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"So like that" I reached for the van door and paused, looking at Mahir, as staring up at the sky "What now?"

"Look at those clouds" He sounded faintly awed Becks and I exchanged a glance, tilted our heads back, and looked

Growing up in California e and I never really experienced that much in the way of what ot ets rained on, and I knohat a cloud looks like when it’s getting ready to stor overhead were blacker than any that I’d ever seen, hanging low in the sky and visibly heavy with rain They were co rate The sky wasn’t exactly clear e pulled off, but it hadn’t been anything like this

Becks whistled low "That is soet to drive in it" I opened the van door "As long as we don’t get washed away, this could actually work in our favor If that sucker coonna be a bitch to track"

"Saved by the stors have happened"

Becks rolled her eyes "I hate to be the one to get all negative on you two, but we’re in Kansas, and we’re planning to be in Kansas for hours Isn’t this where Dorothy hen that whole ‘twister ride to Oz’ thing happened? Does either of you kno to recognize a tornado? Because I don’t It ood idea for us to find a motel and hole up until this blows over"

I shookto do, but it’s not an option If the CDC is following us, they’re going to expect us to wait out the stor clear" Becks still looked unconvinced I didn’t blame her; I wasn’t entirely convincedon Mahir’s phone It’s a nonspecific enough program that no one should be able to use it to track us, and if it starts flashing ‘Get off the road, assles,’ we’ll pull off until the storet blown to Oz, I’ to drop a house on your ass"

"See, that’s the sort of coot into the van Becks and ir did the sae

"Absolutely not," I ine

We backed out of the rest area a little at a tiate, Becks covering hihas clear in all directions What travelers we ht have had to deal ere clearly all set out of the path of the onco storm The van shuddered as the wheels left the cracked pavement of the rest area entrance for the s west, toward California

The light faded out a little bit at a tihts on in what should have been the ht slipped away, and the flatness of Kansas offered no real shelter The van rattled and fought against me until I was forced to slow to forty er seat Becks stayed crouched in the back with her rifle in one hand and a chocolate bar in the other,as it kept her awake, I really didn’t care what she wanted to do I was going to need her to take over driving duties before too et out of this stor the van by the side of the road