She rifled through her supplies, staying inside the mediocre warmth of the shrubbery. She took a quick drink of water, ate an energy bar, and closed her backpack. Time to go. She took comfort in the fact that she had enough food to last for at least two weeks before she would need to hunt or scavenge — but only if she was wise, eating only as needed, not as wanted.

She crawled out of the brush and stood up, taking the sunglasses out of her pocket. She glanced at the map that Sienna had given her. She was following Highway 14. She had cut off a huge chunk of her journey by utilizing the dirt bike, but she still had another one hundred and seventy miles to go. It would take her four or five days on foot, she estimated.

A long time.

The sun rose, shedding a little bit of warmth on the desert. The highway began to curve. On the right side of the road, a sign read:

Elle pulled out her map. She found Rosamond and touched it with her finger. It was a little town, halfway across the desert. It was near Edwards Air Force Base. Elle didn’t think that there was any United States Military left there, and she didn’t want to risk finding out if Omega had taken over the base.

She would follow the highway through the city. It was the fastest route, and she doubted that a city in the middle of the desert would be populated with dangerous gangs like the Klan.

Elle passed the green directional sign. She glanced behind her shoulder and stopped. There was a gold star painted on the back of the sign.

Another breadcrumb, Elle thought.

She quickened her pace, encouraged. At least she knew she was heading in the right direction. This was good news. As she moved, she noticed a faint scent in the wind. It smelled like smoke from a fire. She took another sniff. Yes, it was definitely smoke.

Elle cautiously moved forward. The smoke was being carried toward her. That could only mean that it was coming from the city of Rosamond. She rounded the curve in the highway. The small town was little more than a collection of square buildings, a sore thumb against the sweeping flatness of the desert. The highway ran straight through the center.

In the middle of the road, piles of rusty vehicles were on fire. The flames leaped high into the air. Black, acrid smoke billowed into the sky. Shadowy figures moved around the outside of the burning vehicles. Elle’s heart dropped to her stomach as she retreated back around the curve of the highway. What are they? Elle thought. Slavers? Gang members? Omega?

She didn’t know. Definitely didn’t want to find out.

Elle dropped behind cover and pulled out her map. There had to be a way that she could bypass the city without being seen by whatever psychopaths were burning cars in the middle of the street.

She traced her finger along the highway. She could walk around the west side of the city. It would cost her an extra three miles, but it would be safer than risking running into murdering thugs. She had a katana and a gun, but she was only one girl. It was better to play it safe.

She folded the map.

She would take the detour.

“Honey, don’t forget your backpack,” Mom said.

It was early morning. The first day of school. Elle was a sophomore today. She grabbed her backpack, sitting on the dining room table. Their apartment was perfectly clean, perfectly organized. White walls and shelves, framed pictures of modern art and stacks of historical books on the coffee table.

“Will Samuel drive me to school every day again this year?” Elle asked, lacing her sneakers. She was fifteen, small for her age. Her hair was black, short. Her skin was pale. “Because it’s kind of embarrassing, mom. The other kids’ parents actually drop them off.”

She looked pointedly at her mother.

“You know I don’t do that,” Mom replied. “Quit complaining. You should be thankful to have a driver. Not everyone is so privileged.”

“Or spoiled,” Elle murmured. She swung her backpack over her shoulder. “I’ve got gymnastics after school today.”

“Don’t be late.”

“I won’t. I’ve got Samuel to drive me.”

Mom stepped out of the kitchen, dressed in a pristine, all-white business suit. Her jet-black hair was slicked into a tight bun.

“You know, Elle, this could be a good year for us.”

“How so?”

“Well, Jerry called me. He said I’ve got an audition for that new television show I’ve been talking about.”

Elle bit her lip. Her mother was an aspiring actress. Her father was a wealthy celebrity lawyer. And Elle… well, she was just herself. A busy but lonely child being shuttled from school, to tutors, and to her mother’s acting auditions. Her older brother, Johnny, had taken the rebellious route — he was currently doing time for drunk driving.

Elle was the youngest child. The quiet one. The one who had to be driven to school every day by a private driver in a Mercedes. All paid for, compliments of her wealthy father, a man who was only sometimes home.

“I hope you get it,” Elle said, forcing a smile. “When’s the audition?”

“Next week. If I get the part, the show starts filming in January.”

“Cool.” Elle’s cellphone buzzed. It was Samuel. “I gotta go, Mom.”

“Have a good day.”

“You too.”

Elle left the house, casting a final glance at her mother. She was still standing in the kitchen, staring out the window, holding a cup of coffee in her hands. It stung, seeing her like that. Lately, Mom had been tense and distant. It was Dad’s fault. There were times when he would be home for a month — and then he would be gone for two. Where he was exactly, Elle wasn’t sure.

But she was pretty positive it wasn’t good.

He gave Mom money to live comfortably — very comfortably — showing up just enough to keep her happy. Elle was an afterthought. She didn’t have much love for her father. She was protective of her mother and sympathetic to her troubled brother.

But outside of that, she was alone.

Surrounded by people, but completely alone.

The wind whistled through the ghost town. Elle stared at it, a chill crawling up her spine. A collection of old wooden buildings stood against the backdrop of the desert hills. Most of the glass was missing from the windows. Dirt roads curved between the buildings. It was silent and eerie.

Elle approached the first building on the hill. It was falling apart. Boards had rotted on the front porch. The glass in all of the windows was gone. Weeds grew through the floorboards.

Some of the buildings farther up ahead were made of metal, now rusty shades of brown and gray. Elle walked past the first building. She’d bypassed the city of Rosamond, avoiding the looters in the streets. And now she was here, exploring the remains of a ghost town.

The roofs on almost all of the buildings had caved in. What looked like water tanks were placed throughout the little town, rusted and empty. On the outskirts of the road, piles of wood and twisted metal laid in random heaps. Wooden tracks had been cast aside, along with metal carts and the remains of pickaxes.

This was a mining town, Elle realized. No wonder it looks so old.

She looked at her map, but she couldn’t find any indication of a mining town marked there. It was probably one of those off-the-radar tourist traps before the EMP. Somewhere that was supposedly haunted and people sat in their cars for hours, hoping to get a glimpse of a ghost and post a picture to their social media feeds.

Elle was so beside herself that she laughed.