There used to be days we Albany kids did things boys versus girls. Who knows why. Everyone hated it. The older girls complained Ruby and I messed things up because we were too little and didn’t understand how to work hard. The older boys were mad they had two fewer bodies on their team. One day, moments before beginning a relay race down Albany, as Marley and Aidy and Teeny yelled at us to pull our weight, I suggested that Ruby and I have our own team instead. The older girls agreed with such little hesitation that Marley got a crick in her neck from nodding so aggressively.

“No stops,” I said to Ruby as she crouched low. She would have to run the relay twice to keep things fair.

“No stops,” she repeated back. A razor’s edge of determination glinted in her eyes, ready to slice everyone’s expectations.

What I said, I meant literally. If we were going to beat everyone else, she could not stop for anything. After we won, it became more. Our secret code for staying in the race in whatever way applied. Keep running. Even when everything hurts. You’ll find a finish line. It may not be the one you set out for, but wherever you end up, it’s still ahead of where you were.

“Aidy told me about Camp Califree. Don’t worry. We’ve got time,” Ruby assured, wrapping her arm around me. She could feel me pulling away, so she switched focus. “It was nice, wasn’t it? Everyone on the bikes again, riding down Albany.”

Suddenly I was furious with myself for being so relaxed. Maybe Marley stopped showing up because I bored her, taking too long to get everything together. Maybe I’d gotten the Adventure so far off track already that I’d lost her, just like the rest of them. I searched the desert for some piece of her to assure me.

I found nothing.

“We have to keep going,” I said to Ruby. I had to make everything right. If Marley wanted to die, I needed to know for sure. If she didn’t, I needed to show everyone what she meant by the Adventure having a different purpose. And I had to do it all before Camp Califree.

“Would I ever do anything less?” Ruby dipped her head. “Would I? We’re gonna finish this one. We’ve got that whole box of stuff to look over. And I want to get back to the tunnel during the day. If there’s more for you to find, you’re gonna find it. If I’m the one who’s supposed to know secrets, then I’m gonna know them.” In her lowest, steadiest voice, she asked, “What do you say?”

I didn’t answer.

“Olivia Stanton, what do you say?”

“No stops.”

“What was that?”

“No stops.”