They could only assume that most law enforcement was assisting the Louisiana National Guard within the city battered over the last few months by the repeated hurricanes that had drained most of its residents. Steven feared that the highway, which crossed over Lake Pontchartrain at several stretches, would be flooded. But it was a safer bet than Interstate 10, which was certainly blocked off.

While the water was frighteningly close to the edges of the bridges, it was, for the time being, passable, although they sprayed through puddles so deep they had to drive at practically a crawl.

Before the phone lost Wi-Fi an hour or so prior, as they crossed from Alabama into Louisiana, William read how meteorologists were baffled by the war the weather was waging on the beleaguered city. The latest, a tropical storm that appeared out of nowhere yesterday, had climatologists scrambling to understand the errors in their predictions. They joined colleagues all across the world struggling to understand how it was also happening on coasts outside most developed countries.

William knew he’d had the dream yesterday in the boat, and had seen the storm begin to surge. Now New Orleans was bracing for another assault.

He shifted his shoulder to lean against the window. How was it happening? In the dreams, he was always so horrified when the disasters unfolded that he never gave thought to what was igniting them.

You are the conduit.

He looked back to where Lily lay sleeping in the backseat, under a blanket they’d swiped from the motel. She’d cried herself to sleep after Quincy’s security team swept in. She’d kept asking, though, when Quincy was coming back. When William admitted he wasn’t, she’d just clutched the dress he’d bought her.

Perhaps she’d picked up on the panic they all felt, realizing that, with Quincy suddenly ripped away, they’d lost their only chance to financially navigate the days to come. Steven knew it as well, rushing to make the bad deal on the car, even spending a bit of their remaining cash just to get them on their way at first light.

It was irresponsible what they were doing, bringing a child into this severe of a storm.

But if I can stop you …

How in the world was he going to even find the others like her? If what he saw in the dreams was true—the disasters unfolding around the world—it would be impossible to get to them all.

They were down to four hundred dollars, with no way to get any more cash, heading into a city that was, in essence, under siege.

The Jeep began to swerve, and William gripped the steering wheel tighter. He could see the wind blowing across the water, forcing waves over the bridge.