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"We needed to get out of there before they showed up"

She gaped at hiht in town "Before who showed up, Carht ahead "Theaze, her eyes falling on four sleek black sedans sitting at the sa the opposite direction "Are they?" she started, unable to finish the question She’d seen those cars before

"La Cosa Nostra," Car beautifully, but the knowledge of what they ht turned green, and Caret co drive to California"

Intense es "California?"

He nodded "We’re needed in Blackburn"

39

Car at the angle of her neck She curled up the best she could with the seatbelt on Reaching over, he brushed some hair out of Haven’s face and tucked it behind her ear He ran the back of his hand across her cheek, feeling the roughness of the red blotches fro, but her tears spoke volumes about how she felt

They had been on the road for three days, stopping occasionally to catch some sleep, but the majority of the time had been spent in the cra worse everyinto a downpour Care as he fir wheel

Haven sensed his unstable mood when she awoke and waited for him to attempt conversation first "We’re almost to the state line," he said quietly

She stared out her foggy"Have you ever been to California?"

"Not that I reh"

"Do they have colleges here?"

"Of course"

"Any I could go to?"

"Sure," he said "What kinda classes do you wanna take?"

"Art, h to--"

He cut her off "You are good enough And yeah, there are plenty of art schools out here"

For the first ti other than trepidation shined from her eyes "Really?"

He chuckled "Yes, really, but why California?"

She shrugged "I like the paluard Most people overanalyzed where to go to school, choosing places based on student-teacher ratios, reputations, and sports teams, but she chose a place because of the scenery He found it as in life ain

"Do they have thehed "No, art schools"

"Oh Yeah, of course Art schools are everywhere"

"Have you ever been there?"

"A few tio to New York on business"

"I saw on Jeopardy! it’s the city that never sleeps"

He sazed at hio there to follow our dreahed "But I’m pretty sure they don’t have paln orn and faded, the green paint sandblasted to a dirty gray The white writing on it was barely legible Carmine did a double take as they passed by "Did that say population seventeen?"

"I didn’t think it was thatbut uninhabited land surrounded the barren highway "I believe it We haven’t passed anything for miles"

They drove for a fewin the distance He slowed the car, hoping to find a gas station since the gauge hovered near empty A hotel would be nice too, since his eyes burned froue, but as he neared the structures, his hope dih a sust of wind could knock theh, an eerie feeling overcohost town," he said "Where the hell are the people?"

"Maybe they hed dryly "Or they all died"

"Soled voice told him a story existed behind those words, but it wasn’t the ti on the brink of a breakdown, and he couldn’t risk pushing her over the edge

Carn They’d gone fro soul The toas an enormous prison cell There were no bars or chains, no physical restraints, but it was a mass of oblivion cut off from the world There were no people, no cars, no stores, no housesthere wasn’t even any color

It was like it didn’t exist

Suddenly, so rown up isolated, but knowing and seeing were vastly different things He wanted nothingher She communicated, and drove, and took GED tests She opened herself up to everything when she had literally co

In the next town, they came upon a tiny motel Carrabbed the key froried "I’ve stayed worse places"