As soon as I step foot into the road there’s a screech, tires skidding on asphalt. I brace for impact that never comes. Instead the sound stops and when I open my eyes, red metal is all I can see.

The car door swings open. “Come on!” Jasper shouts, waving for me to get in his brother’s Jeep.

I rush forward and jump in. I barely have the door closed when he speeds away.

“Get down, get down. Stay out of sight.”

I scrunch low, head below the window, knees on the floor as the car lurches forward.

“Was there somebody else, maybe behind me?” I ask, panting and grateful.

Jasper looks up nervously in the rearview. “I don’t think so. I didn’t see anybody.”

His eyes lock on the road ahead. Like his plan is to drive as fast and as far as we can. And I am suddenly overwhelmed by panic.

“We have to go back,” I say.

“Go back? No way, not right now.” Jasper shakes his head. “You want to help the other girls, I know. But to ‘go back’ you got to leave first.”

“One of the other girls, Kelsey, she helped me get out,” I say, not mentioning the fire she might have started. “I think she was coming out right behind me.”

“You think?” Jasper asks. He sucks in a sharp breath. “It’s a huge risk to go back.”

I push myself up into the seat.

“Just a quick flyby. To make sure. I don’t want her to get grabbed because she’s waiting for me.”

“Seriously?” Jasper whispers. He already knows he’s going to do what I want—he just can’t believe it.

“Seriously.” I watch the side of his face. “And thank you for going back, for coming in the first place.”

Jasper takes a deep breath, shaking his head as he switches on his turn signal. “One quick pass and then we’re gone.”

WE ARE ABLE to pull into the lot on the opposite side of the hospital and park some distance away. We have a decent view of the Ebola wing, but are pretty well hidden. Jasper leaves the car running.

“What does she look like?” he asks.

“She’s shorter than me with long, dark, curly hair. And she’ll be in a gray sweat suit.” I pull at mine. “Like this one.”

“Okay,” Jasper says, eyeing the side of the hospital. “And you think she’d just be hanging out in the open?”

“I hope not, but I want to be sure,” I say, then try to change the subject. To buy myself some time. “Did you go to my house? Any sign of my dad?”

My stomach twists when Jasper looks down. He’s been dreading this conversation. Now, so am I.

“Jasper, what is it?”