by Andrew Karre
Todd and Rob had an awkward time getting Cleo in the grave, but they were very gentle lowering her down. Again Fix thought that Cleo would have known, would have read somewhere, about the best way to move a body into a grave. Or she would say it didn’t matter. But it did. Todd arranged Cleo the best he could and climbed out.
Nic motioned to Gus. He gave everyone a flower and threw the rest into the grave.
Nic cleared her throat. “Cleo, you always did your best to keep us safe. You took care of us. I— I’ll—” She clamped her mouth closed and blinked her eyes. The others waited for her to continue, but she shook her head desperately. Then she dropped her flower in the grave. She looked back at the others.
Rob stepped forward. “Cleo, you were tough when we couldn’t be. You helped us to be strong.” He dropped his flower in.
Todd’s face was like Nic’s. He was trying to hold back tears. All of his muscles were twitching. “You were always yourself, Cleo,” he said as he let go of his flower.
Gus stared at his empty hands and then glanced around wildly. The others waited while he ran to pick a dandelion gone halfway to seed. He came back panting. “I wish you weren’t dead, Cleo,” he said. As he dropped in the dandelion, some of the seeds floated off and into the grass.
Everyone looked at Fix.
“We love you,” he whispered. His voice didn’t seem to work. “And you love us.” He stopped. He tried to make his voice stronger, but he only wanted to talk to Cleo, anyway. It didn’t matter if the others could hear. “We’ll get there, Cleo, I swear it. I’ll get them there.” He dropped his flower and watched it land near Cleo’s hip.
Fix looked away as soil began to fall on Cleo’s feet. Rob had the shovel and was scooping dirt in from the pile Fix had made.
“Can’t we cover her first? I don’t want . . .” he trailed off. Cleo wouldn’t waste a blanket on a dead body. Are you crazy?! he heard her say. He looked at Nic. She smiled at him sadly. She was thinking the same thing.
“I’m sorry, Cleo,” Fix whispered. He stepped closer to the pile and started pushing armfuls of dirt into her grave. He didn’t look where they landed. A moment later, everyone was pushing dirt with their hands. Soon the grave was almost full. Rob motioned everyone back as he took the shovel and smoothed the dirt carefully.
“We need to camouflage it,” Fix announced. “I don’t want anyone . . .” He noticed the others, covered in dirt, except where tears or snot had made tracks down their faces. Everyone was looking to him. “Maybe only Cleo would be smart enough to look for stuff on dead bodies,” he said. Smiles flickered for a moment. “But I don’t want her grave messed with. Let’s get some branches and dried grass and leaves. Then we need to go.”
As Fix got behind the steering wheel, he looked once more through the side mirror toward Cleo’s grave. Rob got in next to him and opened the survival book to the map of Refuge. Nic and Todd raised the sail in the truck bed. Fix felt the sail fill, and the truck began to move. South, with the wind.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Elias Carr is a writer and editor who survives in St. Paul, Minnesota.
AFTER THE DUST SETTLED
Fight the Wind
Fix has a gift for machines. If he can fix up an old wind turbine, he and his friends will be able to live at their Iowa camp for as long as they want. Cleo says no way. She’d rather try to find a city that’s rumored to be growing in the southwest. But if another rumor is true—that raiders are heading toward the camp—the only real choice will be fight or die.
Pig City
Malik and his friends try to avoid cities, but they look for shelter in downtown Des Moines once a winter storm hits. They’re quickly trapped in the middle of a struggle between the city’s two biggest gangs: the peaceful members of the Coalition and the forces of Pig City, who want to turn everyone else into hog food.
Plague Riders
When Shep’s parents disappeared, he agreed to deliver medicine for the sinister Doctor St. John. The doctor runs the camp of River’s Edge with total control, but the pills he makes are the only defense against the nightpox plague. On one trip, Shep learns that his parents may still be alive. With fellow rider Cara by his side, he prepares to escape from River’s Edge.
River Run
Freya and her sister have spent years as captives in a Minneapolis basement. After her sister disappears, Freya decides to break out—and finds herself heading down the Mississippi River with a strange young boy. Are the boy’s sunny stories about Norlins true? Or will the end of Freya’s journey be the most dangerous part?
Shot Down
Malik and the Captain, a gruff inventor, are on a hot air balloon tour of apocalyptic America—until a bullet sends their ride to the ground. A crash landing is just the beginning of their troubles, as the two travelers discover a family that hunts people for sport and begin a run for their lives across the hills and fields of Kentucky.
Snakebite
Beckley’s crew has made its way from Montana to South Dakota, living off the land and staying out of trouble. But trouble soon finds them. First, a snake sinks its fangs into the moody Hector. Then a clan of savage kids runs off with Beckley’s sister. Will the group’s survival knowledge be enough to get her back?
