“Jump!” I shout.
The smoke is so thick now it’s starting to obscure my view of him. For a second, I lose sight of him. My first fear is that he’s passed out.
“Ryan!” I scream. “RYAN!”
Suddenly, he reappears, making the smoke swirl around him. He’s got a crate. He coughs as he positions it on the ground, covering his face with his sleeve, then clambers onto it. It gives him just enough height to reach my hands. I grip him as hard as I can.
“Pull!” I shout at Zeke and Ben.
Molly comes over to help, and between the three of them, they heave me up with Ryan dangling from my arms. We get him through the hole then flop back against the ground. I take in a huge gasp of air, lying sprawled on my back, gazing up at the black sky.
My first instinct is to laugh. We made it. We’re alive. But when I turn to Ryan, expecting to see his cocky smile, instead I see that his eyes are closed. He’s not moving.
“No, no, no,” I say, dragging myself onto my knees and crawling over to him.
I rest my head on his chest. It’s not rising or falling. He’s not breathing.
Everyone begins to realize what’s happening. They crowd over, looking anxious and pale. The kids cling to each other, unable to look as I begin performing CPR on Ryan. Jack howls into the night, and Penelope joins in.
“Come on!” I shout as I pump down on Ryan’s chest.
He’s completely covered in black smoke. When I push my lips to his they taste of coal. I will Ryan to breathe again. He can’t leave me. Not now. I don’t know what I’d do without him.
Suddenly, Ryan takes a sharp intake of breath. He’s breathing again, but he’s still unconscious.
I sit back on my heels, feeling overwhelmed. What are we supposed to do now? We’re in the middle of the street, completely exposed. We don’t have the train anymore, and Ryan’s out cold.
“We need to find shelter,” Molly says, taking me by the arm and leading me to my feet. “In case there are any crazies left alive around here.”
“Shelter where?” I cry, glancing around at the derelict buildings. None of them seem to offer adequate protection; they’re all falling apart.
Just then, I realize the dogs have disappeared. Once again, they’ve hurried off, sniffing the air, searching for danger on our behalf. Then from somewhere far away, Jack starts barking and Penelope joins in with her high-pitched yapping.
“I think the dogs might have found somewhere,” Molly replies. “Come on.”
She takes my hand, not wanting to let me go, even when I pull back to try and get Ryan. So I let her lead me away in the direction of Jack’s and Penelope’s barks, while Ben and Zeke carry Ryan’s unconscious body.
Penelope and Jack lead us all down a road that runs parallel to the train tracks. Up ahead is a strange-looking building that looks like it might have been some kind of power station once upon a time. It’s made of a series of buildings like silos. Beside them is a pyramid-shaped building that is completely rusted. There are no windows and the only way in is up a steep, narrow ladder. I’m so glad the dogs managed to find this place; it will certainly offer us protection for the night. With only one way in, we’ll be able to guard the door.
“Come on,” I say, scaling the ladder.
I push open the door at the top and step inside the strange building. I realize then that it’s not a power plant at all, but an enormous grain store. I’ve never seen anything like it before. Zeke, Ben, and Molly manage to carry Ryan up the steep stairs and into the grain store. Bree and Charlie come inside last. Zeke slams the door shut, plunging us into darkness. Then we all sink to the floor, exhausted.
I help settle Ryan into a comfortable position and wipe the soot from his face. He’s still unconscious and the sight terrifies me.
“I think a few of us should go back to get the boat from the harbor,” I say to the group.
“Why?” Molly questions me.
“Because the river runs all the way to Indiana and we know we’re safest on the water.”
Zeke consults the map. “She’s right. The Maumee River would take us on for miles but it goes through some built-up areas.” He points to where the river diverges at a place called Grand Rapids, heading due south almost all the way through Ohio. “This river would avoid all the large towns.”
“I don’t want you to leave, Brooke,” Bree says, her bottom lip quivering. “And what about Ryan? What if he wakes up while you’re gone?”
“She’s right,” Ben says. “We shouldn’t split up. Not while there might still be crazies out there.”
“Well then what’s your plan?” I say with a harsh tone.
“How about,” Molly says, acting as the peacemaker, “we all get some sleep? Eat some food? Talk about this in the morning?”
I shake my head. “We need to have a plan.”
“And we will,” she says sternly. “Tomorrow. The kids need to rest.”
She gestures toward Bree and Charlie. They both look terrified and exhausted and I know Molly’s warning me to calm down, to not look so desperate and frantic in front of them. But I can’t help it. I can’t bear the thought of not knowing where we’re heading next, not knowing what the next step of the plan is. We were supposed to be on a coal train right now, hurtling through the open countryside, not cooped up in a grain store.
“No,” I snap back. “Tonight. We’ll work out what we’re doing. As soon as Ryan’s awake, we leave.”
Molly narrows her eyes. She doesn’t appreciate my attitude or being bossed around by me. But I feel like I’m losing my mind right now. Plotting our next steps is the only thing that will stop me from worrying.
“You know what, fine,” she says gruffly. “Since none of my opinions seem to matter, I’m going to go and see if there’s anything edible in this place. You guys sit around talking in circles.”
She stomps off. I feel bad for making her annoyed, but she has no idea how much danger we’re in, in the middle of nowhere, completely off course. The quicker we plan our escape route the better.
Zeke spreads the map out on the floor and Ben and I peer over it.
“Do you really want to go all the way back for the boat?” Ben asks.
“What other option do we have?” I reply. “It’s our only transportation. We can’t get to Texas by foot.”
“She’s right,” Zeke replies. “The boat is integral here. We could even head all the way west then row it down the Mississippi.”
“But that would mean going via Chicago,” Ben says. “There’s bound to be an arena there. And that’s not to mention how far we’d have to carry the damn boat in the first place.”
“Do you have a better idea?” Zeke asks.
Ben shrugs. “I don’t know if it’s better or not, but I think we should leave the boat behind. The chances of us finding one at the other end are pretty high, wouldn’t you say? And it would mean we weren’t being slowed down the whole time by carrying the boat.”
I’m about to launch into another argument when I suddenly hear a shrill scream.
“Molly!” I cry.
Jack and Penelope bound off into the darkness, ready to play the heroes again. We stand, prepared to follow them.
“Stay here!” I cry at Bree and Charlie. “Look after Ryan, okay?”
Then we run, Zeke first, then me, then Ben. The metal grating clangs underfoot as we hurry after Jack and Penelope.
“MOLLY?” I cry, but there’s no response.
I’m terrified for my friend. What could have happened to her? Did she fall over one of the balconies and hurt herself? Was she attacked? If so, by who, or what?
I can see Jack and Penelope draw to a halt up ahead, but I can’t see Molly at all. We race toward the dogs and see why they’ve stopped. There’s a large door that’s sealed shut. The dogs scratch at it, whining.