Bridget’s voice sounded like it was coming from the other side of a tunnel. Mika opened her mouth. “I—” The candy bar wrapper dropped from her slackening fingers and landed on the grass under the table.

  Her father moved across the table in an instant.

  Bridget knelt beside her. “I’m a nurse, sweetie. You mind if I check you out for a second?”

  Mika nodded. Her brain was thick and slow as a numb sensation traveled through her muscles.

  Her father spoke over her. “She had a bit of an electric shock yesterday. We were wading through flood water. There must have been a live wire submerged some length in front of us. We were trying to reach the flooded part of Bellevue.”

  “Why would you do that?” Tom’s face wrinkled.

  Mika’s dad lifted his head and turned to Tom. “Her mother—she’s missing. We were looking for her. She worked at a law firm downtown.”

  Tom exchanged a somber look with Bridget, but neither said a word.

  “Mind if I put a hand on your forehead real quick?” Bridget asked Mika.

  Mika slowly shook her head. It felt like her brains were soupy and sloshing around inside her skull. She blinked, wondering why she suddenly felt weaker after eating the candy bar. Since it was the only thing in her stomach for a long while, maybe it was doing weird things to her.

  Bridget’s hand was ice cold on Mika’s skin, but it was a welcome relief to the warmth moving through Mika’s veins.

  “She’s clammy. A little warm.” Bridget looked at Mika’s dad. “Did she lose consciousness before? In the water?”

  Her dad gripped one hand in the other, squeezing hard. “Yes, for about a minute.”

  Bridget reached for Mika’s wrist and placed her fingers on the inside, feeling for a pulse. She counted to herself for a while. Mika struggled to stay alert.

  “Can you look up, Mika?”

  She did as requested as Bridget fished her phone from her pocket. She turned on the flashlight and shone it briefly into each of Mika’s eyes. “Her pupils respond evenly and her pulse is constant. But without an MRI or other diagnostic testing, I can’t rule anything out.” She smiled a sort of apology at Mika, as if she had any control over the lack of available medical care.

  “Maybe she just needs to rest. Get some sleep perhaps?” Tom suggested, his uplifting voice slicing through the fog in Mika’s mind.

  Bridget’s expression was hard to read. Her eyebrows knitted. “It certainly couldn’t hurt. Are you out of sorts at all, hon? Vision blurry?”

  Mika’s father hovered so close she could feel his hot breath on her cheek. She’d worried him. She pulled back and tucked her hands into the sleeves of her sweatshirt. “Not really. I’m fine, honestly. I think it was just a sugar rush.”

  “Are you sure? If you’re dizzy or feeling confused, you might have some neurological issues. Electrical current can do funny things to your brain.”

  Her father’s breath caught. The last thing Mika wanted was to worry her dad any more. Until they found her mother, she would pretend everything was fine. She forced a smile. “I’m fine. Honest.”

  Bridget offered a kind and soothing smile. “If you’re sure.” She glanced at Mika’s father. “Just have her checked out when we make it to Ellensburg. To confirm.”

  He nodded. “Thank you.”

  “Wish I could do more.” Bridget gave Mika’s shoulder a light pat. “Just try to take it easy today. I know the circumstances aren’t great. You need a real bed to sleep in, but just don’t overdo it. Avoid strenuous activity and chill out. At least for a few days.”

  “We could all use that advice,” Tom offered around another bite of honey bun. “Especially the bed part.”

  After a few moments of awkward silence, the conversation picked up again between the adults, discussing what each planned to do after reaching the shelter. Mika tried her best to listen, but it was impossible. Her whole body ached. She was bone tired. Using her arm as a makeshift pillow, Mika leaned on the table and closed her eyes.

  A rumble woke her some time later. She sat up, rubbing away a dreamless sleep as her father stood, one hand shielding his eyes from the sun. She followed his gaze. A series of trucks, squat and sand-colored, rolled into the parking lot.

  Mika’s dad eased to his feet. “Looks like the Guard is here.”

  “Is that who we’ve been waiting for?”

  Behind the National Guard vehicles, two buses like the one they’d all piled into the day before eased into the parking lot. Through the dark tint, Mika made out heads in every window.

  “Looks that way.”

  Bridget frowned. “Why would FEMA make us wait for the National Guard?”

  Her father’s voice came out measured. “I’m guessing because we need the protection.”

  Mika stilled. Was something going on? Why would a bus full of natural disaster survivors need protection?

  Men in uniform poured out of the first vehicle, one barking orders.

  “Dad?”

  Her father glanced down at her with a smile. “It’ll be fine, sweetie. The Guard will escort us to Ellensburg, we’ll get you checked out, and find your mother ASAP.”

  Mika clung to the hope in his voice. She needed something, anything, to keep her tethered to reality.

  CHAPTER THREE

  DAPHNE

  “Everyone who’s checked in? Hi, over here!” A young man waved a clipboard high in the air. The red lanyard attached to his FEMA badge stood out against the pale yellow of his T-shirt. “If everyone could assemble over here, please!”

  Daphne glanced at Jocelyn. The other woman shook her head in slow motion, braids swinging back and forth across her shoulders. Samuel hung back as well, hands stuffed into his pockets. Good. There was solidarity in numbers. Daphne crossed her arms and waited as most other refugees ambled over to the young man.

  He smiled out at the little crowd huddled together until his gaze landed on their small trio. His lips slid into a line. “Excuse me, Ladies? Gentleman? I really do need you closer so I don’t have to shout.”

  Begrudgingly, Jocelyn reached for Daphne’s arm and gave it a bit of a tug. “Come on.”

  “I’m not getting on a bus.”

  “Not saying we are, but we might as well try to be polite.”

  Daphne let out a rather loud harumph, but she complied, easing forward until she stood at the back of the crowd.

  “Great.” The young man smiled again. “Now that we’re all here, I wanted to introduce myself. My name is Michael, and I’m the transportation coordinator today.”

  Jocelyn leaned close enough to whisper. “I thought he was going to say tour guide.”

  Daphne snorted.

  “I’m happy to report that we have multiple buses available today to take you all directly to our main shelter. I know some of you may be reluctant to board—”

  Daphne almost flashed a rude gesture, but she restrained herself.

  “But I assure you, with the National Guard now accompanying every bus, the journey is safe and secure.” He smiled again and Daphne wanted to punch the look right off his face. “If everyone can head to my right, you can begin lining up, please.”

  The three of them watched as one-by-one the group dispersed, all heading toward the transportation. Nick lined up with the newcomers, apparently nonplussed by the prospect of riding in another death trap on wheels. It didn’t take long for Daphne, Jocelyn, and Samuel to be the only people left. Michael approached with the same out-of-place grin. “Hi, is there a problem?”

  Jocelyn raised an eyebrow and palmed her opposite hip. “Do you not understand what happened to us the last time we loaded onto a FEMA bus?”

  Michael closed his eyes for a moment, as if summoning patience from somewhere deep inside himself. When he focused again on Jocelyn, his voice was slow and steady, as if trying to reason with a toddler on the verge of a tantrum. “Ma’am, I can assure you that the new bus is safe.”

  Jocelyn stared back, nonplussed. “How? How exactly can you assure me?”

  “With the Guard—”

  “We were attacked,” Daphne interjected.

  Michael opened his mouth to respond, but Jocelyn pointed her index finger, nail scuffed and cracked after losing the acrylic, at his chest. “The bus ripped in two and burned into bits. People died. A lot of people.”

  “Which is why it’s in your best interest to get on a new bus.” His artificial smile was back, driving Daphne insane. “Going forward, we’re only sending buses once a day to the processing facility in a convoy. National Guard troops will be riding on each bus and National Guard vehicles will start and end the convoy. I assure you, the trip is safe.”

  “What if we decline?” Samuel spoke for the first time.

  Michael exhaled in exasperation. “I can’t force you onto one of the FEMA buses, but if you choose not to go, you won’t be guaranteed access to the refugee area. Our main shelter facility in Ellensburg is the processing area for all relief. There will be food, shelter, and supplies. Resources to help you secure temporary housing and medical care. If you don’t go to the shelter, you’ll be on your own.”

  Daphne stilled. Her husband and daughter were on the clipboard she’d seen at the tent. Presumably, they had boarded one of the other buses the day before and were now at the shelter, trying to find her. If she didn’t get on a bus, would she find them? But if she did and something happened…

  A shiver of dread snaked down her spine. She couldn’t do it. It didn’t matter if the bus guaranteed access. She would find another way. “Are you sure we can’t access the shelter without taking a bus?”

  Michael hesitated. “I—I’m not sure to be honest. But I know the bus is a guarantee.”

  His non-answer all but sealed the deal for Daphne. She turned to her new friends, hoping they shared her reluctance.

  Samuel picked up on her concern and caught the attention of the FEMA employee. “Michael, is it?”

  The man nodded.

  “Can you give us a few minutes?” Michael opened his mouth to argue, but Samuel kept talking. “Seems the least you can do seeing as we managed to find this tent again and alert you to the survivors from the crash.”

  Michael held up his hands in surrender. “Fine. But the buses are rolling out in the next thirty minutes.”

  Samuel waited for the FEMA employee to be out of earshot before he spoke. “Looks like we have two options. One, we get on the bus and hope we don’t turn into a human barbecue on the highway.”

  Jocelyn crossed her arms in disapproval.

  “Two, we figure out some other way to reach Ellensburg.”

  “Are we sure we even want to go there?”

  Samuel’s cheeks lifted as he thought over Jocelyn’s question. “I think we do. Not only do they have food and at least rudimentary shelter, they mentioned longer-term aid. When I was helping earlier, explaining where the bus crashed to some of the other workers, they mentioned that over ten thousand people have already been processed through that facility.”

  “Ten thousand?” Daphne blinked. “I don’t know if I should be surprised it’s that high or that low.”

  Samuel nodded in agreement. “They said the federal government is working with the states to provide some sort of voucher system. That we can stay in hotels free of charge for a certain amount of time.”

  “But?”

  “We have to go through the FEMA registration to do it.”

  Jocelyn sagged. “So we don’t have a choice.”

  Daphne spoke up. “I don’t, that’s for sure. If Clint and Mika are at that shelter, then that’s where I need to be.” She glanced over at the buses lined up in the distance. “Maybe Michael is right. Maybe we should just get on a bus and pray we don’t crash.”

  “No. No way.” Jocelyn shook her head. “If you want to, that’s fine, but I’m not getting anywhere near one of those blue and white death traps.”

  Samuel glanced around before lowering his voice. “I’m not keen on the bus angle, either. But we need transportation.”

  “We’re listening.” Jocelyn focused her gaze on him.

  “I’m guessing most of the cars around here are flooded out, but there’s got to be a few that still turn over. If we can find one old enough, I should be able to hot wire it. Get us out of here.”

  “You want us to steal a car?”

  He rubbed at an invisible spot on his cheek. “I’m guessing no one’s going to miss a clunker that’s been abandoned for the last six days, do you?”

  “What if we get caught?”

  Jocelyn raised both her eyebrows this time. “You really think the cops are gonna ask for our license and registration in the middle of all this? Girl, you’re even crazier than I thought.”

  Daphne snorted out a laugh. “I suppose you’re right.”

  “Mm-hmm,” Jocelyn agreed. “Don’t you know it.”

  “So how do we do this?”

  Samuel glanced around again. “We walk away. Simple as that. If they aren’t physically detaining us, then they won’t stop us. We can head toward dry land, streets that don’t have any signs of past flooding. We can’t be that far.”

  The weight in Daphne’s chest eased. Maybe this would all work out. Away from FEMA employees, away from all the other frustrated, hurt, and worried people, maybe they could make faster time. Better progress.

  Without another moment’s delay, the trio picked their way around the last of the other refugees assembling in lines and headed toward the road. As soon as Daphne’s foot contacted the pavement, she winced. Black dirt and grime and unmentionable horrors clung to the bottom of her bare feet. If she didn’t already have an infection from bacteria entering any open wounds she’d suffered, she would soon.

  All three of them smelled. Daphne by far the worst. At this point, she’d almost internalized the noxious combination of sewer and rot and salt water. Her hair hung in ratty clumps, dried flood water crusting between her once-blonde waves. She refused to even look at her clothes beneath the blanket still wrapped around her shoulders.

  “Be careful not to step on anything sharp.” Samuel cut through her thoughts.

  Daphne blinked at him, nodded.

  “My shoulder doesn’t feel right. I think I jammed it in the crash.” Jocelyn frowned and rubbed the joint with her thumb.

  “I’m sore too.” Every muscle in Daphne’s body ached in protest as if it was too battered to take another step. Her thighs burned. Her shins tingled and her knees threatened to buckle. “My back is killing me.”

  “With any luck we’ll be in a car soon, and everyone can take a load off.” Samuel plowed ahead, searching for a suitable vehicle.

  Daphne sighed with relief. She was in good company. She just had to keep reminding herself of that.

  After a few blocks of trudging along, Jocelyn placed one hand against the wall of a brick building and paused. “Sorry guys, I need a minute.”

  Daphne stroked her back. “Don’t apologize. We can stop if you need to.”

  The air conditioned, cloth seats of the bus sounded more favorable to Daphne now. Maybe they’d made the wrong decision.

  A few paces in front of them, Samuel glanced back, but pointed forward. “I’m just going to check out around the corner. See what’s up ahead.”

  Daphne’s throat clenched as she watched him disappear. After a minute or two, Jocelyn pushed off the wall.

  “You good?”

  Jocelyn wiped her forehead with the back of her hand. Smudges of grit and dirt remained. “I think so. Let’s go. I don’t want to make Samuel wait.”

  They hobbled forward. Samuel was already inside a vehicle, an older low-slung sedan parked on the edge of the road, attempting to start it. As they approached, he flung open the driver’s side door and stepped out.

  “No luck?”

  “Flooded, most likely.”

  “We’ll find another,” Daphne suggested, trying to boost morale.

  “We need somewhere higher up or further ahead.”

  “What about there?” Jocelyn pointed. The familiar P in a circle stood out against the black of the building facade. From their vantage point, the deck appeared intact. Although a crack ran through the concrete entrance, it hadn’t collapsed. The building beside it suffered more, but it looked passable. Promising, even.

  It took longer than expected to make it up to a dry floor of the deck with no signs of water damage. They passed car after car, all too new for Samuel’s expertise. At last, they came upon an older SUV, one with a traditional gear shift jutting out from the steering column.

  Daphne stopped in front of it first. “This could work.”

  Samuel cupped his hands over his eyes and peered in through the window. “The gas needle is on empty.”

  Jocelyn groaned, the echo of her despair bouncing off the walls.

  “Let’s keep going.” Daphne took Jocelyn’s hand, marched her upward.

  On the next floor, they stopped in front of a truck.

  Jocelyn frowned. “It’s a little banged up.”

  “It looks like it was in a side-long collision,” Samuel agreed, “but that shouldn’t affect the engine.” He reached for the door handle and the door swung open, unlocked. He flashed a grin. “Let’s hope the luck holds.”

  He eased into the driver’s seat and reached beneath the steering wheel, pulling at wires. Daphne held her breath. Nervous sweat beaded on her skin. If this didn’t work, she didn’t know how much longer she could walk through the city. The engine clicked once, twice. Daphne crossed her fingers.

  At last, it rumbled to life and Samuel let out a whoop of success. “It’s got gas in it,” he confirmed, pressing his foot to the pedal. The engine hummed in response. “Purrs real nice, too. Let’s get going before it changes its mind and stalls out.”

  Daphne crawled in after Jocelyn. Samuel took the wheel and shoved it into reverse. The break lights lit up the back wall in a glowing red.

  Jocelyn’s whole face lit up in a relieved smile. “Now all we have to do is get out of here without anything else going wrong.”

  Daphne looked out the window and chewed on her bottom lip, praying that for once, they’d have an unhindered path ahead.