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tension. I thought about going after him but had a feeling that he needed a moment to calm down.
    “So we’re out here without any food or water?” Tyler asked. Rachel leaned against him, her skin pale, breathing deeply. She looked terrible.
    “It looks that way,” I muttered. This journey was off to a bad start already and we hadn’t even reached the fence. Maybe this was a sign. A warning. I pushed the thought out of my mind. Joshua was walking back toward us; I had to stay strong.
    “Look, let’s get to the store and see if we can find something there. And I want to look for some cameras or recording equipment to film the fence with. We might even be able to get some medicine for Rachel,” I said, sounding more positive than I felt. Rachel gave me a grateful smile. I looked over at Bobby but he wouldn’t meet my gaze.
    “How far away from the fence are we?” Joshua asked.
    Tyler pulled the map from his jeans pocket, running his finger over a road leading closer to Las Vegas. “We have to follow the interstate.” He pointed at a bend in the road. “We leave it here and keep driving straight ahead. After a few miles, we’ll see the fence. It’s maybe two more hours by car.”
    Only two more hours. We could have made it there by nightfall, but with Bobby added to the mix, we could kiss that plan good-bye. “We have to take Bobby back to Santa Barbara. He can’t come with us,” I said.
    “Hey, that’s unfair,” said Bobby. “I want to help! I can’t stand watching you go off, while I sit around doing nothing. You can’t tell me what to do.”
    “We’ll see about that!” I shouted.
    “Listen, guys,” Tyler interrupted. “Can I talk to you for a moment?”
    I glared at Bobby, before following Joshua and Tyler who had moved a few steps away from the car.
    “I don’t think Rachel is well enough to continue,” Tyler whispered. His voice broke. “I don’t know what’s wrong with her. She said she was feeling kind of shaky while we were on guard duty, but I thought it was just nerves. I’m sorry. I think I should take her back. Bobby can come with us.”
    I looked over to where Rachel was now slumped in the backseat, her eyes closed, breathing heavily. Bobby waited outside, arms folded.
    “You’re right,” I said. “But how are Joshua and I going to find the fence?”
    “Take the map.” Tyler handed it to Joshua. “You know how to get there now.”
    “Yeah, I suppose,” Joshua said with a glare at Bobby. “But we’ll have to find a car first and some more fuel since someone thought it was a good idea to throw out our reserve canister.”
    Tyler leaned into the car to check the fuel gauge. “There’s fuel for about 20 miles in the tank.”
    Bobby stood listening to us awkwardly. The way he shifted his feet and kept his eyes on the ground I almost felt sorry for him.
    “Get in. We don’t want to waste anymore time,” I said.
    Bobby squeezed in between Tyler and Rachel on the backseat and I rode shotgun.
    “You’re lucky we let you ride in the car with us and didn’t put you back into the trunk,” Joshua said as he started the engine.
    Bobby jutted his chin out and crossed his arms over his chest, but he stayed quiet.
    The purr of the engine filled the silence. The tension in the car was so thick, it almost made breathing difficult.
    Bobby had sunk deeper into the backseat, shamefaced. His eyes darted to meet mine in the rear view mirror. He was cracking his knuckles, something he used to do as a little kid before he started crying.
    I looked away and watched the desert fly by.

I perched on the wall and let my gaze wander over the garden. Soon we’d have to leave Safe-haven forever.
    Laughter carried over to me. Tyler and Rachel strolled toward the apple tree, shoulder to shoulder.
    I ducked but couldn’t stop watching. I was so close to them, but they were too focused on each other to notice me. Tyler pointed at something near a branch. I didn’t know what they’d spotted