Kira and the soldiers followed the road carefully, picking their way between leafy cars and rusty trees and piles of unrecognizable rubble. When they reached the pale building, Gabe set watch at the bottom of the stairs, and the rest climbed as high as they dared before Haru grew worried about stability. Twelve stories proved to be enough—this part of the island was mostly government buildings and apartments instead of giant office buildings, giving them an unobstructed view of the terrain to the north.

“That strip of deeper green was probably a park,” said Jayden, pointing northeast. “Looks like it goes at least ten blocks, and those trees will give us good cover.”

“They’ll also slow us down,” said Haru. “We should pick a wide street and head straight up the middle.” They debated for several minutes, while Yoon leaned out the neighboring window to coo at a pair of brightly colored birds. Kira studied the skyline, trying to drink in as much of the city as she could. Were there any landmarks she could use? Distinctive buildings she could find and remember if she ever got lost? As her eyes rolled over the cityscape, she saw a thin white line that seemed to be moving—a reflection, maybe, or … no. It was smoke. She pointed to it.

“There’s a fire. Do you see it?”

Jayden and Haru stopped talking, following her finger with their eyes.

“Just beyond those three brown buildings, the ones sticking up.”

“I see it,” said Haru. “It’s not a house fire, it’s too small and controlled. I think it’s a campfire.”

“It’s a chimney,” said Jayden, peering through binoculars. “Someone’s living there.”

Kira frowned at the distant smoke. “Living or camping?”

“I didn’t think there was anyone on the island,” said Yoon. “Why would someone still be living here alone?”

“It might be a watch station,” said Haru. “A Partial outpost.”

“It’s too low for a good watchtower,” said Jayden. “It’s just a small government building, maybe three stories at the most.”

“A Partial camp, then,” said Haru, “like Kira said. A patrol or something, stopped for the day.”

“It doesn’t have to be Partials,” said Kira. “It might just be some weird old coot who didn’t want to leave his home.”

“There’s no way anyone untrained could have made it this far without setting off an explosive,” said Haru. “We should check it out; if it’s Partials, we can set up an ambush and save days off our trip.”

“And if it’s just a refugee, we risk exposing ourselves unnecessarily,” said Jayden. “Anyone crazy enough to survive out here is also paranoid enough to know we’re coming, and to shoot first.”

“You’re the one being paranoid,” said Haru.