AARON “Drive,” Nathan shouted. His hands were a white-knuckle grip around his rifle. The metal must have been biting into his skin. I realized my own hands were clenched just as tight. The skin was stretched white and bloodless over my knuckles. The pressure was unrelenting. Our Mobile Hauler roared down the Interlink Highway. A blur of tents and portable buildings whipped past the wide window. Not far off, the dark wave of drones was crashing into the army position. We could see bodies thrown into the air like weightless things. We could hear the sharp, relentless cracks of gunfire as the soldiers tried to hold the line.They were trying to save themselves. They were trying to protect the long, slow convoy of civilian vehicles. We had all faced the machines before. That cold dread was the same for everyone. I looked down at the surplus rifle in my own hands. My own skin was just as pale. A dead man’s grip. It felt strange, watching the chaos unfold through these big, panoramic windows. We were sealed in here. We were completely detached. But it was only a few hundred yards away. We all knew it would reach us soon. The noise of the engine and the road made it seem like a silent movie of ruin. I turned to Elena. I needed to see her face. I needed to find some strength there. Instead I found her slumped in the chair by the dinette. Her head was rolled to the side. Her breathing was shallow. She was fighting the exhaustion that had been clinging to her all day, pulling her down.I knew something was wrong. We all did. A fit of coughing ripped out of me. It burned in my chest. As if I had triggered it, Nathan started coughing too. A harsh, dry sound. Elliot had coughed like that before we had to sedate him. He still had not woken up. Elena had shown the same symptoms. A slight cough that turned into fits, then mysteriously stopped. Then the deep, heavy fatigue set in. Marcus, Seraphina, and my son Lucas were the only ones not showing anything yet. For now. Tears welled in my eyes. I felt a cold anxiety grip my chest. It made every breath a conscious effort. It was all too much. The battle raging outside. My wife succumbing beside me. This new, quiet horror taking us from the inside. What would happen to Lucas if we both fell into a coma? Who would protect him? Who would take care of him through all this madness? Would it even matter in the end? If so many of us had caught this thing, why would my son escape it? He had been right next to us, breathing the same air, the whole time. I wanted to go to her. I wanted to sit beside Elena and hold her and make her well through my love alone. I closed my eyes tight. I whispered to God. I swore I would do anything. I would sacrifice anything at all. I asked, just please, spare my wife and son. In that brief, desperate moment, I made it clear. I would gladly die right where I stood. My life could be taken and given to her so she could live. I opened my eyes. I waited a breath. Nothing happened. I did not drop dead. Elena did not stir or spring to her feet. I had my answer. It was a cold stone in my gut. I gritted my teeth until my jaw ached. I knew the fate that was waiting for my small family. Even if the machines out there did not manage to kill us all first. I looked over at Seraphina. She was leaning over the couch along the wall, pointing out where large groups of drones were converging. Her focus was total. I stepped up to her. I grabbed her arm. She reacted with a start, pulling back. “Sorry,” I said, my voice rough. “Can we talk?” She looked at me, then nodded. She separated from Marcus with a touch on his shoulder. We both stepped back toward the master bedroom. Elliot was sleeping inside, behind the closed door. “How is Elliot?” I asked. Her head dipped. She would not meet my eye. “I checked thirty minutes ago. He was still asleep. There is no way he is awake now. Otherwise he would have come out from all the noise.” “Elena…” I began, but stopped. The words seized up in my throat, thick and painful. Seraphina nodded. She understood. I swallowed hard, clearing the lump partially. It still felt raw to talk. “Nathan and I are both in the beginning stages now. The coughing started.” Tears fell from her eyes. She did not wipe them away. “Marcus too. Just now. He tried to hide it.” My chest tightened more. It was getting hard to breathe. “If Elliot does not wake up. If he dies.” “He is not going to die,” she hissed, a sudden fire in her whisper. “If he dies,” I pressed on, the words blunt and heavy, “then we are all in the same boat. There is no one left. I need you to look after Lucas. If you can.” “None of us are going to die,” she said. Louder this time, a fierce promise. But she still suppressed her volume. The others in the forward cabin could not hear this. I looked her straight in the eye. I could not tell if the exhaustion nibbling at the edges of my consciousness was from the sickness or just from the sheer weight of everything. “If it is not the sickness, it will be something else.” I motioned with my head toward the wall, toward the sound of the battle outside. “It is only a matter of time. Please. Say you will take care of him if we cannot.” She bit her lip. She bit it hard enough to make herself wince in pain. But she did not stop. She held my gaze. “Okay.” I closed my eyes. I felt a terrible relief. I nodded slowly. “Thank you.”