Denton looks just as confused as everyone else. Cal turns back to him, then me. He unties my hands.
“Looks like we’re late to the party.”
Driving through Fort Caroline now feels so different. Eerier somehow. Buildings are burned and there are bullet holes in windows and the sides of disabled trucks. As we head farther into the town, the truck’s headlights drift over bloodstained asphalt. It’s clear that something big happened here and a lot of people died.
But I don’t see any bodies.
Cal stops the truck. Ahead of us, across the entire road, is a blockade of burnt cars. We get out again and walk toward the wreckage. The town is silent, but smoke still hangs in the air.
“Denton,” Cal calls out. He points to the wrecked cars in front of us. “Was this a barricade in case you guys were invaded or attacked?”
Denton shakes his head. “There were shelters set up, and units to protect each shelter. This wasn’t part of their plan.”
“Shelters where?” Kevin asks. He sets the maps on the hood of the truck.
As he speaks, Denton points out locations and cross streets. “The old library, sheriff’s department, the food depot...” He continues topoint out several more, but something rustles in the park behind us.
I spin, bringing my gun up.
“What is it?” Niki asks. She raises her gun, too. It’s dusk, and the smoke in the air and the setting sun make it hard to see. The tree limbs are leafless, but the branches still cast shadows in the low light, and the brown grass and weeds are waist high.
“I heard something,” I say.
There’s another rustle and Niki flinches. “I heard it that time, too.”
“Cal!” I yell.
But it’s too late—a group of people leap from the grass, and even in the darkness I can see the guns pointed at us.
“Don’t move!” a woman shouts.
“Weapons down, hands up!” says another voice, this one from the other side of the truck behind us. I turn to see more people emerging from the shadows.
The blockade was a trap. And now we’re surrounded.
Andrew
“I HAVE TO GO.”
I look down at the Kid as he pulls on my hand.
“Right now?” I ask. “We’re going to find a place to stop for the night. Can you hold it for five more minutes?” He can pee behind the first house we check before we settle in for the night. But the Kid shakes his head quickly. “All right. Hey, guys, Kid’s gotta pee.”
The others ahead of us stop and the Kid takes off his little backpack and runs into the trees beside the road.
“Don’t go far!” Rocky Horror shouts.
But he doesn’t have to, because the Kid knows how far to go. Especially with the sun setting. The western sky is bright pink and purple where the light breaks through the clouds.
Taylor rolls her eyes at me, which is strange but kind of nice to see. It means she’s getting back to a more sisterly relationship with him instead of the overly adult guardian demeanor she’s had since Frank and the others died.
We were supposed to be in Bethesda by now, but we’ve beendelayed by a torrential downpour for the past day and a half. We also ran out of gas, so we’re back to walking. Cara and Rocky Horror are talking about which direction we should go at an intersection up ahead, so I take the moment to drink some water.
But then something chills me to the bone.
A tinkly version of the Mexican hat dance drifts through the leafless trees.
Taylor’s and Cara’s eyes go wide.
