“Donovan is headed across the border tomorrow. Delivery. He brings crops across once a week. A lot of farms on the other side were abandoned during the Plague, so the state is short on supply,” Simone told them as they ate. “You can go across with him, but it’s not gonna be easy.”

“What is these days?” Rose replied between mouthfuls. The soup was still hot, but she couldn’t wait for it to cool to eat.

“Especially now.” Simone sighed. “One of our trains got stopped. Word is the driver didn’t make it out alive and a nurse was brought back for questioning.”

“Who stopped the train?” Rose asked. Nam was quiet, eating and listening.

“Not sure, vigilantes? Or maybe Recruiters?”

“Recruiters?” Rose dropped her spoon. It disappeared into the broth. “What the hell are Recruiters doing south of the border?”

Simone shrugged. “Someone must have tipped them off. They don’t usually cross into the States. Too busy working towns and fields for the schools. Plus, it gets messy down there with jurisdiction and all.”

“Wait.” Rose felt panic rising in her throat. She tried to breathe through it. Throwing up her only real meal in a week wouldn’t do them any good. “Was anyone on the train? Any…of us?”

“We’re not sure. Probably.” She saw the look on Rose’s face and added, “But there’s no report of anyone else getting caught. They must have made a run for it.”

Rose stood. She was done eating. “What time do we leave?”

In the morning, they said goodbye to Simone, who was staying for others who might need her. They left their tent and some supplies with her, all but the refilled flask of water, a single backpack between them, some jerky and nuts crammed into their pockets, and Rose’s knife. There was no room for anything else.

“I’ll pass these along to other runners who need them,” Simone assured them. “There’s more than one way to save a life.”

Donovan helped them into the false bottom of his truck, a claustrophobic space that really only had enough room for one, then piled crates of greens and bales of hay on top. Each new weight above them caused the wood to creak and bend. Nam was breathing quick and shallow.

“Stop that—you’ll hyperventilate, and you can’t exactly get some air now.” Rose breathed deep and loud so Nam could mimic her. Then the engine chugged to life, and they began to move.

It was hours before they came to a stop. There were voices, muffled and quick, and then the truck bed was pulled down. The whole truck shook.

“Oh god, oh god,” Nam whispered.

“Shut it!” Rose hissed.

Crate by crate, Donovan’s load was pulled down and searched. Rose was sure this was it. Any moment, there would be the squeal of wood and metal, and then sudden light, and then…well, she wasn’t sure. Death or capture, and she wasn’t sure which one she hoped would come.

It took a minute to realize that the next sounds were the crates and barrels being slid back over them, then the thuds of bales being tossed into place. Then the engine chugged on again, and they were on the move. Rose cried without sound. It wasn’t until Nam squeezed her fingers that she realized they’d been holding hands.