The mists had lifted and left disaster in their wake. Entire houses had collapsed. Blood lined the streets like snow in winter, and bodies were abandoned like trash on the sides of roads. People were coming out of their houses like they’d woken up from a bad dream. The wounded were being tended to by paramedics when possible, otherwise by passers-by or loved ones.
Alva clutched the steering wheel and proceeded carefully down the residential roads, avoiding any main arteries. There were lots of accidents, but not as many as might have happened had it been later in the day, when more people were on their way to work. Small blessings.
She turned Percival on someone’s lawn to avoid a gap that had materialized in the road, like something had crunched it down. Molly lowered the passenger side window and apologized to the owner, who sat on his steps without moving. He barely acknowledged her.
“Should we stop?” Molly asked, rolling her window back up.
“We need to get your sister,” Hector said right away. “We might not have much time,”
Alva nodded, but glanced back at the homeowner. She thought of Steve and Louise in the shop, and how she’d left them behind. And Jack, who she’d run away from. If her entire life was to be judged on how she did in that shop, she would fail miserably. She hadn’t found the courage to help them, but she certainly could find it to save her sister.
“Pete says the bus still won’t open its doors. A few of the students were hurt, but not bad.”
“Okay. We get Pete and help those kids off the bus. Then we get out of here and go…” She looked back to Hector.
“North,” he offered.
“North.” She repeated to reaffirm.
Gruff sat silently in the back and gazed out the window. Al wanted to take his hand and tell him everything would be okay, but they still couldn’t reach his children, or his grandchildren. And he’d just witnessed his wife vanish, or die, or whatever that was.
She wasn’t sure she could tell him everything would be okay. The lie refused to tumble from her lips.