All at once he felt the pressure settling onto him, all the weight of the moment concentrated onto a space the size of his shoulders. He pictured tactical teams just like this one, in cities all over America, saddled up and ready, waiting for news from right here—from himself and Danica.

Dryden had been under that kind of pressure before—his old line of work had offered a steady supply of it. But in all those cases, there had at least been something he could do. Some action he could take, however steep the odds against success. The responsibility on his back had also been in his hands.

This situation was different. The world was waiting for him to do something that wasn’t even up to him—the memories would come or they wouldn’t.

At the edge of his vision, Dryden saw Danica draw a hand across her forehead. Maybe the same pressure was landing on her.

On the far side of the Jeep, Grace was reaching for the front passenger door when he stopped, seeing their expressions. He came around the back and stood facing them.

“Hey,” the man said. His tone was even, though he couldn’t hide the stress behind it. “I know this is a crapshoot. There’s no precedent for how to do it, and no guarantee it’ll work. Anyplace we look at, in there, if you feel like you’re getting something back … I don’t want you to force it. Not if that’s going to screw it up. We need this fast, but we also need it right. So—” He cut himself off, thinking. He glanced back down the caravan of waiting vehicles, then looked at Dryden and Danica again. “Don’t feel hurried. But hurry.”

He turned and went back around the Jeep and got in.

Dryden traded a look with Danica, and then they climbed into the back seat.

A moment later the vehicle had crossed the boundary into the tall grass, and was rolling through it at forty miles an hour.

It felt more like being in a boat than a Jeep. The weeds hissed around and beneath the chassis like water. Behind it, strung out in a long line, came the motorcade of other Jeeps and SUVs.

Dryden stood up from his seat and leaned forward against the roll bar. The view before him was wide open, unobstructed. Beside him, Danica stood and did the same. They watched the distant ruins of the town close in toward them, and waited for something to click.

“Hold up,” Dryden said.

The driver brought the Jeep to a stop.