Jack Fluke, Chapter One "Bonfire of the Vain"

In this Chapter, the Pretender has called forth the people from their shelters throughout San Diego County and Mexico. He is trying to increase his tribe and send a scouting party up north to see who, if any, survived the chaos that overflowed the world after the missiles were unleashed.
Jack Fluke has traveled up from Mexico to attend the gathering at his old haunting grounds in La Jolla.
This is where he lived four years earlier with Stasia, the girl he fell in love with in an idyllic existence in the eye of the apocalyptic storm.
This was shattered when the Pretender appeared, coveted Stasia, and tried to kill Jack before the intervention of the Dog.