They were both standing beside Mary Lou, underneath the chrome Aphrodite hood ornament, stamping their feet and moving around to maintain some body warmth. Cindy pointed down an avenue running east. Dawn was probably three-quarters of an hour away, but already the sky in that direction was noticeably lighter. In a few minutes, Sofia knew, she would be able to make out a band of pale pink behind the skyline of the dead city. It was still cold outside, but merely a notch or two above freezing as opposed to the Siberian misery they’d left behind to the north. The snow petered out altogether a few hours after they’d crossed the Texas–Oklahoma border, and the convoy finally split back in Waco, with the drivers saying their goodbyes and wishing Sofia the best before peeling off towards their respective destinations.

‘I have my street map,’ she said, patting the folded-up sheet of paper in her back pocket. ‘I won’t get lost.’

‘You hurry straight on down there,’ Cindy told her, ‘and you’ll be fine. You don’t need to worry about bandits or low-life of any kind in Temple. There’s only a couple of hundred people living here, if that, and they’re all feds. Army maintains a small force down here – the real army, by the way, not those TDF misanthropes. They keep the place well policed. Matter of fact, you’ll probably run into one of their patrols on your way over to Main Street. Just tell them you’re waiting for the shuttle bus to the Hood, and that you’re going over to see Father Michael at the chapel. Tell them you have family business, but don’t tarry over there any longer than you have to. And don’t wander around on your own more than is absolutely necessary, got it, hon?’

Sofia nodded and hoisted her small backpack to settle it more comfortably on one shoulder. ‘Thank you, Cindy,’ she said, smiling with real warmth.

The trucker reached out and hugged her. Sofia allowed herself to relax into the hug, returning it in kind. She knew she wouldn’t have made it this far without the help of this kindly woman. It was a shame she’d had to mislead her the whole way, but having done so made it easier to soften their passing with one last lie.

‘I shall write to you in Seattle when I have my sister home,’ she said.