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What are you—”
    Finally noticing my absence, Karla had come to fetch me but froze in place a few feet away as I emerged from the minivan with a baby cradled in my arms.
    The little guy couldn’t have been more than a few months old, his tiny light-blue polo shirt and khaki shorts baggy on his small, pale body. I barely felt his weight as I held him in my shivering arms. Thin lines of blood trailed from his mouth and nose.
    Tears rolled down my cheeks as I staggered toward Karla. Her feet remained planted firmly on the ground, but her body leaned away from me, as if she wanted to run away.
    “Do you think he might still…?” I tried to ignore the limpness of the baby’s stubby arms and feet, the coldness of his skin… all that blood.
    “Oh, Jesus…” Karla covered her mouth with both hands and whimpered, but soon regained enough composure to stretch out a hand toward the baby’s neck. She jerked it back right away.
    “Put him back, Becca.” She turned her face away, sobbing into her hands.
    I walked back to the minivan, crying, taking care not to stumble on the scattered rubble as I dragged my unsteady feet. I laid the baby in his car seat and reached for the plushy white blanket sprawled on the van’s floor to cover his pale, blood-streaked face. As I lifted the blanket I found a small stuffed monkey beneath it. The dumb smile sewn on its face seemed to mock me, and I felt the urge to toss it away, but instead I placed it in his owner’s arms and covered them both with the blanket.
    I stepped outside the minivan and wiped the tears off my cheeks before shutting the door. Steadying my breathing, I hurried to Karla, who stood where I'd left her. She wept and clasped her hands as if praying. I’d barely reached her when the sound of rapid stomping approached us. One of our classmates materialized out of the dust cloud.
    “Hey, what the hell—are you guys coming or not?” He tried to catch his breath. “What, you found a cute handbag in there or something?”
    I strode up to him without saying a word, my face flushing as my grief turned to anger. Somehow, I managed to contain my burning desire to sock him straight in his stupid mouth and settled instead for shoving him to the ground.
    “Shut up. Just shut up,” I said, trembling with rage and breathing heavily as I looked into his eyes. He frowned at me as he got back on his feet.
    “Crazy bitch.” He brushed off his clothes and walked away.
    I stormed after him, but Karla grabbed my arm. I turned back to face her, and the sight of her hazel eyes shimmering with tears doused the fire burning inside of me.
    “Let it go.” Her voice was barely more than a whisper.
    I didn’t answer, but I didn’t struggle, either. She let go of me. I gave the minivan one last tearful glance before marching back to our classmates.

Chapter 8
    With all recognizable landmarks flattened during the earthquake, and our hazy surroundings barely lit up by the crimson glow of the solar eclipse, it was hard to tell how much progress we’d made in our tortuous march to the hospital. Besides, my thoughts still lingered on the baby, wondering how long it would be until he and his mother got a proper burial. I soon lost track of all the twists and turns we made as we bypassed every blocked street.
    I sighed with relief as the familiar oak trees and short, cast-iron fences of a small park came into view. I’d spent hundreds of hours at that park with Karla when we were kids. St. Anne’s was just a few blocks away now.
    Karla squeezed my hand. “Oh, thank God.” She gave a joyous smile, showing her unnaturally white teeth.
    “Yeah, almost there.” I mirrored her smile.
    We found even more reasons to be happy as we met with the first signs of government presence since the disaster had struck. It was hardly an impressive operation, though. There was only a squad of soldiers—probably a National Guard unit that happened to be in the area—directing people toward the safety of