She drove out of the garage, rolling down the window to let some fresh air into the car. Lennon sat back as she pulled out onto the road, closing his eyes for a moment.

“Why do you look so relaxed?” she asked.

He smiled as he turned to her. “Would you prefer I look tense?”

“No. Yes. I don’t know. It’s just weird. Don’t look relaxed around me.”

“Don’t look relaxed around you?”

“Yes! What happened to being scared of me? Go back to that.”

He laughed, tilting his head back with the force of it. “I’m sorry. You’re terrifying.”

“Don’t patronize me.” She pressed her lips together, but a smile twitched at them anyway.

“Now you look relaxed.”

“Shut up.”

LENNON

LENNON STARED OUT at the rolling hills as Maisie drove. It was peaceful out here. They had to be close to where he’d landed, but he’d only noted how empty it was. The word hadn’t been peaceful.

It seemed ridiculous now that he’d thought he could stay in one spot and not interact with anyone in the zone. What did he think they were going to do? Stand ten feet away while he shouted at them to send a helicopter to rescue him?

He glanced at Maisie. It was embarrassing that his fear had overwhelmed him and kept him from considering the upside of his predicament. He hadn’t even seen that this could be an opportunity to actually see the area that had long fascinated him and talk to the people inside. He was mortified that he hadn’t thought of them at all, except as a way to get a message to the US government.

A red sign along the highway caught his attention—NEUTRAL ZONE—NEXT TWO MILES.

“Have you ever been to the north?” he asked. “Like, as a kid? Before you guys split it up?”

“No, back then we weren’t officially separated, but we’d still sort of carved out our spaces. Plus, the roads were a disaster. Totally clogged with cars that couldn’t run without gasoline. We had to go everywhere on foot for a long time.”

He nodded. “Makes sense.”

She took in a breath, and he noticed that the knuckles of her right hand had gone white around the steering wheel.

They passed another sign—SPENCER TERRITORY—ONE MILE.

She hit the gas a little harder. Lennon held his breath as they crossed over.

SPENCER TERRITORY

He waited. They continued down the road.

He wasn’t sure what he was expecting.

A checkpoint, maybe? Angry cannibals chasing them?

Maisie stared straight ahead.

A noise pierced the quiet suddenly, a high-pitched squeal. It was getting closer.

Something dropped onto the hood of the car. It was small, and metal, and the high-pitched noise was getting louder every second.

“Oh, shit.” Maisie slammed on the brakes. “GET OUT OF THE CAR!”

He reached for the door handle, barely remembering to grab the backpack before he dove out onto the pavement.

The explosion knocked him off his feet. He hit the ground, curling into a ball to protect his head. The heat from the blast enveloped him as debris ricocheted off his back.