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FOURTEEN

I SLIPPED OFF INTO SLEEP soton, and woke up just in ti white warehouse that was Roanoke, Virginia’s for desperately to the side of the building, but that was about the only recognizable thing about the Supercenter A nu lot aiust of wind With the exception of a few abandoned cars and green Duainst the tangerine blush of the afternoon sun, it looked like the apocalypse had already touched down in Virginia

And ere only a stone’s throay froht

Once again, Lia in alone to check it out I felt Zu’s rubber glove on my arm and didn’t need to look at her face to knohat kind of expression I would find there She didn’t want hi into what looked like an honest-to-God hellhole alone anymore than I did

This is why you stayed, I reminded myself To take care of them And, in thataway

I ju the door handle

"Honk the horn three times for trouble," I said, and slid the door shut Liaainst one of the rusted shopping cart stalls

"Any way I could convince you to go back to Betty?"

"Nope," I said "Co deep in his pockets I couldn’t see his eyes, but the way he was slouching toward the deh

"You asked me before how I knew about this place…" he said, ere nearly to the entrance

"No--no, it’s okay I know, none of my business"

"Green," Liain You know Chubs and I were both in hiding? Well, it wasn’t exactly pleasant for either of us He at least got to stay at his grandparents’ cabin in Pennsylvania"

"Ah, but you had the pleasure of holing up in this fine A other places" Liam said "I…don’t like to talk about that time in front of Zu I don’t want her to think that that’s what her life is going to be"

"But you can’t lie to her," I said "I know you don’t want to scare her, but you can’t pretend that her life isn’t going to be hard It’s not fair"