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"But where is everyone?"

"In tent cities, outside of the big cities like Rich to find work I know a lot of people are trying to go west because they think there’s going to be ine it’ll be safer There’s a lot of looting and vigilante groups roa about here"

I was almost afraid to ask "What about the police? Why didn’t they stop them?"

Cate bit her bottom lip "It’s like I just told you--the states couldn’t afford to pay their salaries, so they were let go Most of the police work is done by volunteers now, or the National Guard That’s why you need to stay close to ot worse e passed the eley toward the ground Clusters of birds were perched along its broken backbone, watching us as we blew past the stop sign and turned the corner

We passed what ht side of the building had crumbled in on itself The rainbow mural of faces and suns painted on the other side of the building was visible just beyond the tangled web of yellow police tape blocking off the wreckage

"Someone planted a bomb in the cafeteria, just before the first Collection," Cate said "Set it off during lunchtiovernment?" Martin pressed, but Cate didn’t have an answer for hinaling her turn to no one in particular

A city with no people

My breath fogged up the e left that neighborhood behind and sped toward another strip mall We passed a Starbucks, a nail salon, a McDonald’s, and another nail salon before Cate finally pulled into a gas station

I saw the other car immediately--a tan SUV, a kind I had never seen before The as That would have been ias pumps were beaten in, their hoses and nozzles strewn across the concrete

Cate honked, but the , too, at least as young as Cate, with a small build and dark brown hair that fell over his forehead As we got closer, the snized hihts The one she had pictured in dazzling colors and lights as we left Thurmond

Cate barely had the car in park before she threw her door open and bolted straight for hih as she threw her ar into hilasses flew off his face

Martin’s sweaty pal ht squeeze, and that was it for me I pushed the car door open and stepped outside, whether Cate wanted me to or not

The air was darass into an electric green It clung tothe last few hours confined with Martin the Mouth Breather, who see perpetually sticky

"--they found Norah about a half hour after you left," the man said as I walked up "They sent two units after you Did you run into any trouble?"

"None" Cate had an arm around his ht now But where are your--"

Rob shook his head sharply, a shadow passing over his face "I couldn’t get them out"