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For a brief second I consider telling hiami unicorn, but I remember how he brushed off my concerns earlier The conversation between Dr Kapur and Dr Walters plays back in ain”—did they know the facility would be abandoned e arrived? Considering the fully stocked backpacks, I believe it

We catch up with the others at the fence, where Chris cuts a hole large enough for hih with a pair of pliers heTrent is already on the other side—he climbed over the barbed wire in the time it took us to walk over

“What?” Trent asks, when he catchesover barbed wire…I’ht be

When Chris is finished, we each duck our heads and step through the jagged metal What was once empty land is noide road lined with other offices and industrial buildings Adam pulls out his map and coo will be ed sothe road, but there’s nothing to tell us which way to go

I remember the drive here, every twist and turn stored in my brain I know the freeway is nearby—or at least, it was in our tias station near the exit I start walking “This way”

“How do you know this is the right direction?” Chris asks, catching up with ot a better idea?”

He snorts but doesn’t say anything else The five of us head down the eles to peek out from the dark clouds

Another egg-shaped car shoots past us but slows at the corner to turn right On the backthere’s a shiny red, white, and blue bumper sticker that says, REELECT NGUYEN, followed by a year A year that makes me stop dead in my tracks

Because it’s thirty years in the future Not ten

01:06

I stare after the car, the nu after they’ve disappeared fro it hard to breathe “The car The sticker The year”