Sam pointed to the dead soldiers who were approaching the fence. “Not anymore.”
Trout felt his blood turn to ice. He cut a look at Dez, who looked horrified, but she was nodding to herself.
“How long can your team hold them on the other side of the fence?” she breathed. “How much time can you buy us?”
The soldier’s mouth tightened. “How much time do you need?”
“An hour,” she said. “Maybe less.”
“To do what?” demanded Trout.
“To do what we started out to do. Get all the supplies and everyone in the school onto the buses.”
“And then what?”
“We get the fuck out of here.”
“And go where?”
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“I don’t know,” she said. “Philly? New York?”
“No,” said Sam. “Go south. Go to Asheville.”
“North Carolina?” asked Dez. “Why there?”
“Because the storm is heading east. Roads will be bad and they’ll be blocked. Because everyone running from this will be going east. And we can’t go west because when we pinged Goat Weinman’s satellite phone it was clear he was heading northwest. Maybe to Pittsburgh. We should go south and get into the mountains.”
“Sure, but why Asheville?” asked Trout. “Why there specifically?”
Sam hesitated for a moment. “There is a government installation there.”
“Since when?” Dez asked skeptically. “I never heard of it.”
“You wouldn’t have. It was built during the Cold War. The mountains there are honeycombed with miles and miles of labs, living quarters, the works.”
“That’s just an urban legend,” said Trout. “I read about that. It’s not real.”
“It’s real. In the event of a nuclear exchange it was deemed a save zone because it’s outside of the prevailing drift patterns for likely nukes.”
“Hey,” called Gypsy, “somebody out there want to make a fucking decision? We’re going to be dancing with these things pretty soon.”
Sam touched Dez’s sleeve. “It’s there. Trust me.”
Dez met his eyes, searching them for truth and trust. Then she nodded. “Okay.”
“Good,” said Sam, looking relieved. “We’ll hold them as long as we can. You better get your asses in gear. Hurry!”
Dez spun and ran for the building. They could hear her shouting orders before she was even inside.
CHAPTER ONE HUNDRED SIX
THE SITUATION ROOM
THE WHITE HOUSE, WASHINGTON, D.C.
The president stood up slowly and walked the length of the room until he stood in front of the big screen. He stood, hands clasped behind his back, head bowed, appearing to stare into the middle distance.