He fished for the proper way to describe it to himself.

They seemed . . . tied. Restrained.

Chong opened his eyes for just a moment and saw impossible things. He was moving across the ground at an incredible rate of speed. Faster than a horse could run. The ground was bumpy, and there was smoke in his nostrils.

He turned his head and saw the tanned back of a slim girl seated in front of him.

Her name was just beyond his reach.

The explanation to all this was just beyond his reach.

As he grabbed for it, the darkness came and took him again.

Chapter 44

44

BENNY AND NIX STOOD IN SILENCE, LOST FOR THE MOMENT IN THE ENORMITY of what they now knew to be the truth.

Two planes.

Maybe more. Probably more.

Somebody was out there.

For Benny it was one of those moments in which he knew for sure that the world as he knew it had changed. No matter what he did, even if he turned around and went back to Mountainside, the world was never going to be the same again. It could not be.

We can’t un-know this, he thought.

Nix stepped back and studied the plane. So far all they had seen was one side and the tail section. They would have to climb the mountain of impacted dirt to see the front and the other side. Above them, the dark mouth of the open hatch seemed to scream an invitation.

Or a warning, thought Benny.

Nix pointed to something on the side of the plane forward of the hatch.

“What’s that?” she asked. “Is that writing?”

Benny squinted at it, mouthing the letters as he tried to read them through a patina of dried mud. “‘C-130J Super Hercules.’”

“What’s that mean?”

“I . . . think it’s the kind of plane this is. I half remember reading something about a plane called a C-130. I just can’t remember what I read. Something about troop transports, maybe?”

“Troop transports?” Nix’s eyes went wide. “Benny! Do you think that means there’s an army someplace?”

He shook his head. “I don’t know what it means. I can barely remember what it meant before First Night. Now . . . who knows?”

Nix’s eyes roved over the dead machine, then she pointed again. “Look, on the tail. More writing.”

They hurried closer to the big tail section, which also resembled a ship’s sail. It was badly smudged with soot and grime. The sun glare reflecting off the white metal was so bright that they had to cup their hands around their eyes.

“I think that’s a flag,” Benny said.

“Not the American flag,” corrected Nix. “Look, it only has a couple of stars. And there’s something written below it. I can’t make it out, though. American . . . something.”

It took Benny a few seconds to piece it together. “‘The . . . American . . . Nation.’”