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changing my clothes. I’d gotten into the habit of sleeping fully dressed, somethingI was now thankful for and disgusted with at the same time.
    Lex’s fingers flew over his phone as he gave the order to leave to the dozens of Resistance members across the Badlands. I decided against wasting time changing my jeans and instead pulled on my boots.
    Shouts sounded in the street, so I opted for the window. I ushered Lex through and then turned back. My father stood in the doorway, wearing his brown plaid pajamas and a stricken expression.
    “Peace goes with you, Indiarina,” he said. “Please send Mother home safe.”
    There were no sweet good-byes to be had. I darted across the room just as knocking sounded on the front door. I held my father in a two-second hug—long enough to convey my love for him and short enough that I wouldn’t break down—and sprinted back to the window.
    This time, I didn’t look back.
    The grass looked gray in the predawn light, and Lex’s footprints shone like oil. I stepped in them so that it appeared like only one person had fled this house and vaulted the wooden fence at the edge of the backyard.
    Behind me, probably standing on my front porch, a dog barked. I tightened my backpack straps and recited theemergency evacuation instructions Jag had put into place years ago. “When the code word for evac goes out, get to the forest as quickly and inconspicuously as you can. ” I’d been drilling it into my people for the past two weeks as well.
    The forest was a temporary safe spot; Jag had always intended to provide the second location himself. I reminded myself that I was in charge, and I would be giving the second location. If I arrive in the forest alive.
    I silenced that troubling thought as I scampered next to Lex behind a dog kennel. I’d jumped my fence and stolen through this particular yard many times. Only one more street lay to the north before the desert took over, but the narrow strip of trees that constituted the forest blanketed the west side of the Badlands. A couple of miles separated me from the protection of those branches.
    I tapped Lex on the arm and motioned with my head for him to push further back. A narrow space existed between the kennel and the fence, and we could almost make it to the house without being exposed.
    Lex squeezed himself into the tiny space, only issuing a single grunt of complaint. He turned at the corner and yanked on his pack as it jammed. I had to do the same thing, but hardly a sound met my ears as we moved. At the edge of the kennel a ten-foot expanse separated the safety of theshadows we stood in now from the dark area along the side of the house.
    Lex sprinted across first, without incident. I waited until I couldn’t see him in the darkness. I waited five more seconds. Then I pumped my legs and flew across the space too.
    A motion-sensing light flicked on just before I met the shadows, casting a long triangle of light into my hiding place. Lex shuffled further along to provide more room for me to hide. Nobody came, but even if they had, Lex and I didn’t wait for them. Taught to constantly move forward, we peered into the street together, only our heads poking around a rain gutter.
    Orange puddles of light adorned the corners of the street but otherwise it was quiet. Too quiet. In the distance, another dog barked. Somewhere a door slammed. This early in the morning, nobody was out jogging or driving to work.
    “Across?” Lex asked.
    “Across,” I answered. As I pounded the pavement, I wished I’d had the time and foresight to grab my jacket. The dampness of predawn settled under my skin, chilling me despite my physical exertion.
    With every yard we crossed and every fence we jumped, I thought of Jag. He’d made the journey to the forest many times, claiming it was the only place he could truly think. I’dfollowed him once last fall, desperate to carry some of the burdens he bore as leader. He’d let me follow him, silent and