“What do you think that means?” I asked but received no answer from either Charlie or Tuck. I cupped my hands against the glass and peered inside, my gaze roaming the small space. “There’s nothing in there,” I said. The refrigerators along the far wall were empty, as was the case that would have held sandwiches near the register. I wanted to cry.

Worse than that, there was no person manning the register who might have called for help.

“They must have cleared the food out so it wouldn’t go bad,” Charlie said.

“Or people bought it all,” Tuck said, gesturing to the sign again.

“It’s just…weird,” I said. And I was so disappointed and hungry that I felt like I was going to lose it.

“Let’s fill up our water bottles at least,” Tuck said as he took his empty bottle from his bag and dipped it into the ice machine that was now a water machine. I was sure the water would be less than clean now that it had been sitting in a metal freezer, but still safer than scooping water out of a stream, and I had finished the last of mine hours ago, so I did as he suggested, drank half the first bottle I scooped, and then refilled it again.

Tuck pointed off through the trees. “Look. I think I see a highway there. It looks like a portion of overpass. See that?”

I squinted in the direction he was pointing, but my eyeballs must have been as tired as the rest of me because I didn’t see it. “Come on,” he said. “A highway definitely leads somewhere. We’re back to civilization. We just have to find someone who can help us make a call now.”

My shoulders curled forward. I’d convinced myself this was the end of our trip out of hell, and I just couldn’t go on. I’d done my best. This station was out of fuel and so was I. I couldn’t take another step. Tears spilled from my eyes and tracked down my cheeks. Tuck looked at me, his expression blank. “I can’t walk anymore. I’m sorry. Just send someone for me. I’ll be here.”

“You’re not staying alone at an abandoned gas station in the middle of who knows where,” Tuck said.

My shoulders shook as I gave in to my exhaustion and misery. “I’ll wait. I can’t move.”

“The sun is starting to go down, Emily,” Charlie said.

“Yes!” I waved my arm around at the sky that was dimming by the moment. “And still no lights! Anywhere. Look!”

“We’ll be able to see better from the highway,” Charlie said. “I don’t want to walk more either, but it’s just ahead. See? There have to be restaurants and hotels and all sorts of businesses close by.”