Climbing back out was more exhausting than climbing in. Grace and Hunter faced a steep, almost completely perpendicular cliff face that was exactly stable. It had been simple enough going down, but climbing up was much harder.

Fortunately, there weren't any close calls this time, and when the pair got to the top, both were too eager to get down the other side to waste any time resting. And other than being careful where they stepped and testing every footstep before putting weight on it, the descent was simple enough. Still, both were more than relieved when they were back on solid ground.

"Where are we headed next?" Hunter asked. "Central valley?" He sounded nervous.

Grace shook her head, and she saw Hunter's shoulders relax. Apparently, he was almost as apprehensive as she was about their current destination. "We'll go to Cherry. See what they have to say about when the train passed through. And see if they have any info that we don't about the valley."

"If we're going to Cherry," Hunter said as the pair started walking again, heading further inland to get around the rockslides, "why did we come back this way? Couldn't we have gone north?"

"We could have," Grace agreed, "but, for one, we don't know what it would be like getting over the collapse on that side. We already know we could do this side. And I want to see what the path this way looks like."

"Along the cliffs?"

Grace nodded. "I have a hunch as to why the train wouldn't have come up over the cliffs like this, but I want to see if I'm right. Or, if there's any sign if maybe they did try to cross the cliffs."

"What's your hunch?"

"That the train operators knew the paths here are too unstable. And too narrow, for the most part, for large groups of people." They had reached the top of the cliffs and were heading north again. On one side, a steep drop off. On the other, mountains. There was barely a path.

"But it's safe for us to go this way?"

Grace shrugged. "I don't know if I would say 'safe,'" she reasoned. "But nothing really is. I would say, however, that its safer with just the two of us than a whole group. So just do me a favor and stay away from the edge."

"You don't have to tell me twice."

Eventually, the terrain widened out and Grace and Hunter could back away from the cliff edge. Wind whipped around them, blowing from the ocean and cutting through Grace's jacket.

"How far do you think Cherry is?" Hunter asked after a few hours of walking.

Grace stopped and sat down on a rock. She pulled out one of the maps she brought from Seaside. "Not far, I think," she said, frowning at the page. "We traveled most of the distance from Oktana just to get here, so we should be close."

Hunter sat down next to her. "Get there by tonight?"

"That would be nice, but maybe tomorrow morning."

As it turned out, Hunter was right. After the sun set behind the sea and the first stars appeared in the sky, Grace could make out small lights in the distance, fires set to light up the town.

Cherry was much smaller than any of the other towns Grace and Hunter had stopped in, even smaller than Seaside. They attracted curious, but not hostile, stares as they walked down the main path, keeping an eye out for an inn or a bar or someone in charge.

The person in charge found them first. "Can I help you folks?" The man who approached them looked normal enough, but his back was straight and he kept his steady eyes directly on Grace and Hunter, cautious but calm.

"Hi," Grace said, giving him a respectful nod. "We came up from Oktana."

The man nodded. "You need a place to stay?"

"Yes, if you have anything."

"Well, we don't have much in terms of guest rooms," he said. "But sometimes visitors sleep out on our dining pavilion. There's some empty space around the edge."

"That works for us," Grace said.

"I'll show you where it is." The man jerked his head and led them deeper into the town. "My name is Devon," he introduced himself. "No one is exactly in charge here, per se, but I usually greet visitors when we have them."

Grace exchanged looks with Hunter. "So, you would have talked to the travelers with the Ocean Train, yeah?" she asked.

Devon stopped and turned back to look at them. "That's what you're looking for?"

Grace nodded.

He sighed. "I figured we would get people looking, at some point," he said, shaking his head and beginning to walk again. "I knew they wouldn't get to their destination the moment they told me they were going through the middle of the state."

Now they were getting somewhere. "So they did change their plans to go that way?" Grace pressed.

Devon nodded.

"Why?"

"I told them about the rockfalls on their normal route," he replied. "Nothing big had happened yet, but things had been shifting around for a while. I told them it would probably be safe to keep their normal path, but if they didn't feel comfortable to just go above it on the cliffs. But, the leads said it would be too dangerous with that many people."

"They thought the risks of going through the valley were less than a narrow path?"

"Apparently." They had reached a large, open space with several picnic tables. "They seemed to think they could make it; I don't really know why." He sighed. "You two know someone who was supposed to be on it?"

"My sister," Hunter jumped in. "Anna. Anna DiAngelo. You wouldn't have happened to see her, would you?"

"Maybe," Devon said. "But I'm not good with names. Melissa, though, she's in charge of food and I know she went to go make sure everyone on the train was fed the nights they stopped here. She had the most contact with them, and she's usually pretty good at remembering people. You can ask her tomorrow."

"Thank you," Hunter said.

"You two get some rest," he said. "I'll come find you in the morning, take you to Melissa and see what we can do for you."

"Thanks, Devon," Grace said as he walked away.

"So, the bartender was telling the truth in Oktana," Hunter commented.

"Yeah, I guess." Grace sighed and sat down on an empty spot on the ground. "Not exactly good news, though."

"No. I guess not." Hunter sat down next to her. "But I do want to talk to this Melissa, see if I can confirm that Anna was with them. It'll help to know that we're not on some wild goose chase."

"Yeah, of course," Grace agreed. "And if she had the most contact with them, maybe she'll know more about their plans."

"Yeah, maybe."

Grace laid down the ground, shutting her eyes for some much-needed rest.

"Hey Grace?"

Grace opened her eyes back up to see Hunter staring at her, still sitting up. "Yeah?"

"Thank you. For not giving up." He reached over and squeezed her hand, his eyes flashing in the dark.

Grace gave him a small smile and squeeze back. His hand was warm. "Get some rest," was her only reply. "We have some long days ahead of us."

Hunter let go and laid down beside her, their shoulders just barely touching as they lay side by side.

***

"Anna DiAngelo?"

Grace and Hunter sat with Devon and Melissa at one of the picnic tables the next morning, uneaten breakfast sitting in front of them.

Melissa frowned, thinking on the name. "Hold on, she was young, yeah?" Melissa said. "She had some sort of flower necklace?"

Grace and Hunter exchanged excited glances. "A dahlia," he said. "Yeah, she always wore it."

"Yeah, I think I remember her," Melissa said. "She was definitely traveling with the train."

"So she made it this far," Hunter said. "I guess that's good to know, at least."

"Melissa, did you talk to the passengers on the train that much?" Grace pressed. "Or the people who ran the whole thing? Did they ever mention about what exactly their plans were in going through the valley?"

"Not exactly, no," Melissa admitted. "Just that they were going to do it because of the rockfalls. And, I don't know, they seemed confident about it. I thought it was weird because, well, no one is confident about making it through the central valley. But they were."

"So, it's almost like they were prepared for it?" Grace asked.

"Yeah, kind of."

Grace chewed on her lip. It didn't make any sense.

"That doesn't make any sense," Hunter echoed her thoughts.

"And yet, that's what they did," Melissa said.

"Do you think you can help us prepare to go after them?" Grace asked after a minute.

Devon and Melissa stared at her. "You're going after them," Devon asked incredulously. "That's suicide."

"Maybe," Grace said. "But it's less so for two people than an entire group. I know how to not draw attention to myself."

"Have you ever been to the valley?" Melissa asked.

Grace let out a sharp breath and then nodded.

"So you're not ignorant, you're just stupid," she said.

"Look, if you can't help, fine," Grace said, impatient. "Just show us to the closest point to cross into their territory and we'll be on our way."

Devon and Melissa exchanged glances. "We didn't say we couldn't help," Devon said.

Moments later, Grace and Hunter found themselves standing in a small store, staring across a countertop at a young man, barely older than Grace herself.

"This is Kyle," Devon introduced them. "And he might be able to help."

"Does anyone want to explain how?" Grace asked.

"I forge documents," Kyle explained.

"Documents?" Hunter asked. "Who has any sort of documents these days?"

"The people who live in the central valley do," Kyle replied. "Identification cards to show that they live there, marked with what they do to supply the state with essentials. So farmer, seamstress, that type of thing."

"And you can make fakes for us," Grace said, nodding in understanding. "And they'll do the trick?"

"They should," Devon said. "We've used them a few times and they've been successful."

"Hold on," Hunter said. "You were just talking about how dangerous the central valley is, but you do go there?"

Devon pressed his lips together. "We have a border crossing close by, less than an hour's walk. And less than an hour across the other side is an area with a lot of resources. Fruit trees, fresh water, wood for building. We try not to go, but sometimes we need things. Those cards get us in, and get us out if we get caught."

Grace nodded. "How much will it cost?"

Devon laughed. "You're on a suicide mission. The least we can do is give you something that might buy you a little more time." He shook his head and left the room.

"Well, isn't he a bundle of laughs," Grace muttered.

"We've lost people on that side of the border," Kyle said shortly. "He doesn't have to be excited about the fact that you two are probably going to end up the same way."

"Great, well, how long until you can have these done?" Grace asked, eager to change the subject.

"End of the day."

"Thanks, we'll be back at sunset." Grace grabbed Hunter's arm and practically dragged him out.

"Jesus, what's up with you?" he asked.

"I don't really want to hear about how we're going to die in the next few days. I already have to stop myself from thinking about it," Grace said bitterly.

"What do we do in the meantime?"

"Resupply. And see if we can get anything to bargain with, if it comes to that."

Grace and Hunter spent the rest of the day gathering food, water, medical supplies, and the few bargaining chips they could find. Although, in reality, Grace couldn't be sure if certain items would have the same bargaining power on the other side of the border as they did outside of the fascist's control.

True to his word, Kyle had the cards ready for the two of them when they returned as the sun went down. They looked good to Grace, but she had never seen a real one, so she couldn't know how close they were.

"This reminds me of college," Hunter commented as they walked away from the store, staring down at his card. "Fake I.Ds and all that."

"Yeah, except no fascists then."

"Fair point."

They reached the spot where they slept the night before and slung their stuff down on the ground.

"Are you ready for this?" Hunter asked quietly.

"We leave at first light," Grace said, avoiding directly answering the question. "Get some rest."