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88 HOURS, 52 MINUTES

ORSAY PETTIJOHN STOOD transfixed Two kids, the first hus she had seen in three months, and both were bizarre, creepy In the one boy’s case, monstrous

One was soht arm should have been

The other…she wasn’t even sure the other was there for a moment He appeared, then he disappeared

The boy with the frightening tentacle stared after the invisible one Not quite invisible, Orsay realized when the boy stepped into a pool of light, but close enough Then the boy with the python ar door of a Toyota that had unaccountably run fifty feet off the road

The boy evidently wanted theopen, but the battery was dead So he drew a gun, ai was so loud that Orsay gasped She would have given away her position, but the sound of the explosion also caed the sound of her cry

Orsay squatted in the dark, in the dirt, and waited The boy with the python aro to sleep

And then it would begin again

Orsay had been living at the ranger station in the Stefano Rey National Park on the day everyone disappeared

She had been htened

She had also been relieved

Just about threeher father for help

“What do youover paperwork There was a lot of paperwork involved in being a ranger It wasn’t just about helping find lost hikers andsure ca marshmallows

She had wanted to make him pay attention to her Just to her Not phony attention where he was really focused on his work “Dad, I’”

That declaration had earned her a dubious glance “Is this about going to see your mom? Because I told you, she’s still not ready She loves you very much, but she’s not ready for the responsibility”