And yet, there’s light coming from somewhere.

I sit up and look around, immediately spotting a row of cell phones spread throughout the train’s main aisle. With their flashlight apps turned on, the phones function like battery-powered candles. On the bench opposite from me, awake and watching, sits Daniela. Her feet are propped up on the duffel bag she carried out of that bank, the thing presumably filled with stolen money.

“You’re alive,” she says, keeping her voice low so as not to wake Sam. I do the same, even though Sam’s snoring like he could sleep through another Anubis bombing.

“How long have I been out?” I ask.

“It’s morning according to the phones,” Daniela replies. “About six hours, I guess.”

Morning already. I shake my head. An entire night wasted. We couldn’t find Nine and Five, and who knows which part of New York they’ve fought their way to by now. To make matters worse, I know where Setrákus Ra and the Anubis are heading—right to the last known location of the rest of the Garde. Because I lost contact with Ella at the last minute, I’m not sure what to do with that information, even if I could get in contact with Six and the others. Should they be getting ready to turn around and head back to the Sanctuary? Or does Ella want me to keep them as far from there as possible?

I need to move, to do something productive. But my body still doesn’t feel one hundred percent and Sam is out like a light.

“We’re still in the subway?” I ask Daniela, knowing the answer, but wanting to get a better grip on our situation before I make any decisions.

“Yeah. Obviously. We dragged you in here after you fainted.”

“Fainted,” I repeat with a grimace. “I passed out from exhaustion.”

“Same diff. Anyway, we were all pretty wiped after that cave-in stunt,” Daniela continues, maybe sensing my annoyance. “I fell asleep pretty much as soon as we got here.” Daniela glances at Sam, a faint smile on her face. “Your boy Sam was gonna stand guard, but I guess that didn’t go so hot. No big deal. Not like anyone is looking for us down here.”

“Not yet, at least,” I reply, thinking about the Mogadorians on the surface and wondering how their occupation of New York City is progressing.

One of the phones winks out. Daniela crouches over it, pressing a few buttons, but the battery is dead.

“People slept in front of the store for these things,” she says, holding up the dead phone for me to inspect. “Shit goes down, though . . . lot of people drop everything and run. What’s that make you think about humanity, alien guy?”

“That they’ve got their priorities straight,” I reply, glancing again at the duffel bag full of money.