Page 38 (2/2)

"What…happened?" I squeezed out

Zu curled down on herself like she was trying to vanish froround, and her bare hands were still up and facing forward, as if she had only touched the truck a second before

I didn’t knohat to say to get her to calirl, this Yellow--she’d destroyed two vehicles and one life in a matter of seconds And, by the looks of it, she’d done it with a single touch

But even knowing that, she was still Zu, and those hands? They were the ones that had pulledar feverish Dropping her into the closest seat, I pressed ainst her cheeks, but her eyes couldn’t focus on rabbed round

"Got ’em," I said I tossed them to her, and then turned to confront a heavier load

Chubs was still passed out in the passenger seat, his body hanging out of the open door The truck driver hadn’t been able tolimbs farther than that, thank God--otherwise Chubs probably would have been in the grass with the driver His liainst the door as I slammed it shut behind him

I tripped over the tips of my tennis shoes as I ht spots bleaching out ht, I pulled the driver’s door open the rest of the way Lia was able to stir hian to whiainst her knees

"You’re okay, Zu," I said "We’re all okay We’re gonna be fine"

I untangled Liaray seat belt and half pushed, half rolled hih to deposit hiht then So he ended up on the ground, wedged between the two front seats With his face turned up toward me, I could see thethe corners of his lips up in an unnatural sht steps to getting the van to work Trying to remember what Liam had done, what Cate had done, what ure out where the godda brake was, let alone if it was actually on

In the end, it didn’t matter I could drive with it on or off, apparently, and all I really needed to knoas that the right pedal was go, and the left was stop, and there really wasn’t a whole lot h the thickest heart of the smoke, and chased it down the open road until ere finally, finally, finally free of the wreckage, and the air coer carried the echo of the White Noise into our heads, or ss

ELEVEN

I GOT MAYBE TEN MILES BEFORE the boys began to rouse With Zu still crying in the backseat andno idea where we had been headed in the first place, to say I was relieved was an understateainst the side of his head and startled, sitting straight up "Holy crap!"

His face had been inches away fro at the sure they were still attached to so to be ill"