Chapter 8—GATHER WHAT YOU CAN.

“I know that.”

“Do you? Because you keep saying we have to move as if that makes it possible.”

Rue met his gaze. “If we stay here until the street fills with those things, we'll become barbecue. We move slowly, we rest when we can, and we keep quiet. But we move.”

Then the woman spoke. “We need water and food before we go. We have almost nothing left.”

Rue nodded. “You're right. We'll search nearby houses and shops, but nobody moves alone. We take only what we can carry, and we avoid anything that could clang or roll.”

Kael looked at the map again, his jaw tight. “At first light, we look for supplies. Then we find a route away from the main roads.”

“No,” Rue said. “We leave as soon as we can safely gather what we need. Every hour we wait is another hour the situation can change.”

They searched the nearby houses, moving from one room to another while Kael kept watch at the windows. They found bottled water, canned food, a first-aid kit, blankets, and two handcarts in a storage shed behind one of the houses.

“Take the food and water first,” Rue said, placing the supplies into a bag. “We can manage without the blankets if we have to, but we can't walk fifty kilometres without water.”

“And how much of this do you expect us to carry?” Kael asked, lifting a bag and testing its weight.

“Whatever we can manage.”

“That's not a plan, Rue.”

“Then come up with a better one.”

Kael gave her a look before turning to the injured man. “Let me see your leg.”

The man gritted his teeth as Kael examined the wound.

“Can you walk at all?” Kael asked.

“For a little while. But I won't get far like this.”

“Then we'll make sure you don't have to put too much weight on it.” Kael took a strip of cloth from the first-aid kit and began securing the man's injured leg. “Tell me if it gets too tight.”

The man nodded, his face drawn with pain.

Nearby, the woman was packing food into a bag while her husband helped the children drink some water.

“Don't give them too much at once,” Rue advised. “We don't know when we'll find more.”

The woman looked at the bottles. “How long do you think we'll be out there?”

Rue hesitated. She could have lied and promised they would reach safety quickly, but that wouldn't help anyone.

“I don't know. We'll take it one stretch at a time.”

“And if we can't keep going?”

“Then we'll find somewhere safe to rest. But we can't stay here.”

Kael glanced at her. “She's right. We need to move before dark.”

They waited until the street quieted before leaving the house. Kael went first, checking each corner before signalling the others to follow. They moved through back gardens and narrow service lanes, keeping away from the main roads where the ground had cracked open.

They had barely gone a few streets when a deep rumble travelled beneath their feet.

“Stop,” Kael whispered.

Everyone froze.

The woman pulled both children close while her husband held a hand over his daughter's mouth. Rue watched the ground, her heart pounding as dust sifted from a nearby wall.

“Is it coming this way?” the injured man whispered.

“I don't know,” Kael replied. “Nobody move.”

The rumbling faded, but Kael didn't immediately give the signal to continue. He waited, listening for another tremor.

When the street remained quiet, he motioned them forward.

They ducked into an abandoned shop when another vibration rattled the buildings. A stack of cans began sliding off a shelf, and Kael caught one just before it struck the floor.

The woman stared at him, her eyes wide.

“Would that have been enough to attract one?”

“Maybe,” Rue whispered. “That's why we can't afford to take chances.”

“How are we supposed to survive if even a can falling can kill us?” the woman asked.

Rue looked at her. “By learning what we can get away with, and never making the same mistake twice.”

Nobody answered. The woman simply pulled her children closer.

By late afternoon, the city behind them had become a maze of smoke and broken streets. The injured man was struggling again, and the children were too exhausted to keep pace.

“Daddy, my legs hurt,” the little girl whispered.

Her father crouched in front of her. “Climb on my back, sweetheart.”

“But you carried me earlier.”

“And I can carry you again.”

“You'll get tired.”

He smiled faintly. “Then you'll have to help me by holding on tightly.”

The girl climbed onto his back, wrapping her arms around his shoulders. Her mother took the younger child by the hand and followed.

Rue reached for the heavier bag the woman was carrying.

“I can manage,” the woman protested.

“I know. Give it to me anyway.”

“You're already carrying enough.”

“And you're carrying a child. Let me help.”

Before the woman could argue, Rue took the bag from her.

Kael fell into step beside Rue. “You can't carry everyone, you know.”

“I'm carrying a bag.”

“You know what I mean.”

She looked ahead. “And you can't save everyone by running toward every sound you hear. Yet here we are.”

Kael's expression tightened, but he didn't answer immediately.

Finally, he said, “I knew what I was doing.”

“You were a few seconds away from being swallowed.”

“And you were sitting on the road waiting to be eaten.”

Rue turned to him. “So we're both idiots. Can we keep walking now?”

For the first time since they had escaped the Hollow, the tension between them eased a little. Kael shook his head and continued down the path.

They reached the outskirts after sunset. The children were nearly asleep, the injured man was leaning heavily on Kael, and everyone was running low on strength.

When the bunker finally appeared ahead, Rue felt her breath catch.

“We're here,” she whispered.

Kael looked at the reinforced entrance. “This is your bunker?”

She nodded, already moving toward the door.

She knocked three times, paused, then knocked three more.

For several seconds, nothing happened.

“Why isn't anyone answering?” the woman whispered.

“They're inside,” Rue said, though the uncertainty in her voice betrayed her.

A small hatch opened. A pair of frightened eyes appeared, then widened in recognition.

“Rue?”

“Open the door, please.”

The locks began turning. One after another, the heavy bolts slid free, and the door swung inward.

Rue barely noticed the other survivors gathered inside. Her eyes had found one person standing behind them.

Her mother.

For a moment, neither of them moved. Then Rue rushed forward and wrapped her arms around her.

Her mother held her tightly, pressing her face against Rue's hair.

“You made it,” Rue whispered.