“We’re not going to get out of here on foot,” Bum said. “That’s for sure. But we might not need to. Just before you guys showed up, Sally and me found a couple of hot air balloons in back. They must be from the First World War. They were carefully packaged. I bet they’ll still work, if we can get them up on the roof and inflated.”

“But they can’t get us in here,” Cindy said. “Maybe we should just stay here until help arrives.”

Sally shook her head. “No one’s coming to save us. And you have to notice they’re not leaving. They’ll get in here eventually.”

Adam peered out a crack in the window. “I don’t see Mr. Patton. What do you think they did to him?”

“It’s better not to think about it,” Bum said. “Come on, let’s get the balloons out.”

The boxes the balloons came in were massive. Actually, there were four boxes per balloon. The balloon gondola and supporting ropes were packaged separately. There was also the wide-mouthed burner that went beneath the balloons, and which would allow them to control their height. At the moment Adam just wanted to get into a balloon and fly away as far as possible.

But he was worried about his family: his mother and father and little sister. He wished he could call them to warn them to get out of town, but the Cold People had destroyed the telephone lines. He prayed they weren’t changed into monsters, although his little sister had been practicing to be a monster since her second birthday.

They were fortunate that there were stairs that led up to the roof. Working together, they were able to get all the balloon boxes up there. They were also lucky that the exterior walls of the surplus store were relatively smooth. The Cold People who were prowling around outside wouldn’t be able to climb the walls and get onto the roof.

Standing on the roof and looking down, Adam could see that the monsters were not giving up. Bum stood beside him as he scanned the area. There were maybe ten Cold People visible. But Adam suspected there were more than that already entering the town. Bum put his hand on Adam’s shoulder.

“Sally and I can put the balloons together,” he said. “Why don’t you and Cindy go back down into the store and keep guard?”

“That sounds like a good idea,” Adam said.

“Keep your flamethrowers ready.”

Adam nodded. “Work fast. They’re strong. They’ll get in here eventually and they know it.”