AARON “You were not watching the fence line. I was. It was a damn rocket,” Elliot said. There was disbelief in his voice, which confused me. He was the one correcting Marcus, so the doubt must have come from the idea that a volunteer security force had gotten hold of a rocket launcher. “It was a rocket,” Seraphina said. Her voice stayed low and steady. Marcus let out a tired breath. “Guess it was a rocket. It all happened too fast. Whatever it was, it hit a pickup truck right in the middle of the line the machines had formed. That truck had to be loaded with something explosive. I have seen car batteries blow before. This was far worse.” He lifted his hand toward his face. “That is when this happened.” His voice broke, and his shoulders started to shake.“That is how I got this nice new hole in my shoulder,” Elliot added. “Fucking shrapnel from the blast hit all of us.” “Except me,” Seraphina said. Guilt weighed down her words as she carefully picked bits of debris from her husband’s skin. Marcus reached for her hand, searching until he found it. He squeezed tight. “Only good thing to come out of that place.” “And we lived,” Elliot said. His eyes shifted to me. “The blast tore a hole in the line the machines had made. We ran like hell through it. Us and about a dozen others made it. When I looked back, I saw why they did not chase us. They were too busy jumping the fence to wipe out the guards and the FEMA teams.” Nathan finally spoke. His voice felt distant, sharp enough to cut through the air inside the Mobile Hauler. “The guy with the launcher saved himself and his friends. The drones went for them first.” Elliot paused, then nodded. “That must be it. All I know is that is why we got out. After that, we were not worth the effort. There had to be tens of thousands still trapped in that place.”Silence filled the Mobile Hauler as the weight of that truth settled on all of us. After a minute, Nathan asked, “What is the plan, Marcus?” Marcus gave a short, bitter laugh. “After my last call, I think I am done making plans for a while.” “We should go straight to Ravenport, Highland State,” I said. “Elena’s mother is a nurse. Her father was a paramedic. We need them right now.” Seraphina nodded, worry plain on her face. “Yes, we do.” My hand lifted toward Elliot’s shoulder. “There is metal still in there somewhere. Who knows what it is doing to him. He will not stop bleeding without real medical care, and he needs it soon.” The Mobile Hauler finally reached a stretch of open road. “Where are we headed right now?” someone asked. “Nathan had the navigation loop us back to the last course change,” Marcus said. “Better to keep moving.” Nathan answered without turning. “That is right. I can find a faster route to your parents.” He stepped away from his guard post and moved to the screen, waving Elena over. She joined him and typed in her parents’ address in Ravenport. The Mobile Hauler adjusted course, taking roads that pushed us west. Hope crept in where fear had been living. My thoughts stayed fixed on Elena’s parents. I wanted to believe they had survived this storm better than most. A glance toward the couch caught Lucas sitting alone. His legs were pulled to his chest, arms wrapped tight around them. The smile that usually lived on his face was gone, buried against his knees. Prayer came without effort. Words formed for my in-laws, for our friends, for my wife, and most of all for Lucas. *****Thirty minutes passed, and we had only covered about ten miles. The roads were a mess. Rubble littered the streets, abandoned cars blocked entire lanes, and shattered signs swung loosely from bent poles. More than once, the Mobile Hauler had to squeeze through narrow alleyways, the walls on either side scraping the sides of the vehicle. Every twist and turn made the vehicle shudder. Nathan and I climbed out twice, pushing trash cans, fallen street signs, and half-collapsed barricades out of the way. The smell of smoke and burning rubber filled the air. Debris crunched underfoot with every step. A half-destroyed bicycle almost tripped me, and I cursed as I shoved it aside. The last alleyway was worse than any before. It was barely wider than the Mobile Hauler itself, littered with jagged metal and broken crates.I felt sweat run down my back as we slowly guided the vehicle through, one careful step at a time. Every scrape of metal against the side of the vehicle made my stomach tighten. Nathan’s voice stayed calm but sharp. “Slow. One inch at a time. Watch the corner.” We moved in silence, our hearts hammering in unison with every jolt the vehicle made. At one point, I thought the Mobile Hauler had caught on a sharp piece of metal, but Nathan leaned against the vehicle and shifted it just enough to free it. Finally, we reached the end of the alley. The street ahead was wider, clear enough for the vehicle to roll forward without scraping. Relief washed over me in a wave, but the tension did not leave. Every mile forward was still a fight. Every moment we were exposed, danger could be waiting just around the next corner.Progress was slow, but we were moving. And right then, that was enough.