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took me a moment to realize they were coming from the river.
    Crack .
    Another shot. More cries of panic.
    Makara was looking toward the other Raiders. They were all lying in place, as before.
    Char raised an arm. Silently, all the Raiders stood, then charged down the ridge.
    I rushed to join them. Two dead Imperials lay at the bottom of the hill. The remaining three were running for the cold Colorado River.
    The Raiders fired their guns, yelling, surrounding the Imperials on three sides. The Imperials ran into the water and started swimming. Even if they did have the strength to make it across, they would be so cold and exhausted that they would be dead by nightfall.
    The Raiders didn’t want to take any chances. They aimed and fired into the water, downing two of the men. Their bodies floated downstream. The last made a dive, vanishing below the surface of the dark blue water. We waited for a good thirty seconds before he came back up. When he did, he appeared distant, about a quarter of the way across the river.
    The Raiders took aim again. But before any could take a shot, another crack sounded in the air. The man stopped swimming, and floated downstream like the rest.
    They were all dead. And I had no idea who had killed three of them. I saw all the Raiders looking northward along the rise. At a high point, a figure stood with a long rifle held aloft.
    Of course. Lisa had sniped them all out.
    I had no idea how I missed that one.
    After she joined the rest of the group, we headed back to Bluff. Though the Imperials were all dead, that didn’t stop the fires they’d set from burning.

Chapter 7
    I t was evening. We had spent the rest of the day putting out what fires we could. Not just us, but every person that could be spared in Raider Bluff, slave or free. We worked hour after hour, throwing water gathered from the irrigation canals and river onto the stubborn flames. Often, it felt as if we were making no progress.
    Finally, the last of the fires had burned out, leaving a good thirty percent of Raider Bluff’s farmland a smoking ruin.
    Though I didn’t say anything about it, I wondered how Char felt about killing Rex. It was only a matter of time until the Empire came back. Next time, it would not be six men. It would probably be more like six thousand.
    We stood in the clinic. Samuel had called this meeting to make an announcement. Makara had brought Lisa, for some reason. Char had come to hear what Samuel had to say; Anna was there because Char was there.
    “We’re leaving tomorrow,” Samuel said.
    He couldn’t be serious. He had been shot in the arm just yesterday. It was a while before anyone spoke.
    “Absolutely not,” Makara said. “You need more time to recover.”
    “I will have to recover on the road,” Samuel said. “This attack has convinced me. I will not be caught in Raider Bluff in a war. Moreover, Bunker One will be buried in snow if we wait until I recover. By then it will be too late. I will not be delayed any longer.”
    Makara opened her mouth, but Char held a hand up.
    “Listen here,” Char said. “I know you’re a tough guy, but this is nuts. You leave now, that thing will open up and get infected. You want to go through the Great Blight with an open wound like that? The Empire will be back, yes. But not tomorrow. Not even in one month.”
    “I’ll do what I must to get those Black Files,” Samuel said. “Even at the risk of my own life.”
    “Yes,” Char said, “but does your sister feel the same way?”
    From the look in Makara’s eyes, it was clear that she didn’t. She took a step forward. “Samuel, you’re not thinking straight. Like Char said, the Empire won’t be here for months, probably, and...”
    “I know,” Samuel said. “This is crazy. But this mission is happening, and it is happening tomorrow. The longer we stay here, the more things will fall apart. The Empire attacked Raider Bluff today, and who’s to say they don’t have an army camped a day’s