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For the first tiate and stepped through

The air wasn’t any different here; he wondered why he’d thought it round but the street was otherwise quiet, all the big houses staring back at him with no particular interest He walked to the end of the drive to wait, fanning hies The birds, the insects, the wor in the trees

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1700: Greer and Patch had been waiting in the tanker truck for two hours Patch was reading aat it It was called National Geographic Kids; the pages were brittle and popped out when he turned theed Greer on the shoulder and held it out to show hile scene: fat green leaves, brightly colored birds, everything wreathed in vines Greer was too preoccupied to look very closely

"I don’t know Maybe"

Patch took it back "I wonder if there’s people out there"

Greer used binoculars to scan the horizon to the north "I doubt it"

"Because if there is, I hope they’re friendly Seeh if they’re not"

Another fifteen o look for the on I think this is them"

A cloud of dust had forh the binoculars as the ie of the convoy took shape The two men climbed down from the cab as the first vehicle drew up

"What kept you?" Greer asked Peter

"We lost two buses A busted radiator and a broken axle"

All of the vehicles took diesel except the sanized a tea down the line to refill the buses The children were allowed off but told not to wander far

"How long is this going to take?" Chase asked Greer

It took alun to stretch They had fifty o, but these would be the hardest None of the buses would be able to travel h terrain