“It’s all classified intel,” Todd says, raising his eyebrows just a little bit to make it sound really important. “You know. Homeland-security-type stuff. Apparently the government doesn’t like it too much if you try to destroy a school.”

“I bet, man.” I nod. “Hey, so I actually left my letter jacket in the locker room back before all this shit went down and—I know this is stupid, but I feel kind of naked without it. Do you think I could just run in really fast and grab it? I mean, you probably felt the same way about yours when you were racking up touchdowns, right? It’s like a second skin.”

Something weird happens to Todd’s face. He’s quiet, and it looks like he just got a big whiff of something foul. Finally, he just shakes his head.

“No can do, buddy,” he says slowly. “The place is off-limits. I’m not even supposed to go all the way to campus.”

“Yeah, but—”

“No,” he says again. This time there’s no room for argument.

I squint my eyes and try to see as far down the street that dead-ends into campus as I can, but all I can make out is a handful of big black SUVs and a couple of moving figures dressed in dark clothes.

Todd clears his throat, and I snap back to the present.

“It’s cool,” I say. “I just thought I’d ask.” I force a grin. “But if something happens to my jacket, I’m going to haunt you for the rest of your life.”

Todd gives a little smile as I back up and head away from the school.

They won’t even let him all the way up to campus? I think. What the hell are they doing there?

CHAPTER FOUR

MY GRANDMOTHER’S HOUSE IS AN OLDER HOME IN the country, two stories tall and filled with so much wood paneling that it feels kind of like a cabin on the inside. It’s where my parents and I are staying for the time being since our house is basically a pile of ash. My parents were going to start looking at building something new when everything in town went crazy, so now we’re camping out with Nana—my dad’s mom—indefinitely.

I’m hardly out of my truck before Abby, our golden retriever, is on her hind legs and trying to lick my face. Dozer, our bulldog, stands up on the porch and looks for a moment like he’s going to come greet me too before he just falls back down and starts to snore.