Jared reached his hand across the console and gripped it around mine. We were vulnerable, and he knew it. Any human we came across was a threat. Jared’s hand squeezed tighter, and all color left his face.

“I can’t decide if I should turn off the highway to a road that’s less traveled, or stay and cut down on time.”

“This particular stretch didn’t seem busy when we came through. Maybe we’ll get lucky. It’s the cities I’m worried about.”

We passed only a car or two over the next ten minutes. Every time I saw something in the distance, I tensed and waited. Each time the car would pass without so much as a wave, and the adrenaline would absorb back into my system. I was beginning to feel sick and dizzy after an hour, but I knew we couldn’t stop.

“They’re up to something,” Jared said. He was squinting, trying to focus as far out as he could to see any impending danger.

“How long before we meet Claire?”

“I don’t know when they left. I’m assuming right away. Considering the time of the call and how fast Claire drives, I would say less than an hour. Maybe half that.”

I nodded quickly, trying to make myself feel better. “Thirty minutes. We can hold on for thirty minutes. What could they possible throw at us that we couldn’t handle for that long?”

Jared didn’t speak for a solid minute while he studied the road ahead. When he finally focused on a tiny dot in the distance, his face fell, and his breath caught. “Oh, my God.”

I knew my human eyes wouldn’t have been able to make out the dark blur several miles ahead, but Bean gave me focus I might not otherwise have had. The long, dark blots on the road, dancing against the heat off the asphalt, barreled toward us.

It wasn’t until I tried to form a sentence that I realized my mouth was gaping open. “What do we do?”

Jared released my hand and reached under the seat. He offered me an extra handgun, and then put both hands on the wheel.

A caravan of Army vehicles, a Humvee, three Jeeps, and a large supply truck moved toward us at full speed. The back of the truck reminded me of a covered wagon, only one covered with camouflaged tarp.

“You’ve got to be kidding,” I said, breathless.

“They’re probably on their way to Fort Story,” Jared said.

“I don’t care where they’re going. This is why things have been so quiet, Jared. Hell knew about that caravan and planned to shell them the second they crossed our path. You have to leave the road.”

“They’ll just follow.”

I sighed in frustration, and then looked down at my watch. “Maybe they aren’t armed.”