“The guns come off the girl, General. Now. That’s a deal breaker. We are on the same side here. I promise you, if I do anything that concerns you, take any maneuver you wish. But I won’t drive a foot further until I know those guns are down.”

“There’s a whole lot more at stake for you than just that little girl if you try to pull something over on us.”

“Understood. But the guns. Now.”

He heard the general cover up the receiver and bark commands.

“It’s done. But know that these drones are armed.”

“I realize that. And General, I’d pull everyone back as far as you can. I’m not in control of Lily’s sister. It could spread rapidly.”

“Is that’s what’s coming? Dammit, son, if you’re holding out—”

“I’m not. I just don’t want my family or any other innocent people that close to a wave like that again. And frankly … it concerns me that it is what’s coming next. The positioning of those carrying the weapons … it isn’t effective.”

“Effective? What the hell does that mean—?”

“It only affects the borders of the populations. It doesn’t impact the majority of people.”

The general was quiet for a moment. “I shouldn’t disclose this … but what does it matter at this point? Our fear is that they are trapping every population. Storms on one border; fires, sickness, violence on the others. They’ll be no way to escape; every damn country will be paralyzed, unable to flee. We’ll be ripe for the picking, if that’s their intention. Alright, the drones are up. I’m putting one of my geographic experts on the line to guide you where you can drive. A final warning, William: You do anything questionable, and we’re coming right for you.”

“I wouldn’t blame you.”

A pause, then another man’s voice. “Sir, this is Corporal Sava. We’ve studied the terrain. First thing you’ll have to do is backtrack off the plateau.”

William followed the orders, driving the ATV for an hour across the bone-dry and at times brutally uneven terrain. The corporal explained that a drone above him would guide him to Interstate 94, which would lead him into the canyon. William clearly understood what that drone carried that could be dropped at any moment.

“We’ve got nothing,” General Wolve practically shouted when he snatched the phone from the corporal. “Everything is dead out there. The girl is useless so far, she only says it looks like a mountain. You said you’ve seen it, can’t you give us anything?”

“I wish I could. What I’ve seen is replicated a million times out there.”

“Dammit. Are you even in the canyon yet?”

“I can see the interstate now. Driving as fast as I can, but it’s rough out here.”