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Given my luck, it would not have surprised me if she had rabies from the rat and attacked me

But, no, she was just hurt and tired

She took the rateful look in her eyes and her tail wagged twice

I fed her the rest of the patty and then she took soo back under the couch but I scooped her gently into my arms

"Can you hand me the Bactine and the Neosporin?" I asked Astrid

She handed the "We’ll get these cuts healed up now Good girl"

I put some more ointment on the worst of the scratches They looked red--more red than Caroline’s bite wounds, but I really didn’t knohat else to do

I had sat on the floor for so long, my knees were creaky when I stood up

I turned and faced Astrid

She was just looking at uy," she said Her voice sounded kind of hollow

"Yeah," I answered

She laughed It was a dry, self-deprecating chuckle

"My mom said that when sheand she had the thought, ‘This is a good guy’ Like, she had this sudden recognition"

I nodded

"It didn’t stop her fro of a-holes, I tell you that"

"Your parents got divorced?"

"My parents never even married She couldn’t take it, how nice he was"

"Oh," I said The conversation didn’t see my way

"Why do you think Jake left?" she asked, suddenly changing the subject

"Uh I think he wanted to help Brayden He felt bad that when Brayden got shot, he couldn’t do inally He was being a big hero Going out scouting Going on a big, stupidabout Jake with her usual toughness, but I could almost hear how hurt Astrid was under the sarcas that the hospital was closed, why didn’t he come back?"

"I don’t know," I told her

"I’ll tell you why," she said "Because he only ever thinks about hiuy I pick"

Tears started to trickle down her cheeks

"He doesn’t even know," she spat "About the baby Ugh! What’s wrong withapart!"

She wiped the tears roughly with the back of her hand

"And where are the other guys? Have they made it? Shouldn’t they be in Denver by now? Why hasn’t anyone come back for us?"

She sank down to sit on the futon She was really crying now I didn’t knohat to do, so I sat down, too, and hugged her It see to do It seemed like she needed soe

Her soft body felt so ware

"Astrid, I know It’s horrible It’s all horrible"

Laoing crazy" She wept into my shirt

"Listen, Astrid, if I were you, I’d feel the sa and we don’t knohat’s going to happen to us and, if all that wasn’t enough, you’re pregnant You’re pregnant, Astrid You have to give yourself a break You really do"

She looked up at me Wet lashes, reddish nose Her beautiful face just inches away frohtened lasses

I could feel her breath on my lips

She looked into o bins stacked three high

"What’s wrong, Astrid?" Henry said "Are you sad? Don’t cry"

He caled onto her lap, wrapping his skinny, freckled ar" She eo wall to do and it’s not going to build itself"

CHAPTER SIX

ALEX

42–27 MILES

Mornings outside go like this: You are in the dark and it looks like night Like a very dark night with no moon at all But this part of your brain is on a tie That kind offor that and waiting for that and it never comes

By my watch, I kneas 6:07 a, it seeot everyone up, except for Josie She was still out cold

Brayden seemed the same as before Still not really conscious but not dead either Sahalia kept squeezing a little bit of Gatorade into his mouth every once in a while

Sahalia, Batiste, and I had to get out and push to get the bus out of the ravine

The ground was very rasses

Niko was mad that Sahalia, Batiste, and I have our masks off, but really, it’s impossible to hear what anyone says with them on At least e talked to him or to the little kids, one side of the conversation could be understood