Then the old man quickly moved through the apartment, pulling a worn old hiking pack from a closet, stuffing it with cans and plastic packages of food, a canteen of water, and cartons of powdered milk. From another closet he took a small metal box marked with a red cross.

“There’s penicillin and bug-killers in this kit,” he told Ron. “Hope they can do the job, ’cause there’s nothing else we can do for him here inside the Dome.”

Ron nodded gratefully.

As Ron started to slide his arms through the pack’s shoulder harness, Dewey said, “You know you ought to eat something, and get some sleep. You’re not goin’ to get back for another day anyway, and you look mighty worn out.”

Shaking his head, Ron answered, “I can’t. That kid might be dying.”

Dewey nodded. “I know . . . well, good luck, son.”

The old man stuffed handfuls of dried food into Ron’s ragged pockets and helped him down to the street. Ron waved to him from the corner, turned, and headed back downtown. He munched on dried piece of fruit as he started out.

It took the rest of that night and all the following day for Ron to get just halfway back to the Gramercy area. He had to be especially careful now because the pack he carried contained valuable property. If anyone saw him, they would kill him just for the chance to look inside the pack. And with the pack weighing him down, Ron couldn’t run or fight as well as before.

So he had to go slowly, very slowly, through the dirty, nearly empty streets. Whenever he saw someone or heard anything at all, he hid in an alley or doorway or basement. Most of the day he had to stay hidden. Twice he dozed off while he crouched in basements. Each time he snapped awake, feeling angry at himself and ashamed for being so weak.

He made better time after dark. Still, it was nearly dawn on the third day when he got back to the building where he’d left Sylvia and Davey.

But they weren’t in the upstairs room where he had left them.

Ron put his pack down on the floor. His shoulders and arms creaked in relief as he got rid of the weight. The room was empty. In the gray light of early morning, Ron searched the whole floor for them. They weren’t in any of the rooms.

She must have gone to look for food, Ron told himself. Maybe Davey’s feeling better and they both went to look for food.

But he didn’t really believe that.

Ron searched every floor of the building, starting at the top and working down, floor by floor, until he reached the basement. Nothing.

He climbed wearily back up the stairs to the main hallway on the street level.

“Hello dude.”