A text came from Alicia.Haven’t found anything yet. Hotels are filling up. Grocery shelves are empty. Rent an apartment if you have to. Do whatever you must.

They were in a pretty residential area that was a combination of historical buildings and newer places.

The woman pulled to the side and stopped the car. “This is as far as we go.”

“Rachel,” her grandmother said, “take her to a hotel. She’s not from here. She—”

Rachel’s eyes narrowed. “You haven’t been listening to the news. This disease is killing everyone your age. You are in extreme danger. Every second that you’re exposed to outsiders, your life is in jeopardy.” She looked in the rearview mirror at Etta with hard eyes.

“I’ll get out here.” Etta clutched the handle of her roller case, got out, then leaned back in. “Could you point me in the direction of a hotel? I—”

The woman drove away so fast that Etta had to leap back to avoid being hit by the open door. It shut as the car sped away too quickly for the residential area.

Etta was standing on a sidewalk in a city she’d never seen before. So now what did she do?

She turned full circle. Not a hotel is sight. No signs for apartments for rent. There were a couple of little stores but they were closed.

Worse was that there were no people anywhere. She thought it was like a movie where a spaceship had invaded and taken away all of the people.

She pulled out her phone and tapped into the GPS and asked where the nearest hotel was. A mere mile away. She tried to make a reservation, but the site said it was full. Maybe they weren’t accepting guests online.

Etta walked toward where her phone said another hotel was, but she didn’t find it. Her plan was to beg and plead. Midwesterners were known for being nice so maybe she’d succeed in getting them to give her a room.

But she saw no hotels, no open stores, and only a few cars. Twice she waved to get a driver to stop but no one did.

She called her father and asked how he was doing. He said he was fine, not worried about anything, and promised to eat well and not stay up late. He chuckled at her hovering. “You’re the one who’s the concern,” he said. “You have no chicks to tend to so what will you do? Tell me when you’re settled.” She promised she would, then said goodbye. Introverts like her father were not scared by the idea of isolation. Actually, she doubted if he’d notice.

With a sigh, she looked around. Still, no people anywhere. She kept walking.