Grace was surprised she hadn't noticed the tunnel before, but, in her defense, she had been on the verge of the panic attack the last time she had been in the shelter. Dim light coming down from the house showed the dark, open hold in the side of the cellar wall, just big enough for a person carrying a backpack to fit through.

Grace looked back at Hunter. He nodded.

"Well, here we go," Grace whispered to herself. With one last look up and nod of thanks to Jackson and Carrie, who stared down from the opening with pale faces, Grace crawled through the hole.

They lost all light almost immediately. If anything blocked their path, Grace would have crawled into it head first. She cautiously put one hand in front of the other, feeling the loose dirt beneath her fingers and trying not to think about the ground above them caving in. Occasionally, she felt one of Hunter's hands brush her foot, moves that Grace assumed he did not mean to make, but she was grateful for, nonetheless. The only thing worse about crawling through a dark underground tunnel would be crawling through one alone.

Like most Americans, Grace had a pretty good idea how far 100 yards was thanks to the country's obsession with football, although she had never slowly crawled across a football field in pitch darkness. Still, when Grace figured they had gone about three quarters of the way, she slowed, keeping one hand out in front of her as much as possible, looking for the end.

Her hand hit metal. Fumbling, Grace eventually grasped a ladder rung. Hunter's hand hit her foot, and he stopped as well.

"We're here?" he whispered.

"I think so," Grace whispered back. She wasn't sure why she spoke so softly—it's doubtful anyone would be able to hear them unless they stood right above the opening, and if someone was waiting for them, the volume of their words wouldn't matter. Still, it felt right.

Grace cautiously felt for more rungs and eventually got both of her hands and feet on the metal. She climbed for what felt like a much farther distance than how they descended.

"Fuck." Grace's head hit a wooden ceiling.

"You okay?"

"Yeah, I'm fine," Grace grumbled. She shoved up on the door and it swung up, letting in a sliver of moonlight. The top was only a few more feet.

Grace got up the rest of the way and swung herself out and over a small brick wall. As she landed on the other side, immediately squatting down, she saw a well covering the entrance. Hunter landed beside her.

They both pressed their backs against the well wall for a moment, catching their breaths. Grace looked up at the moon. It wasn't full, but it emitted enough light to make things potentially more complicated for them.

"Well, at least that worked," Hunter commented.

"If you mean we weren't buried alive, and no one was waiting here to shoot us in the head when we came up, yeah, I'd say so."

"Aren't you cheery."

"Shut up. We still have a long way to go."

Hunter's expression sobered. "Yeah, you're right. South?"

Grace took a deep breath. She turned her head to look south. Ahead lay an open field, not great for trying to stay hidden. "Yeah," she said. "South."

They walked in silence. Grace kept herself on high alert, jerking her head at any and every small rustle, chirp, or crack. She could barely see his face in the dark, but Hunter seemed just as tense as she was.

On the other side of that field lay another, this time with much taller crops. Grace allowed herself to relax slightly as they walked through the tall stalks. It was very unlikely that anyone would be able to see them, even if someone was looking.

At the end of that field, they stole along a couple of buildings, keeping to the shadows, before being confronted by another empty field. They continued on as such for the next several hours, nervously walking out in the open except for the few buildings they could use to hide some of their movements. Apparently, no one was looking too hard for them. They didn't see anyone else all night.

Eventually, the sky turned from a dark, inky black to a soft gray, and as Grace looked beside her, Hunter's face became clearer and clearer in the morning light. "We should probably find someplace to stop," she said.

"You don't think it's safe enough to travel during the day?" Hunter questioned. He pressed his lips together in a fine line. "That'll cut down our progress by a lot."

"I know," Grace said. "And I think eventually we can, but not now. We're still too close to Jackson and Carrie's. We should wait until we're in a more populated area, blend in with the crowd."

Hunter didn't argue. "What about there?" He pointed ahead of them to a cornfield. They could hide among the crops with hopefully no one ever know they were there.

"Perfect."

The sun just appeared over the horizon as Grace and Hunter reached the edge of the cornfield. They wandered among the stalks to get away from the edge, but not so far as to come out the other side. A farmhouse sat in the distance.

"I'll take watch first." Hunter made the offer as he and Grace threw down their packs and sank to the ground.

Grace shook her head. "No, I will," she argued. She didn't know why, but she felt obligated. "You should rest."

"Grace," Hunter said gently. "Sleep. I'm not taking no for an answer."

Despite his concerned expression, the hardness that lied behind his eyes told Grace that she would not win this argument. She wondered how awful she must have looked for him to be so adamant. "Fine."

Grace laid down with her head on her pack and closed her eyes. It wasn't long before sleep came over her and darkness settled.

Bang!

Grace shot up from her almost sleep at the sound of the shotgun. She and Hunter shot up off the ground, looking wildly around.

Trucks revved and voices yelled, definitely coming from the direction that Grace and Hunter had come from, but seemingly spreading out around them as well. And all of them were getting closer.

"We were being followed." Hunter wasn't asking a question; he knew just as well as Grace did.

"Damn it," Grace cursed. "We underestimated them. They must have been waiting until light to make their move." The unmistakable sound of rustling corn appeared in the distance. "Run."

They both swung their packs onto their backs and took off at a sprint. The noises faded, but it wouldn't stay that way for long.

"You know, as soon as we leave this field, they'll be able to see us," Hunter panted beside her.

"I know," Grace said. "But what other choice do we have?"

Hunter didn't answer.

They kept running, and as Grace saw the edge of the field, she braced herself to be out in the open again. At least it didn't look like there was anyone waiting for them on the other side.

They made it about 15 seconds out in the open.

"There!"

Trucks revved from either side and came screaming towards them. Grace and Hunter made it to a main road, sprinting down the asphalt, but the trucks behind them were coming way too fast. There's no way they would be able to outrun them.

Casting her eyes wildly from side to side, Grace caught sight of a narrow line on the opposite side of the road from where the cornfield had been. "That way," she ordered, and led Hunter off the road. She only hoped that she was seeing what she thought she was seeing.

Grace's instincts were right. A wide ditch appeared ahead of them, what probably used to be an aqueduct, carrying water between the valley's farms. But now it lay dry, just waiting for her and Hunter to slide down the sloped sides and continue sprinting along the bottom.

"Now what?" Hunter asked.

"Well, at least they won't be able to follow us in trucks," Grace said, trying to ignore an emerging cramp in her side. "We'll figure out 'now what' later."

But they were both exhausted, and neither had eaten as much as they should. The trucks continued in the distance, but instead of getting out and following the two on foot, the drivers seemed to follow along in their vehicles, waiting for Grace and Hunter to leave the aqueduct.

"Do you see that?" Hunter pointed above them. A run-down house stood on the other side of the ditch from the trucks. "It might be abandoned. Hiding spot?"

Grace put on the breaks and dropped to her stomach. Hunter almost tripped over her, but followed her lead. "What are you doing?" he hissed.

"It would be a good hiding spot," she whispered back, "but not if they see us go in. But maybe they'll just pass us."

Sure enough, the engines came closer and closer, but then faded away. Their pursuers had assumed the pair had continued running.

Grace and Hunter remained in their position for another minute before scrambling up and over the steep side of the aqueduct. With no one in sight, the two sprinted to the house, practically throwing themselves over the side of the fence.

Hunter had been right. The place was abandoned, although Grace wondered if it had been emptied even before the bombs. The roof was practically caving in on itself, and as they forced their way inside, she noticed a thick layer of dust over just about everything.

"Look around, see if you can find a place to hide." Grace spoke between gasps of air. She clutched her side, willing the cramp to go away. "They won't be fooled for long, and they'll come looking."

They searched the house, but it seemed as basic as a house could possibly be. Any place they could hide would be quickly discovered if their pursuers came looking.

"Hey, Grace?"

Grace quickly followed the sound of Hunter's voice, entering what looked like was once the garage. The opposite wall had caved in, and pieces of the roof were missing. "Find something?"

"Not exactly a hiding place, but..." Hunter trailed off, grabbed a dirty sheet that was thrown over something, and dragged it off.

Grace gaped at what she saw. It was a car. A Toyota Prius. In not horrible condition. "You don't think," Grace paused, not believe the words that were about to come out of her mouth, "you don't think it might still run, do you?"

Hunter shrugged. "Only one way to find out. And if we could get it going, it would be a way to keep ahead of whoever's chasing us, at least until we find someplace with better cover."

"Let's find the keys."

After another quick sweep of the house, Grace returned to the garage, keys clutched in her hand. She clicked the unlock button. The car beeped.

An unexpected feeling of excitement swept through her. Hunter even grinned. Grace got in the driver's seat, and after Hunter climbed in next to her, she took a breath and pushed the start engine button.

Light came on and the quiet hybrid engine came to life. Grace's mouth opened in shock as she observed the full gas tank symbol.

"Holy crap," was all Hunter could say.

"Holy crap indeed."

And they weren't a moment too soon.

"Check in their!" Voices came from outside, and Grace and Hunter looked at each other. It was now or never.

"We can't go back," Hunter said, looking behind them. "Too much debris."

"No, but we can go forward." Grace trained her eye back through the house. The garage door led to the kitchen, which had glass doors leading outside. A Prius would be powerful enough to get through that.

Grace heard a click. Hunter had fastened his seatbelt.

She put the car into drive. "Brace yourself," she said.

A crash went through the house. Someone had just kicked the front door in.

Grace gunned the engine.

Well, she gunned it as much as a Prius engine could be gunned. Grace's first car had been a Prius, but she had forgotten until this moment how poor their acceleration was. But it didn't particularly matter. It did the job.

She barely saw their pursuers as she crashed into the kitchen and out the other side. As they skidded outside, a few trucks sat to their left, and she jerked to wheel to head in the opposite direction.

Grace tore across the landscape, trying to ignore the trucks in pursuit in the rear-view mirror. She barely even comprehended Hunter next to her, who looked like he was about to throw up. Neither one of them had moved this fast in years.

They were headed more east than south, but Grace didn't want to take them time to change directions. Besides, a mass had appeared on the horizon, something that looked like trees.

"You think we can hide in there?" Hunter's voice was unusually high pitched, but it held steady.

"I'm hoping so," Grace replied. Her hands clenched the steering wheel so tight that her knuckles were white, and she hadn't let up on the gas pedal since they left the abandoned house. The speedometer read 105 mph. They hadn't lost the trucks, but had managed to stay a solid distance ahead of them.

As they approached the trees, more of a forest really, Grace also spotted a barn that lay just at the tree line. She steered toward it and started to slow down.

"Uh, what are you doing?" Hunter asked, a panicked edge coming into his voice.

"Take off your seatbelt," Grace ordered.

He did so, but still looked apprehensive.

"Now get ready to open your door and jump when I say."

"What?"

"Hunter." Grace stole a look over at him. "You need to trust me."

He looked pale and ill, but he nodded.

Grace kept her course toward the barn, slowing her speed down to 50 miles per hour. "Now!" she shouted just as the car burst through barn doors. The two of them bailed as quickly as possible.

Grace hit the ground hard and rolled several times, but other than some scrapes and what would be some serious bruises, she was fine. The car continued out the other side and immediately crashed into a boulder. It crumpled, parts exploding off of it, and immediately caught on fire.

"Move!" Grace shouted, and she and Hunter sprinted out of the barn, around the car, and towards the trees on the other side. Grace couldn't hear anything behind them, but they didn't stop, getting farther and farther under the cover of the trees.

Eventually, gasping for breath, Grace stopped, throwing herself down behind a large rock. She hadn't heard any trucks, yells, or gunshots in ages. She figured, at least for now, they were safe.

"Are you okay?" she gasped at Hunter. He had collapsed down next to her, breathing heavily and clutching his side.

"Not sure," he wheezed, clutching his side. Grace looked down, and to her horror, saw red on his hand.

"From the jump?" she asked, placing her hand over his to try and stop the bleeding.

He just nodded.

Grace looked around wildly. "Okay, okay," she said. "I have medical supplies," she tried to think clearly. She hadn't even taken her pack off, so fortunately it had survived the crash. "I'll patch you up."

"Grace, find my sister." Hunter coughed. "You can't stay here, and there's no sense in both of us dying."

"You're not dying," Grace snapped. "We just have to find somewhere safer for you to get some rest."

"There's nowhere safe—" Hunter's voice rose slightly, but then it quickly died off. His eyes focused on a spot behind Grace's head.

Grace turned around, and she immediately shifted herself to put herself between Hunter and an approaching figure. She had no energy left in her to fight, and defending Hunter was all she could think to do.

A woman came up to them and knelt down. She stared at Grace with sharp eyes. "I can help with that," she said.