“Come on over and get warm,” I said. I had no way of reading his mind to know his intentions, but it was clear he was weak and freezing, at the very least, and posed little physical threat. Plus, he’d come from St. Louis. He’d have some information. “What’s your name?”

“Isaac.”

“I’m Tuck. And that’s Charlie and Emily.” I moved aside as he stumbled forward, the sole of one shoe flapping, each step making a squelching sound so that it was obvious his foot was soaking wet. He sagged down on the crate I’d been sitting on. I moved around the fire and pulled another one over and set it next to Emily. She and Charlie had stood as I’d had the exchange with the man, but now they were seated again too.

We waited a few minutes as the man reached his good arm out to the fire, his shoulders lowering as the warmth calmed his shivers. After a minute he closed his eyes and exhaled a breath. “Thank you,” he said weakly.

“You need to get those wet shoes off,” I told him. “Let them dry before you start walking again. Where are you headed anyway?”

“No fuckin’ clue,” he said. “I just fuckin’…ran. Lots of people did. I was walking with several others for a while but… I don’t know, we got split up. I hitched a ride yesterday and then walked some more… It’s just, a blur.”

“I wish I could offer you some food—”

“Thanks. It’s okay. I had some food with me. Finished it off, but I ate a few hours ago. I’m not so hungry, just thirsty if you have some water?”

I reached down and picked up the half bottle of water near my feet and handed it to him. He tipped it back, finishing it in three swallows. “Thanks,” he murmured.

“What’s happening in St. Louis, Isaac?” Emily asked, before she pulled back slightly as though bracing for news she didn’t want.

He shook his head, gaze focused on the fire, expression slack as though he was mesmerized by the dancing flames. “The first day the power went out and all the cars stopped working, we knew something was very wrong. The sky, man. First it was like everything turned bright white overhead. And then it melted into all these crazy colors… Well, shit. You had to have seen it too. No one knew what the fuck it was. A bomb? Aliens? Some strange lightning strike? All we knew was the whole damn city had shut down. People ran to the stores. They couldn’t take cards, only cash. A lot of people didn’t have cash, so they went home to make do, but even so, the store around the block from me was out of water and lots of other things within an hour.”

Emily rubbed her head. “My God.”