Jackie felt instantly stupid and ashamed. “Oh, I know. I know, I shouldn’t have said that. Finding Isaac and Sadina is our purpose right now. That’s all—”

“Hey,” Miyoko interrupted. “Stop. None of that self-guilt crap. My dad used to say something else that was cheesy as hell, too. It’s all about the journey. He must’ve said that once a week. Just go with the flow, Jackie. We’re all in the same boat.”

Their eyes met at that, and then they both were laughing.

“Now that, I can be thankful for,” Jackie said. “No more boats for at least another month or two. Then maybe we can go back home.”

As quickly as that, the air grew somber again.

Luckily, Dominic, Trish, Carson, and Lacey scooted closer to shift the mood. Dom made some weird joke about Jackie leaving a stink trail in the trees; Trish told him to shut up, then complimented him on the breakfast; Carson complained that he’d slept directly on top of a jagged rock all night; Lacey asked in the most nonchalant voice ever why he didn’t just scoot a few inches to the left. Then she called him a slinthead, a word Jackie had never heard before.

All was well. At least, all was okay. Things could be worse.

Ms. Cowan came over then, hands on hips like a tyrant schoolmaster.

“Good to see you guys laughing, this morning.” She always tried to greet the younger people with a smile, but Jackie knew the truth—you could see it in the older woman’s eyes. She was distraught, a strain that couldn’t be relieved until they found her daughter. And Isaac, of course. “You all ready to pack up and go? Frypan thinks it could be a hot one today, and it should be a lot cooler next to the river.”

“Ready to go,” Dominic pronounced. He stood up, groaning out loud like an old man. Soon they were all up and about, breaking camp.

The river, Jackie thought as she stuffed the ratty old backpack she’d found in the city.

Things would get better once they got to the river.

The Orphan didn’t know much in the way of vehicles, as they were mostly a rare thing in the modern world. The Grief Bearers of the Remnant Nation had trucks and cars to use around the fortress, and there were the monstrous machines that drove on giant wheels and could crush anything in sight. Some of them were relics from the past carefully restored, and others were the twisted inventions of people with too much time on their hands. And some came from a mysterious outside source that the likes of him only whispered about.

But still, a vehicle was a pretty rare possession, and he’d certainly never had a go at one, himself. Despite all this, in the past few weeks he’d come to an indisputable conclusion.