PART 4

The Road to Kingsley

A police cruiser met us where the road narrowed to gravel.

Behind it were a rescue truck and an ambulance, their lights turning puddles red and blue.

The rain had softened to a mist, but the river beyond the guardrail sounded louder than the engines.

I wanted to run.

Instead, I stayed beside Toby while a fire captain named Alvarez studied a map he had drawn on the back of a clipboard.

“Two people beyond the culvert,” he said.