She took a deep breath and stood. She shoved her hands into her pockets, something she often did when she was anxious, and paced to the opposite side of the room. There, she split the blinds on the window with two fingers and peered outside.

  From the window, Maya had a clear view south. Flashes lit the clouds like lightning, spreading from one horizon to the other. The aliens had filled the skies over Fort Campbell and were continuing their assault northward. Maya shuddered to think about what might have happened if she had followed Gerald’s advice and stayed. She thought of all the people she’d seen disintegrated before her eyes by sophisticated, alien weaponry. Cameron naturally came to her mind. The way the woman had pushed Maya out of the way and sacrificed her own life for the rest of the group.

  Maya then considered what things might have been like if they’d stayed in the fort. She saw her kids crying, reaching out for her as an alien stood behind them with its weapon pointed at their backs.

  Before the ugly daydream could get worse, Maya shut the blinds and stepped away from the window. Sweat ran down her face and she gasped for air, closing her eyes and seeking calm within herself.

  And as the dark thoughts faded, her decision became clear. She stood up straight and walked out of the office.

  Maya looked to her left, to where Reno sat with John and the kids. He stood up and dusted off the front of his pants as he stared at Maya. She saw Gerald again sitting in the same spot he’d been before, looking her way now with his elbows folded over his knees. And, ahead of her, Donna stood talking to one of the men in her own group. Most of the others were lying down, some sleeping and others just attempting to get some rest.

  Pushing a lock of hair from her face, Maya nodded at Donna as she walked over to Aiden and Laura. She could feel eyes on her as she sat down next to them.

  “Everything all right, Mom?” Aiden asked.

  Maya smiled. “Everything will be. Get some rest, because we’re leaving here in a couple of hours.”

  “Where are we going?” Reno asked.

  Maya looked over her shoulder to see Donna still staring at her.

  “We’re going to Cincinnati.”

  41

  “When do we get to stop running?”

  Maya looked over at her son, seeing the tears in his eyes. She took a deep breath before she replied, worried that she might give a snap reaction.

  “Hopefully, when we get to Cincinnati. Now, get your things.”

  “How far is that?” Laura asked.

  “I’m not sure.”

  “Do you think there will be power there?” Aiden asked.

  Maya bit her lip, and then couldn’t hold the words in any longer. “Look, I don’t know! Now get your shit in the truck!”

  Laura raised both hands in surrender and Aiden looked at his feet. Seeing their reactions, Maya sighed and shook her head, putting a hand in front of her own mouth.

  “I’m sorry, guys. I shouldn’t have snapped at you two. This is all nuts and all I want to do is make sure you’re safe. I know you’re both scared. I am, too, and I promise I’m doing everything I can to get us all to safety. Cool?”

  Aiden nodded, but Laura just stared. Maya brought them both into a group hug. “Now, please, put your things in the truck.”

  As her kids stepped away, Reno approached Maya with his bag already slung over a shoulder. He glanced at the kids, then back to Maya.

  “Everything okay?”

  Maya nodded. “They’ll be okay. This shit is wearing on them.”

  “Them or you?”

  “I think all of us.”

  “And you think following these people is the right call?”

  Maya raised an eyebrow, staring into Reno’s eyes. “I do. Did you have a better plan?”

  Reno shook his head. “I just hope there’s a refuge in Cincy.”

  Then Reno glanced over at the trucks. Maya followed his gaze to see Gerald leaning against the side of one of them as the two kids approached. They put their bags inside and tried talking to their dad, but he only mumbled a few words without looking up.

  Reno turned back to Maya. “You think he’s going to be okay?”

  The truth was that Maya wasn’t sure. She wasn’t looking forward to riding with Gerald after the way he’d been acting. She’d known him for years, and had thought she’d seen every fickle mood and explosive emotion he was capable of. But she’d never seen him this despondent.

  “He’ll be fine,” she said. “Let’s get going.”

  They walked over to the trucks. The kids had climbed into the one she’d be driving. Gerald would be coming along with her, and Reno and John would be driving the other. She looked at her ex-husband, who was still leaning against the side of the vehicle.

  “You about ready to go?”

  Maya waited for him to say something as they made eye contact. He glared at her instead, dirt covering his tear-streaked face, but he said nothing as he finally climbed into the passenger seat.

  This is going to be one hell of a ride, Maya thought as she rolled her eyes.

  Donna approached, and Maya forced herself to smile as the woman put a hand on her shoulder.

  “You about set?” Donna asked.

  “Ready when you are.”

  Donna shook her head. “This isn’t going to be an easy trip.”

  “You don’t have to tell me that,” Maya said, thinking back to some of the ordeals she’d been through. “Let’s just get on the road so we can get it over with.”

  “As you wish. We’ll follow you.”

  Maya nodded, then got into the driver’s seat of the truck. Within minutes, they were on the highway again, headed north.

  Gerald said nothing, keeping his fist to his chin and looking out his window. The kids had sensed his mood, as well, as they hadn’t tried talking to him again. Maya drove with both hands on the wheel, wanting to say something to him, but deciding not to. It wasn’t worth it. She only hoped he would eventually cool down and get back to a somewhat normal Gerald by the time they reached Cincinnati. Normal Gerald was an asshole, but he was better than this guy.

  Maya checked her rearview mirror to see Donna’s caravan following closely behind. Reno and John were in the vehicle ahead of her, leading the way. John had family in Cincinnati, and so he had been there plenty of times and knew all the shortcuts—and side roads and detours if necessary.

  They’d made it about fifty miles from the rest stop when smoke began billowing from the hood of Reno and John’s truck. This broke the peace, and even Gerald sat up in his seat and looked out the windshield.

  “What’s happening?” Aiden asked.

  “I’m not sure.”

  Maya had lied, of course. She knew, but she had to hold it together. She checked the rearview mirror again. In the car behind them, she saw Donna talking to the person who was driving. Ahead, Reno stuck his arm out of the window to signal that he was pulling over. A gas station was just ahead on the right, though it looked like it had been closed since the invasion began. Reno drifted off the side of the road toward it.

  Maya clicked on their emergency lights and put her hand out the window to signal to Donna that she was pulling over.

  “Hopefully, she won’t be too upset that we have to stop for a few,” Maya said, thinking out loud.

  She pulled into the parking lot, and as she turned to check on the caravan again, she heard their engines roar. Donna’s group continued speeding down the highway, leaving Maya and the others behind. Maya threw the truck into park and jumped out.

  Standing next to the road, she waved her arms.

  “Hey!”

  But the caravan continued speeding off down the road, leaving nothing but dust in their wake.

  Her arms fell to her sides and Maya exhaled.

  Reno stepped out of the other truck and put his arms out. “What the fuck was that?”

  Maya looked down and kicked the dirt. Then she put her hands on her hips and shook her head.

  “Why would they just keep going?” Laura asked.

  “I don’t know,” Maya said, swallowing the words she really wanted to share with Donna.

  She looked to the sky. Luckily, it was still early enough in the day where there would be a minimal threat of aliens, but she also knew they were up against another clock.

  “She must be really worried about getting to Cincinnati before they close that stadium down,” she said.

  John walked around to the driver’s side and popped the hood of his truck. When he lifted it, more smoke rose from the motor as he coughed.

  “Keep everyone away from that until the smoke clears and I can take a look,” Maya said to Reno. “I’m going to run inside and make sure it’s clear, and see if there’s anything useful.”

  Maya walked through the shattered glass doors of the convenience store to see that every cooler had been shot out and raided, the only thing left on the floor being a single can of baked beans. But it wasn’t the sight of the store that raised the hairs on Maya’s neck—it was the stench.

  As an EMT, she knew exactly what the smell was, but she’d never gotten used to it. She lifted the collar of her shirt up over her nose, breathing through her mouth. Whoever had died in here had done so in the last two or three days. She’d turned around to leave when she heard something.

  A voice.

  “Hello?” Maya asked.

  There was no immediate response, and then she heard the voice again. It had a static to it, and she followed the noise behind the counter. And when she looked behind it, she saw not only the source of the sound, but also the smell.

  A man lay on the ground, with his eyes wide and dried blood stains covering his head, spreading out from a hole between his eyes. A handgun lay on one side of him and a radio on the other. Maya picked up the radio, the dried blood tacky on her fingers. She tweaked the knob until the static receded to a light crackle and the voice became clearer.

  “…approximately 80% of the world’s cities. Most have been domed while others have been obliterated. New York, London, Paris—gone. Survivors should hide wherever possible, especially during the night. Stay off the highways. Stay out of sight. Some reports suggest the swarm is fanning out to the countryside and more rural areas. Take haven where you can find it, and God bless America.”

  Maya walked out of the convenience store and found that Reno was waiting for her. Behind him, the kids were out of the other truck.

  “Find any tools?”

  Maya looked at Reno, unsure how to respond.

  “What’s the matter?” he asked.

  “A radio… local news reports…” Maya trailed off, not sure what to tell Reno and how to break the news to her children.

  “That’ll have to wait, Maya. We’ve got big problems right here.”

  42

  “I knew this piece of shit wouldn’t last,” Reno said.

  With wrench in hand, Maya climbed under the hood. But even she knew she was fooling herself. After a few more minutes of checking seals and hoses, she stepped back from the truck and grunted as she threw the wrench to the ground. Her hands had been covered with oil and gunk. She pushed her hair away from the front of her face and wiped the sweat from her brow using her forearm.

  “Damn radiator.”

  Reno nodded. “That’s what I thought, too.”

  “What’s that mean?” Aiden asked.

  “It means this hunk of crap isn’t going anywhere,” Gerald said.

  It was the first time he’d spoken in quite some time. Maya glared at him before looking at her son.

  “Unfortunately, your father’s right.”

  “Can’t we get a radiator out of another car?” Laura asked.

  Maya looked up and down the highway. There weren’t any vehicles in sight, and she pointed that out to her daughter.

  “And even if there were, we don’t have the parts, tools, or time.”

  “Maybe we’ve got more time than we think,” Reno said. “We don’t know if that Donna woman was being honest. And the fact that they sped off without us doesn’t make her trustworthy in my book.”

  “Maybe not, but she was right about the time.”

  Reno narrowed his eyes. “How do you know that?”

  “I told you, someone broadcasting over a local radio station, saying that the cities are gone, people should hide. The aliens,” Maya said, waving her greasy arm at the horizon, “are moving north. I saw flashes in the sky last night where Fort Campbell used to be. I don’t want to be on this highway when they arrive.”

  “Jesus,” John said. “So, it really is getting worse.”

  “And it seems like Cincinnati is our best choice,” Reno said. “Donna was right, I guess.”

  “Then let’s all jump into our truck and get going,” Aiden said.

  Maya turned and chastised herself for overlooking such a simple solution—until she looked at the cab and did the math.

  John, Reno, and Gerald looked at each other, then at Maya. No matter how she imagined them getting into the one truck, it wouldn’t work. The old maintenance trucks had had their beds removed, with tanks of fertilizer or insecticide mounted to the frames. It was impossible for anyone to ride in the back and impossible to fit all six of them in the cab given the toolbox that had been welded to the truck’s frame.

  Laura leaned over and whispered into Aiden’s ear, explaining why his solution wouldn’t work, and Maya felt her heart break as she saw the realization bloom on her son’s face.

  Aiden shook his head. “There’s got to be something we can do. There has to be a bigger vehicle somewhere around here that we can take, or some way to find the tools we need to fix this one. Maybe we can take off those tanks or rip out the toolbox so we can all fit?”

  “I wish we could, but the truck mods are welded. There’s no way their coming off.” Gerald’s voice began to crack. “The aliens are coming. Your mom heard it on that radio inside. We don’t have time to waste with all that. By the time we find a vehicle or get this one fixed, that stadium is gonna be closed and then we’re all going to be in trouble.”

  “So, now what?” Aiden asked.

  Maya looked at John, Reno, and then Gerald last. She couldn’t look at Laura or Aiden because she knew she’d fall apart. “It means that two of us are going to have to stay here.”

  Aiden’s face turned pale, and his eyes darted between his parents.

  “No way,” he said. “There’s got to be another way. We can’t leave anybody behind.”

  “We don’t have a choice, son,” Gerald said. “It’s just the way it has to be.”

  “But we haven’t even tried finding another car yet. And, Mom, are you sure it’s the radiator? What if it’s something else that you can fix?”

  Maya shook her head. “It’s not, hon. I’ve been working on cars since I was your age. I know this is something that we can’t fix. I wish it were that easy.”

  Aiden started to cry, and his sister wrapped her arm around him. He buried his head into her chest.

  And as the four adults looked at each other once more, the question hung like a pregnant thundercloud.

  Who was going to be left behind?

  43

  Maya wanted to be anywhere but there in that moment. With everyone staring at her, expecting her to make the toughest decision of their lives for them, all she wanted was to be alone. But she knew this was her responsibility, as the person who had been put in charge of the group.

  Then Reno looked around at the others.

  “Well, we’ve got a choice to make. The kids are going, but—”

  “No shit, Sherlock,” Gerald said, interrupting him.

  Reno smiled for a moment before shaking his head and continuing. “Two of us are going to have to stay here. How are we going to decide?”

  “One of you,” Maya said. “I’m not leaving my kids and they’re not staying here.”

  John shrugged. “We could draw straws, or whatever we can find that would work.”

  “Are we in second-fucking-grade or something, here?” Gerald asked.

  “I don’t hear you coming up with any better ideas,” John said.

  “No, you know, I’ve got an idea.” Gerald pointed back and forth at Reno and John. “How about you two stay?”

  Maya stood back and listened, sharing a glance with Reno after Gerald’s suggestion. Reno licked his lips and was about to respond when John jumped in.

  “Screw that. Why are we automatically assuming that your name isn’t on the chopping block?”

  Gerald snorted a sarcastic laugh, then turned to Laura and Aiden. “There’s two reasons for you right there, dumbass. If you think I’m leaving my children behind, then you’re crazy. And if we’re going that far, Maya’s name should be on the table, too.”

  Maya felt her chest tighten, and her mouth went dry.

  I’d die first, you son of a bitch.

  She couldn’t trust Gerald with their safety. Although, he had kept the kids safe when all this had hit the fan. She didn’t agree with his decision to take them from her mother, but she understood that what he did and how he treated their grandmother was done under extreme duress.

  “That’s ridiculous,” Reno said. “Maya’s name shouldn’t even be considered.”

  “Why?” Maya stepped into the middle of the men, all of her certainty about the situation beginning to slide away. She glanced around at them before glaring at Reno. “Why shouldn’t I be considered?”

  “Come on, Maya,” Reno said. “Don’t be like this.”

  “Like what? I’ve done things over the past few weeks that are unfathomable. What makes me any better than anyone else?”

  “Because everything you’ve done has been to save your kids,” Reno said.

  “Yeah,” John said. “You didn’t fuckin’ kidnap ‘em like this guy.”

  “Maybe we should be leaving your fat, worthless ass behind,” Gerald said. “Who the hell are you anyway? We don’t know if you’re really a cop, and so what if you are?”