A collection of matching houses occupied the far south side of the town; a small white church with a tall cross steeple stood north, on a small mound that couldn’t really be classified as a hill.

They’d built a wooden gate on the west side. Symbolic, by the looks of it. The rest of the town was open to the surrounding land, partitioned off by the red-roped perimeter.

Hacking coughs shook his body again. Ben buckled under their intensity, chest aching. Gaining control, he straightened, spit blood to the side, wiped his mouth with the back of his hand, and forced a deep breath.

A hand touched his arm and he turned to see Eli’s comforting gaze. “We can rest here,” the boy said.

He returned Eli’s smile and ruffled the boy’s hair. “I made it this far. I’m not about to give up now.”

Eli smiled.

“Ready?” Ben asked.

“Ready.”

Ben pointed to the south. “We go in there where we won’t be seen. Sound good?”

“Sure.” The boy started forward.

Ben followed, taken aback by how weak he’d become. For a moment, he wondered if not driving up to the gate had been a mistake. What if he was too weak?

Images of guards taking shots at an approaching truck washed away that concern. It was safer for the boy this way.

They stopped twice before reaching the southern perimeter, both times so Ben could kneel and rest. He suppressed his coughs as much as possible, hoping they didn’t carry into town. But he was beyond even that now. His only purpose was to reach his family while he still could.

They crossed the red rope and stepped into Haven Valley without so much as a lark announcing their arrival. So far so good. But they couldn’t go unnoticed for long.

The first to see them was a young boy, maybe twelve, just as they stepped past the last of the homes and headed for the main street. The boy stared at them for a long time, then spun around and fled without a word.

To announce the news, no doubt. There were strangers in town.

“You good?” Ben asked Eli.

Eli stared ahead, apparently curious but unconcerned. Ben let him be.

Like mice emerging from their holes, people began to appear. Women in white, hair short; men in brown, hair mostly long. All walked carefully or stood rigid. All had their eyes on him and Eli. All looked like they were watching two ghosts walking through their town in broad daylight.

For all Ben knew, they were the first strangers to set foot in the town in a decade.

None of this mattered to him. His eyes were for one of three people. Julianna, Jamie, or Grace.