Soon, they’d reached the peak, and Caledonia’s heart caught on the sight of the ocean opening before her. It was sparkling and full of vigor, it was limitless and free, it was at once a point of origin and a destination. Looking on it filled Caledonia with a sense of purpose. When she was near the ocean, she always knew where she was.

“This is why we can’t leave,” Triple said, voice heavy.

The girl faced north, her back to the ocean. Caledonia followed her gaze, and in spite of the sun, a chill washed over her like a sudden rain.

For a short distance beyond where they stood now, the land tumbled through valleys dappled by pine forests, sweet meadows of golden grasses, and rocky rises, places where people might find enough to support a slender way of life; then, suddenly, it stopped. There was land, but it was stripped of life and color. To the east, it was as if a once great mountain range had shattered like a mirror, leaving behind a senseless patchwork of half mountains and waterways. To the west, the land was bare and white, bleached entirely to a poisonous, endless stretch of rubble.

The coast was a narrow strip of green between the sea and the destroyed legacy of the old world.

Caledonia stared, thoughts twisting over the mystery of their collective past. She wanted to know how and what and who, but more than that, she wanted to know why. Why had this happened to what must have once been a beautiful world? Maybe those questions had answers. But they’d been destroyed along with everything else. All that remained was a future continually threatened by a past they would never know.

“What’s the point of leaving here when the rest of the world is dead?” Triple asked.

Caledonia had heard tales—everyone had—of how much land had gone to waste, leaving only a few wisps of green behind. But it was one thing to hear about it and another to see it. It was like an ocean, miles of poisoned soil that stretched mercilessly toward the horizon.

“What could do that?” Caledonia asked, squinting. The soil was so white, it reflected sunlight as vibrantly as the ocean.

“One theory? They did it on purpose. The old worlders were trying to correct all the damage they’d done. I think they actually thought this would help. Maybe it did.” She sighed, twisting toward the green hills between them and the sea. “We think they left the coasts alone on purpose so they had a place to wait while the rest of the world recovered. But who knows? Maybe it was all one long mistake. Maybe by the time they did anything about it, the only options were bad ones.”

“No good options.” Caledonia released a long breath.