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  As Rick drove closer, Taeya spotted a woman in the backyard hanging out her wash. She turned at the sound of the truck and dropped the shirt she was hanging. Snatching up her own rifle, she dashed into the back of house.

  “Paranoid, aren’t they?” Rick said.

  “Wouldn’t you be?” Devin asked.

  The image of that man tearing across the field stayed with Taeya. At first, she’d thought he meant to protect his property. But once she saw the woman, Taeya knew the farmer’s bigger concern was his wife. She thought about how tenderly Rick had treated her after she’d been attacked in the van. Was that the kind of devotion she’d sometimes longed for?

  An hour later, the truck was out of farmland and she was enjoying the rolling hills of southwest Arkansas, with nothing but forest in all directions. It was so tranquil, so isolated. No billboards or gas stations, no tire stores or Walmarts. When America was first being settled, it must have looked a lot like this.

  Judith scooted up from the back seat and tapped Devin on the shoulder. “I smell smoke.”

  “Me too,” Devin said. “I thought maybe a farmer was burning, but I haven’t seen anything.”

  It was impossible to see beyond the tall pines that lined the road. But a few miles later, when the truck hit open fields, the sky in the distance held the unmistakable haze of smoke.

  “What do you think?” Rick glanced nervously at Devin.

  “Keep driving,” Devin replied. “The fire is probably miles away.”

  It was miles away, but unfortunately, in their way. After another ten miles, the smoke became so thick it hung in the air like fog.

  “This doesn’t look good,” Rick said. “Maybe we should turn back.”

  Reaching for the map book, Devin flipped to the page for Arkansas. After studying it for a moment, he said, “There’s a highway fifty-seven coming up. Let’s see if we can get that far. Maybe find out if the fire is north or south of us.”

  Rick drove on. But within a few more miles, the smoke was so thick, Taeya’s eyes started burning. She felt the smoke collecting in her lungs, making her choke.

  When Rick spotted a road sign that read: “Ouachita 11”, he hit the brakes. “What’s this?”

  “Just some country road.” Devin opened his door. “Give me a minute.”

  He stepped out, craning his neck to see which direction the clouds were blowing. It was impossible to tell.

  Climbing back in, he said, “Take it.”

  After a quick skeptical glance, Rick turned south on the winding, narrow road. But instead of escaping the choking smoke, the sky grew darker. Frantically, Taeya dug into her medical supplies for masks, quickly soaked them with a bottle of water, and handed them out. They didn’t do much to filter out the smoke.

  Rick sat hunched over the steering wheel, coughing and wiping at tears that streamed from his eyes. The visibility was so bad, he slowed to a crawl. As the truck rolled over an old country bridge, Taeya spotted three deer galloping through the water.

  The road took a turn to the left, and suddenly off to Taeya’s right, she spotted a burning line of trees about a hundred yards away. A raccoon dashed in front of the truck and Rick swerved to avoid hitting it.

  “Shit, shit, shit!” Rick yelled. “We’re screwed!”

  He was right. If they’d been in the van, with its filtered air system and reinforced bulk, they might have had a chance. But in this pickup, they were sitting ducks for the first burning tree that fell in their path. Or on the truck.

  For another half a mile, the road headed east before curving south again. Then it hit a dead-end at another country road running east and west. Rick turned back east. But behind them, Taeya heard the rumble of what sounded like a train.

  “It’s gaining on us!” Devin yelled over the roar.

  A gust of wind came up from behind and the forest on both sides of them burst into an inferno. It was like a giant wave of fire washing over them. Burning leaves and limbs pelted the truck. Taeya swung around to look out the back window. Flaming branches dropped on their supplies. Husks flared on the basket of corn they’d picked that morning. A burning branch landed on one of the duffle bags and the canvas began to smolder.

  Taeya jerked back around to the front. The firestorm was actually outrunning them. But it was also pushing the smoke ahead of it. The road cleared enough for Rick to pick up some speed.

  He tried to keep at the front line of the fire without driving ahead into the smoke, but the heat quickly became intense. The skin on Taeya’s face grew taut, as if she was standing too close to a campfire.

  When they came to another country road, Rick swerved to the right.

  “No!” Devin yelled. “This is cutting back west. We’ll hit the fire again.”

  “Goddamit!” Rick stripped the gears reversing the engine, then careened back onto the soft shoulder, skidding in the dirt until the front wheels jumped back onto the road east.

  The canopy of trees overhead sagged with the fire. Chunks of flaming debris rained down ahead of the truck. The whole top of a pine tree exploded and crashed onto the hood, the burning branches shriveling before their eyes. Rick jerked the steering wheel to the left, and the fireball rolled off.

  As the truck zoomed over another small bridge, Taeya wondered if it was time to abandon the truck. Was the water in the stream below deep enough that they could swim to safety? She doubted it. The deer she’d seen at the last creek were splashing through only a foot of water.

  Taeya’s head jerked from side to side, watching the horror unfold. Why had she agreed to join Rick in Arkansas? What was it about him that had made her go against her better judgment? If she’d just gotten her own car and headed for Arizona, she’d be there by now.

  “Take this road!” Judith screamed.

  Grabbing the handgrip above her window, Taeya held on as the truck skidded sideways onto yet another country road. The sign simply had a number and an “S” on it. They were headed south again.

  If the smoke overcame Rick first, Devin might be able to take the wheel. But probably not. So the truck would travel out of control until it went down an embankment or hit a tree. Even if Judith and Taeya survived the crash, would the truck still be drivable? How soon would Taeya be overcome by smoke? Hopefully, she’d be unconscious by the time the fire heated the truck’s gas tank and it exploded.

  Rick broke through the frontline of the fire again. He was coughing in spasms, along with the others. He would become disoriented soon. Taeya found it nearly impossible to draw a breath. And still the pickup barreled on.

  After another mile, the smoke faded from dark gray to a dirty white. A short time later, the heavy fog was back to a haze. The road dipped into a small valley and a town called Buena Vista appeared. Devin croaked out a hoarse cheer at finally finding a road that appeared on his map. He directed Rick west.

  For the next hour Taeya and the others coughed out smoke. Her hands trembled as she blew soot from her nose. That had been more terrifying than the assailant back at the farm. Of course, the attack had happened so quickly that she hadn’t had much time to react. But the idea of burning to death had made time slow to a crawl.

  It wasn’t until they reached Texarkana that Rick pulled over. As soon as he turned off the engine, he leaped out, leaving the truck door open. Devin was right behind. Taeya climbed out with Judith to check their supplies.

  Big holes had burned through their duffle bags. The skins on the tomatoes had burst. The basket of corn was literally steaming. Devin came up alongside Judith, snaked an arm around her waist, and nuzzled against her cheek. “Looks like lunch is ready.”

  “Yeah,” she said. “Got butter?”

  * * *

  The general consensus was that they would stick to the interstates from then on. The possibility of a traffic jam seemed insignificant after the fire. And they could make much better time on wide expanses of paved road.

  As Rick zipped along Interstate 30 toward Dallas, Devin scanned the highway.
r />   “This is so weird, not seeing other cars coming or going.”

  “I told you, man,” Rick said. “The mass exodus is over. People got to wherever they were going a long time ago. There’s no one left but us stragglers.”

  Devin chuckled. “They’re all hunkered down now, waiting for their refrigerator to kick back on.”

  “Or in their bomb shelters,” Judith added, “organizing for the revolution.”

  Massaging his bald head, Devin said, “I’m just not so sure they’ll stay put.”

  “Why not?” Rick asked. “Either they’re in a safe place, or they’re dead.”

  “Not necessarily,” Devin said. “I think we’re heading into phase two.” He swiveled in his seat toward Rick, and the two women in the back. “First all the stores are looted, the spoils are stock-piled. And I’m not talking televisions, here. I’m talking necessities. But there’s only so many cans of corn out there. Once the stores and warehouses are emptied, people will start robbing each other. You with me so far?”

  “Yeah, yeah, I get it.” Rick propped his arm against the window, his hand twisting at his ponytail.

  “Phase two will be all about the hysteria,” Devin continued. “No one knows how long this will last. So how much food is enough? You may have twenty-four cans of tuna. But wouldn’t forty-eight cans be better?”

  “So people will venture out to rob their neighbors,” Rick grumbled. “I can just see it in the history books—Starkist Wars.”

  A short chuckle escaped from Taeya, but it triggered another coughing jag. Devin raised an eyebrow to see if she was okay. She nodded through teary eyes.

  Once she got her breath back, Devin continued. “Some groups will band together. Like us. The whole safety in numbers thing. Sooner or later, the hunter/gatherers will evolve into farmers. That’s what the cavemen did.”

  Rick grunted like a caveman before turning to the women. “Me hunt. You gather.”

  Judith grunted back, “You moron.”

  “So we’ll be back to tribes,” Taeya said.

  “But it won’t all be folks like us,” Judith said. “You’ll get the slackers who don’t want to work, and the marauders with their gang mentality, shooting up peaceful settlements. We’ll make all the same mistakes again.”

  Rick slapped the steering wheel. “Can’t we just live together in peace and harmony?”

  Judith settled back in her seat. “Hasn’t happened yet.”

  * * *

  West of Dallas, Judith took over the driving, with Devin riding shotgun. Taeya had just dozed off when she heard Devin tell Judith to slow down.

  Glancing over, Taeya saw Rick peering out of his side window. “Is that what I think it is?”

  She had to unbuckle her seatbelt to see over his head. Off to the right, beyond the highway fence, was a gas station with some kind of truck parked in the middle of the lot. A black hose ran from the truck into the pavement. Two motorcycles were parked near the truck.

  She studied the small tanker. It didn’t really look like the trucks used to deliver propane gas, although it was about the same size. The tank on the back was green and opaque.

  “That’s a friggin’ septic truck,” Rick said. “You know, like they use to suck the shit out of your backyard.”

  After stopping, Judith leaned over to get a look out of Devin’s window. “He’s sucking gas out of the underground storage tank.”

  Taeya wasn’t sure who they were talking about because no one was in sight. But suddenly a man with a bright red mohawk flew out from behind the truck as though he’d been punched. Two men charged after him, both swinging fists. When the red-haired man fell to the ground, one of the men drove a knee into his chest, pinning him down. He tried to get something out of the red-haired man’s hand, while the other thug kicked his head.

  The poor guy managed to roll onto his stomach, tucking his hands underneath to protect whatever the men wanted. Was it the keys to the truck?

  His position left him defenseless; the men punched and kicked him mercilessly.

  “Now that’s not right,” Devin said. Opening his door, he swung out of his seat and into the back of the truck in one fluid motion. Judith handed up his rifle without being asked.

  Taeya heard the gunshot and saw the front tire on one of the motorcycles exploded, knocking the bike to the ground.

  “Nice shot,” Rick said.

  The attackers stopped in mid-kick and swung around in all directions, looking to see where the shot had come from. Devin fired again, and the bullet snicked into the pavement right at one of the men’s feet.

  Rick opened his back door and leaned out, brandishing his handgun. Standing at the driver’s door, Judith propped her rifle on the roof and sighted through her scope.

  The two men glanced briefly at each other, weighing their chances in a gunfight, then scrambled for the remaining motorcycle. They drove off, away from the interstate.

  “Let’s check it out,” Devin said when he climbed back into the cab.

  After driving off the exit ramp, Judith swung the truck into the gas station. When she got closer to the red-haired man, she stopped again. He was still on his stomach, but he’d raised his head to watch them approach. Probably fearing another attack.

  His hair wasn’t cut in a Mohawk as Taeya had thought. It was like a topknot on a bird. The rest of his head was shaved. He had a chin beard like a billy goat, also flaming red. Blood trickled down between his eyes.

  “If you’re going to travel alone,” Devin called, “you really need to carry a gun.”

  Pushing up with his arms, the man staggered to his feet. He tried to discreetly slip his keys into his pocket. “I’ve got one in the truck, but I’m out of ammo.”

  “Bummer,” Devin said.

  Squinting one eye shut, the man studied their group before breaking into a smile. “Yeah.” His two front teeth were gold.

  “I like your fuel truck,” Devin said. “You willing to barter?”

  The man took a swipe at the blood on his face with the heel of his hand. “What you got?”

  Devin puffed out his lower lip like he had several options. Then he said, “I got some weed that’ll knock you on your ass.”

  Men. Just like that, they were best buddies. Devin reached into the back for his athletic bag of pot while Rick scrambled out of the backseat. He had to get a closer look at the tanker.

  Taeya thought about insisting on masks and gloves, but after counting all the spikes in the man’s eyebrows and the studs on his lips, she decided the potential for infection must have been astronomical during the worst of the pandemic. If he’d survived that last wave, he must be healthy. She cringed at the huge gauges in his earlobes. He couldn’t have been more than twenty years old. What other parts of his body had he mutilated?

  The man introduced himself as Eric, and after the usual knuckle bumps, he answered Rick’s questions about where he’d found the truck, how long it had taken to get the crap cleaned out of the tank, and how much fuel he was getting from the underground storage units.

  Grabbing her medical bag, Taeya got out of the truck. As she approached Eric, he gave her the standard once-over, lingering too long on her breasts. Judith hopped out and slung her rifle over her shoulder. As she sauntered up to Eric, he gave her the same ogle.

  “You like what you see?” she taunted, her arms spread wide.

  “I sure do,” he drawled.

  Stepping up closer, she said in a husky whisper, “You take one more look, and I’ll blow your nuts off.”

  Rick and Devin giggled like teenagers, then Rick slapped Eric on the back. “At least she’ll leave your dick intact.”

  The blood drained from Eric’s face, making his freckles stand out even more, as well as the piercings. And it also emphasized the blood that was still drizzling down his face.

  “Would you like me to take a look at that?” Taeya held up her medical bag.

  Judith parked the truck under the gas station awning, out of the sun. Th
en the guys perched on the sides of the truck bed. Eric couldn’t get over the zipper bag full of marijuana tops. Taeya decided it was a good thing he didn’t have any ammunition. He might be tempted to try and steal the bag. And she would hate for the boy to die so young. While she tended to the gash on Eric’s head, the guys got high.

  Once she closed the cut with a butterfly bandage and put away her supplies, Eric vaulted over the side of the truck and opened a side compartment on his tanker. Taeya stared at the rows of canned goods, jars, and boxes. He made his selections, then hopped back into the truck. Using a pocketknife, he cut open a can of chicken and passed it around with a bag of pita chips. Taeya was amazed that they weren’t stale.

  The conversation turned to destinations, so Rick told Eric about the Biosphere. Taeya expected Eric to try and weasel an invitation, but he was all gung-ho about heading to California. He wanted to stake a claim in the San Joaquin Valley before all the prime acreage was gone. It sounded like the old gold rush days.

  After a while, Judith decided the siesta was over. The men insisted they wanted to stay in touch, so Taeya gave Eric her shortwave call letters. Not that she ever expected to hear from him again, but it had been an uplifting experience to meet up with a fellow survivor. To feel like they were part of a new movement in the country.

  * * *

  It was dark when they got to Tucson. Taeya was exhausted. She checked her watch—five a.m. She’d slept off and on, but didn’t feel rested. Rick was driving again. She’d taken her turn in El Paso. There was a moment of exhilarating activity when they found a storeroom in a small cantina jammed with masa flour, dried beans, jugs of honey, and jars of salsa.

  Judith discovered a cache of canned tamales, and as Taeya drove through New Mexico, Rick had sat up front and fed her bites of the cold but tasty treats.

  North of Tucson, Taeya directed Rick to Highway 77, but it was useless looking for the Biosphere in the dark. All the map showed was a red dot in the middle of the desert. With a groan, Rick pulled off the road, and locked his door. She’d been struggling to stay awake to keep him company, but the moment she heard the lock click, Taeya closed her eyes—her fingers securely wrapped around the Beretta on her lap.