Chapter 1
"If I die out here, I need one of you to smash my phone. Do not look at the photos. Just smash it."
Chloe peeled her leg off the vinyl bench seat with a wet, sticky sound. She was fanning herself with a travel brochure, her mascara threatening to run down her cheeks.
"Relax, Chlo," David said from the driver’s seat, grinning at her in the rearview mirror. "You look great. You’re glowing. Like a glazed donut."
"I am not a donut, David. I am a heatstroke victim with a rigid skincare routine."
Mac kicked her feet up on the dashboard, ignoring the heat radiating through the soles of her converse. "I told you we should have taken the highway. But no. David wanted the scenic route."
"The highway is for tourists," David said, tapping the steering wheel to the beat of a song only he seemed to enjoy. "The Great Salt Flats are legendary. Look at that view! It’s infinite white. It’s poetic."
"It’s an oven," Mac shot back, though she couldn't help but smile. She reached over and poked his arm. "And keep your eyes on the nothingness, please. If we hit a bump out here, this rust-bucket is going to disintegrate."
"Ye of little faith," David teased. He caught her hand for a second, squeezing it before letting go. "This RV is a beast. She loves the heat."
"She’s literally crying," Mac said, pointing to the temperature needle that was shaking near the red zone. "Listen to that engine. That is the sound of a machine begging for death."
In the back, Ty and Sam were passed out, or at least pretending to be. Ty had a bag of melting gummy bears on his chest, and Sam was using a rolled-up hoodie as a pillow.
"Hey," Ty mumbled, his eyes still closed. "Are we there yet?"
"Define there," Chloe said. "If there is hell, then yes. We have arrived."
Mac laughed, grabbing her warm water bottle. The vibe was good. Despite the sweating and the smell of old carpet, she loved this. The open road. The stupid jokes. The way David looked at her when he thought she wasn't paying attention. It was perfect.
"Whoa," Ty said, sitting up suddenly. The gummy bears slid off his chest. "Dude. What is that?"
"A rock," David said automatically.
"No, dude. It’s moving. Two o’clock."
Mac squinted through the bug-splattered windshield. The heat outside was making the air wiggle, like looking through a glass of water. It made her dizzy. But then she saw it. A tiny black smudge against the blinding white ground.
"It’s a dog," Chloe said, leaning forward. "Oh my god, is it a stray dog? We have to save it."
"It’s not a dog," Mac said, sitting up straighter. The smile dropped off her face. The smudge was getting taller. "It’s a person."
"Out here?" David laughed nervously. "We’re forty miles from the nearest gas station."
As the RV rumbled closer, the laughter died in the cabin. It wasn't just a person. It was a kid. A little girl, standing absolutely still in the middle of three thousand miles of salt.
"David, stop," Mac said.
David didn't argue this time. He hit the brakes. The RV lurched and groaned, tires crunching over the hard salt crust until they rolled to a halt about fifty yards away.
The silence in the RV was sudden and loud.
"Is this a prank?" Ty whispered, pressing his face to the window. "Where are the cameras?"
"She’s alone," Mac said. She unbuckled her seatbelt. "And she’s barefoot. Look at her feet."
The girl was facing away from them, staring at the horizon. She looked like a ghost in a dirty pink t-shirt.
"I’m getting her," Mac said, reaching for the door handle.
"Wait," David said, his voice serious for the first time all day. "Mac, that’s weird. Like, horror movie weird."
"It’s a little girl, David. I’m not leaving her there to bake."
Mac pushed the door open. The heat hit her instantly, a wall of dry, angry air that felt like standing inside a hair dryer. She stepped down onto the crunchy ground.
"Hey!" Mac called out, putting on her friendliest voice. "Honey? Are you okay?"
The girl turned around.
Mac froze. She expected the kid to be crying. She expected sunburn. She expected panic.
But the girl just looked at her. Her face was pale, almost grey, and her lips were blue. She looked... cold.
"Do you have a car?" Mac asked, taking a step closer. "Where are your parents?"
The girl didn't answer. Her dark eyes darted past Mac, looking at the empty space behind the RV. She looked terrified, but not of Mac. She was looking at the air itself.
"Water," Sam yelled from inside the RV, holding a bottle out the door. "Mac, give her water!"
The sound of Sam's voice seemed to snap a wire in the girl’s head. She didn't walk. She bolted.
She sprinted past Mac, a blur of motion, and scrambled up the metal steps into the RV.
"Whoa!" David yelped.
Mac spun around and jumped back inside, slamming the door shut behind her. She locked it, breathing hard. "Okay. Okay, you’re safe. We got you."
The girl was huddled in the passenger footwell, knees pulled to her chest. She was shivering. violently. In a hundred-and-ten-degree heat, she was shaking like she was naked in the snow.
"Is the door locked?" the girl whispered. Her voice was tiny, like dry paper.
"Yeah," David said, looking down at her, totally bewildered. "Yeah, kid. It’s locked. You’re okay."
The girl shook her head slowly. She pointed a trembling finger at the windshield. At the shimmering, wavy heat haze dancing on the horizon.
"It doesn't matter," she whispered. "You let the cold out."
