 1 of 3: Activist. Camille hates bureaucracy and authority figures. She’s been protesting since high school, and now that she’s in college, she feels she can make a real difference. Camille led a protest weeks ago, and now, she’s driving behind a water truck stacked high with bottles of water. Clearly, the water is going to privileged people, and that’s not okay. She follows the truck.

Snapshot 2 of 3: OCWD Transport. David is stressed out. He works for the Orange County Water District, and his assignments have gotten increasingly stressful recently. Now, he’s driving a water truck and wearing a bulletproof vest, with an armed guard riding shotgun. He’s already stolen one bottle of “reclaimed water” for his family—they’re down to drinking purified water from raw sewage. This delivery is for the 300 refugees at the Huntington Beach power plant. When he pulls up to the gate, he stops. There’s a girl standing in the road. And across the highway, at the beach, people waiting for the desalination machines notice the water truck.

Snapshot 3 of 3: Plant Manager. Though power plant manager Pete Flores knew the higher-ups wouldn’t like it, he allowed all his employees, those from other electrical agencies, and their families to take refuge at his plant. He doesn’t care if he’ll lose his job—it’s the right thing to do. And since the plant is “critical,” it gets water. It’s critical in part because two other plants have shut down because their workers decided to care for their families instead of work. That makes Pete feel even better about accepting everyone’s families, as his employees don’t have to choose. Further, the plant must keep going or the power could go out. That afternoon, when the water truck is set to arrive, an employee calls Pete’s attention to the security cameras. People are mobbing the water truck. As the mob breaks through the gate, Pete realizes how dangerous it is.

Back in the main storyline, Kelton can tell Mrs. McCracken is upset about how Mr. McCracken behaved with Roger. She’s making dinner early, a nervous habit, and she fills everyone’s water glasses to the top. To ease the tension, Kelton asks about Brady, but no one has been able to reach him (Brady is notoriously bad about communicating). When Kelton’s dad implies that they might need to leave for the bug-out without Brady, he and Kelton’s mom begin arguing about rationing their water. His mom thinks they should share, but his dad insists that’s a slippery slope. If they want to survive, they need to conserve—though she’s welcome to leave the house unlocked when they leave. This pushes Kelton’s mom into a catatonic state. Kelton reminds his dad that they must help the sheep, but his dad insists that they need to take care of themselves first.

One of the reasons Brady left after graduating high school was Mr. McCracken and Mrs. McCracken’s constant fights. Brady got into Stanford, but he insisted on following his girlfriend to community college instead. These days, he only comes home for holidays, and Kelton “hangs out” with him in online RPG games. Still, their dad keeps a key hidden for Brady, just in case. Kelton leaves his mom watching TV and his dad welding booby traps and goes to check on Alyssa. Alyssa and Garrett are trying to put together a condensation trap, and Alyssa is clearly frustrated. She accepts Kelton’s proffered water and explains that Alyssa’s mom and Alyssa’s dad went to the beach and aren’t back. Garrett is clearly worried, as they’re not answering their phones, but Kelton suggests there are probably too many phones on the beach for the signal to work right.

Kelton pours some water out for Kingston and then shows Garrett how to leave the freezer cracked so ice forms and they can melt it. As the conversation shifts, a news anchor reports on brushfires and riots—and that the area is now an official FEMA disaster zone. Garrett turns the TV off, insisting that while the anchor said to stay calm, that’s also what they told people on the Titanic. Kelton can tell Alyssa is faking it when she kneels and tells Garrett it’ll be okay, and that they’ll go search for their parents if they don’t return by tomorrow. Deciding to accept the consequences, Kelton announces that he’ll accompany them tomorrow and stay here tonight. Alyssa is skeptical, but Kelton insists it’ll be safer this way—there are desperate people out there.

Just then, the lights flicker and go off. Garrett grabs Kelton as they hear neighbors talking outside. Kelton says he needs to go home to check on his own parents, and then he’ll be back—and his offer says nothing about his feelings for Alyssa. Alyssa accepts this and offers that she doesn’t think Kelton is creepy anymore. Kelton heads for his house, which is the only house in the neighborhood with electricity thanks to its solar panels. Leaving a note for his parents, Kelton then grabs and loads his pistol. He tucks it in his belt and opens the front door. Kelton stops dead when he realizes that everyone in the neighborhood is outside and staring at the McCrackens’ house. It’s a target now, and Kelton is afraid. These people might be sheep—or they could be wolves.

Dawn marks the start of day four of the Tap-Out. Alyssa leaves Garrett in her bed and comes downstairs to find her parents still gone, and Kelton asleep on the sofa. There’s a gun on the table, to Alyssa’s shock and horror. She shakes Kelton awake and demands he hand over the magazine of bullets, which are in his pocket. He calmly says it’s just for defense, though he insists that he is prepared to use it if necessary. Still, he hands the magazine over. Alyssa tries once more to call her parents while Kelton fixes up her bike’s tires and returns dressed in a duck hunting outfit. He looks ridiculous, but he probably does have useful stuff in his pockets. Alyssa packs a backpack and leaves Kingston some water on her way out.

Kelton and Alyssa decide to travel on main roads for safety. Garrett is in good spirits as they head out, and as they ride over an overpass and see stopped traffic below, he doesn’t grasp the gravity of the situation. Alyssa is disturbed, especially when Kelton notes that there are better routes than main roads “when,” not if, they need to leave. A few minutes later, Garrett announces that he needs a bathroom, and the bushes won’t do. They stop at a convenience store that their family frequents. It’s hot, has no drinks in stock, and has barely any food. Alyssa doesn’t recognize the creepy-looking clerk, either. The clerk shouts that they have to buy something to use the toilet, so Alyssa grabs some peanuts. She tries to make conversation and learns that the cars have been stopped all night, and 911 is jammed.

Then, the clerk says the peanuts cost $40. Noticing the smashed cash register and that the clerk isn’t in the normal uniform, Alyssa grabs Garrett’s hand and leads him and Kelton outside. They hurry away on their bikes, and after confirming Kelton has his gun, Alyssa tosses him the magazine of bullets. She hates the gun, but “this isn’t the same world it was yesterday.”

Snapshot: Interstate, Northbound 6:30 a.m. Charity is stuck in traffic on the freeway. She left her house at 5:00 a.m., headed for Nevada, but it seems like everyone is trying to leave. Some cars going the other direction are even facing the wrong way, like people tried to turn around. Charity studies the other people on the freeway and then thinks of her impatient late husband. A half hour later, traffic hasn’t moved. Kids are playing between the cars. Almost an hour later, most cars are off, and Charity reclines her seat to nap. But a while later, she wakes with a start. People are screaming and running south, away from a car fire up ahead. Charity, however, heads toward the fire and searches vehicles for a fire extinguisher. She finally finds one.

Returning to the main story, as Kelton, Alyssa, and Garrett bike, they notice that some neighborhoods still have power. Alyssa is increasingly anxious about her parents. Finally, they reach the beach. The ocean is oddly silent—and when the beach comes into view, Alyssa stops suddenly. There’s almost nobody there, and the desalination machines are broken. As they head onto the sand, they hear hundreds of phones ringing. Alyssa answers one. There’s a child on the phone asking for his mom. After Alyssa hangs up, unable to help the child, she and Kelton survey the beach. There were clearly riot police here, and there are still officers guarding the machines. Rather than answering Alyssa’s questions, they tell her to go home and await instructions. When Kelton spots what might be a body in the water, Alyssa grabs Garrett and runs.

Alyssa screams at Garrett when he says they have to do something, causing him to burst into tears. Alyssa holds Garrett until he turns away, dejected. But across the street, Alyssa spots a couple of teens pushing an elderly man. Without thinking, Alyssa confronts them. A tall blond boy tells Alyssa that the man hid water in his BMW and won’t share, while the man begs for mercy and understanding. But the man holds out his keys, and Alyssa snatches them. The blond boy, Dalton, is furious and demands to know where Alyssa’s water is. She spits in his face—and he wipes it off and licks it. He pins her to the wall as Kelton threatens to shoot him.

Kelton feels compelled to protect Alyssa. The two other teens run, but though Dalton lets go of Alyssa, he doesn’t seem bothered by the gun. Kelton is trembling and feels panicky, and Dalton seems to understand this. He attacks Kelton, sending the gun flying and into the hands of a strange girl (later revealed to be Jacqui). Jacqui presses the gun to Dalton’s forehead and asks Alyssa for the keys—clearly, she’s been watching for a while and knows what kind of person Alyssa is. Dalton begs for his life; he’s supposed to take water to his mom and sister. As soon as Alyssa gives Jacqui the keys, Jacqui kicks Dalton down. Dalton sobs.

Alyssa was the first to see Jacqui when she appeared. Now, she recognizes that Jacqui is her group’s biggest threat—sane people don’t put guns to others’ heads like it means nothing. As Jacqui walks away, Alyssa follows and asks for the gun. Jacqui insists that she saved them from the “water-zombie,” so the gun is hers. Suddenly, Alyssa is terrified. There are certainly more water-zombies between here and home, and now they can’t defend themselves. She asks for a ride home and asks Jacqui to tell them what happened on the beach, but Jacqui just says it was ugly. Then, Kelton steps in. He notes that the cut on Jacqui’s arm is clearly infected. If she drives them to his house, he can get her antibiotics. Jacqui introduces herself and agrees to the deal.