“I have to help Pix,” Flash said, his voice soft.

“Well, I didn’t walk a mile down Sunset Boulevard and a thousand empty pawn shops to sit on my butt and do nothing,” Georgia replied. “I’m still in.”

Jay didn’t say a word.

“We need a diversion,” Elle said, narrowing her eyes at Jay. “Pix could be in any of the cages, and the only way we’ll have enough time to find her is if we open all of them.”

“You’re insane,” Jay stated.

“You’ve told me that before,” Elle replied. “Trust me, I know what I’m talking about. Jay and Flash, you create a diversion. A big one. Blow up something. See that bonfire on this side of the Pits? There are diesel tanks that they use to keep the torches burning.” She pointed. “See? Make a huge fire or explosion. Make it loud.”

“How do you know where to find all of this stuff?” Georgia asked.

“Georgia, you come with me,” she said, ignoring the question.“As soon as Jay and Flash blow up the tanks, these Klan members standing guard are going rush over there. We’ll have a chance to open the cages, if we’re lucky.”

“And then what? There are hundreds of Klan members in the arena around the corner,” Jay said. “We’re toast.”

“We’re going to run, and then we’re going to hide,” Elle answered. “And we’re going to stay hidden until the Klan calms down. Then we move on.”

“What if they capture us?” Georgia asked after a long silence.

“Then we’re dead.”

“If we separate from Jay and Flash, how are we going to meet up with them again?”

“We’ll have a meeting place,” Elle said. “Do you remember the bakery where we stayed last night? We’ll meet there. It’s far away from here and it’s hidden.” She turned to Jay. “Can you find the bakery on your own?”

Jay shrugged. Elle didn’t find that very reassuring.

“Any questions?” Elle offered.

Georgia raised her hand like a kid in a classroom. The gesture almost made Elle laugh.

Almost.

“How do we get the cages open?” Georgia asked.

“We cut the wire,” Elle said, pointing to the coil of wire twisted around the cyclone fencing. Elle drew a pair of wire cutters from her backpack. “I’m always prepared,” she grinned.

Then Elle pointed to a thickset, tall man with a shaved head. His forehead and cheeks were swirling with tattoos. He wore no shirt, just combat fatigues and a leather strap across his chest. The strap sheathed a sword on his back.

“He’s our biggest problem,” Elle whispered. “He’s the chief guard.  He gives the orders. You can tell by his tattoo, see?” The man had the Klan symbol tattooed on his left bicep. “We take him out, and some of our worst problems are eliminated.”

“Please tell me you’re joking,” Georgia sighed.

“I could,” Elle said, “but it would be a lie.”

“He’s huge. He’s like an anvil with legs.”

“I’ll take care of him. You focus on cutting the wire.” Elle handed Georgia the wire cutters. “You’ve got be quick.”

Jay interjected, “We’re probably going to die, aren’t we?”

Elle wanted to slap him. Yes, she’d known that this was probably a suicide mission, but that was before she had decided to help them. She had planned to lead them here and let them pull off the rescue attempt on their own.

But something inside her wouldn’t let her do that.

She wanted to do something about the cages sitting in front of her. She wanted to help. The world might be destroyed and society might have collapsed — but she could do a little good. She could help someone.

“You ready?” Elle said.

No one answered.

Elle took that as a yes.

“They’re all dead, Elle.”

Uncle stood in the doorway of the ranch house, tall and imposing. His scraggly gray hair hung limply to his shoulders. Rain drops slid down his wrinkled face. Elle sat on the floor, a book in her hands.

“Mom can’t be dead,” Elle stated. “She was supposed to wait for us.”

“I know. But she wasn’t there.”

“So she could still be alive, then.”

“My girl, your mother is gone, and so is your father and your brother.” Uncle took a step closer, and Elle was suddenly on her feet, drawing back. “Please, Elle. Listen to what I’m saying: they’re gone. You need to accept this. Life won’t get any easier until you do.”

“Life sucks,” Elle said, blinking back tears. “We’re living in hiding — people are dying all around us. There’s nothing left! It’s not going to get easier. Ever.”

Uncle’s eyes were red, as if he had been crying.

Elle remembered when the power had gone out, when everything had gone dark forever. She remembered the panic, the riots. The massacres and the whispers of a shadow army on the coastline. Her father and her brother, slipping out one night to find food. Her mother waiting at the window of their apartment in Beverly Hills, sitting there for three days. Sending Elle away with Uncle, into the hills, away from the city.

“She has to be there, somewhere,” Elle said.

“Hope is a good thing,” Uncle replied, “but in this case, accept the truth. Your family is dead, but you have us. You have your Aunt and I. You’re not alone.”

Elle threw her book into the fireplace. The flames consumed the pages, slowly eating away the words. She stared at it until it was a pile of charred, black debris. Uncle placed a hand on Elle’s shoulder. She shook it off.

Uncle was wrong. Mom had to be alive.

Johnny and Daddy were dead, but Mom…

She had to go back. She had to find her.

And Uncle couldn’t stop her.

Elle’s palms were sweaty. She waited with Georgia on the far side of the park, staring at the long rows of cages. The prisoners were filthy, caked in mud and dried blood. They sat and stared into space with vacant expressions.

“What the hell is wrong with people?” Georgia whispered. “This is barbaric.”

This is life, Elle thought bitterly.

“Remember, leave the big guy to me,” Elle replied. “You get those cages open and look for Pix. Then we’re out of here.”

“Okay, okay,” Georgia replied. Then, “Why are you helping us, Elle? You’ve really got no reason to.”

Elle frowned.

“I don’t know,” she said.

“Liar,” Georgia observed, lifting an eyebrow. “There’s something here that you want.”

Elle blinked, startled at Georgia’s perceptiveness.

But she didn’t answer. She didn’t like to talk about the past with people that she didn’t trust completely. Not that she thought Georgia was out to kill her, but still…information was valuable. She didn’t want to give it away so easily.

“Okay, they’ve got to be ready by now,” Elle muttered.

Jay and Flash needed to hurry up. The chief guard was walking closer, pacing up and down between the cages. This was their opportunity.

Come on, hurry up!

The explosion caught Elle off guard. It was huge. The diesel tanks roared into towering flames and detonated like bombs, flattening the foliage around them instantly. Heat burned Elle’s face and singed the hair on her arms. She shielded her eyes. The roar from the inferno was constant, like a waterfall. A wave of sound. Flames licked around the tops of the trees and seared the grass. Klan members lay twisted at unnatural angles on the ground, their skin charred and black.

Several guards were caught in the explosion. They struggled to regain their balance. Elle heard screaming and cursing. The chief guard slowly got to his feet, bewildered by shock and the blistering flames.

Even Elle’s ears were ringing.

“Here we go,” she told Georgia.

And then she was gone. She sprinted out of the cover of the foliage and ran between the cages, making a beeline for the head guard. The prisoners in the cages were watching the explosion, eyes wide.