“It seems kind of pointless to even go there then.”
“We’re taking the path we think Cora would. It’s the only way Dana can lock onto her scent.”
“God, that must be weird knowing someone is sniffing you out. I hope she showered at least.”
Irritated, Max loudly cleared his throat and then turned up the radio. I think it was his not-so-subtle way of telling her to shut up. I was happy with the decision because the more noise in the car, the less I was expected to make conversation.
I leaned my cheek against the frosty glass of the window and tried to imagine what Lunar City even looked like anymore. After Brinly’s former fiancé unleashed an attack on the city, nothing was ever the same. People moved away because they didn’t feel safe. I think the windowless black vans that appeared out of nowhere and collected the bodies threw everyone into paranoia. We kept expecting them to return. It’s why Brinly abandoned her grandfather’s compound, even though it tore her up inside. I went with them, no questions asked, but I continued to pay the rent for my old apartment twenty miles outside of the city. Just in case I needed it.
For the remainder of the ride, Max was really quiet, mostly keeping his eyes to the road and then sometimes on his phone. His hands were continuously tapping across the steering wheel like he was playing the piano, and he only ever broke it up to vigorously scratch the stubble growing on the side of his face. It was clearly a nervous tick. Poor guy. He looked like a bundle of nerves, and he was trying so hard to hide it, but I noticed.
I always liked Max. I don’t even know if he knew who I was or had much of an opinion of me before this, but whenever he visited the compound, he was always so nice to me. It made sense that Cora fell in love with him. They were both really good people, and it’s rare those types end up together. I would have figured he’d hook up with someone like Priscilla, who, by the way, was doing her best to ignore Rickey. He was asking her a dozen questions about her life, which I think was his way of flirting. I know she didn’t owe him anything, but she could at least give him a shot. He’s a great guy.
Before I knew it, we were in Lunar City, and it was a shell of its former self. There was so much property damage and wood from destroyed buildings lying all over the street, only now it was coated with a layer of snow so it made everything look even more desolate. You knew people were still living in the apartment buildings, though. You could feel it. It just felt like the city’s population had been cut in half.
“You guys remember where any of the churches were?” Max called out.
“There’s only one, as far as I know,” Rickey replied. “Turn left off Gray street. It should be right there.”
I was expecting more of a struggle or more obstacles to be thrown in our way, but getting to Lunar City and finding the church was almost simple. It made me uneasy.
“You see that?” Max said, pointing to the snowy road in front of the church. “Tire tracks. Someone was recently here.”
“Doesn’t mean it’s her,” Priscilla said softly.
“Doesn’t mean it’s not.”
We parked the car, and almost in unison, all of our doors popped open and we stepped out. The wind was howling, swirling and lifting the snow from the ground and into the air, and I had to pull the collar of my coat over my cheeks to stay warm. A faint aroma suddenly entered my nostrils, and although it was very weak, I recognized it as Cora’s scent. She had in fact been here.
The snow crunched beneath our feet as we walked up the narrow pathway to the church, with Max taking the lead. He pulled open the front door and we all walked in at the same time. The door crashed shut behind us and the loud bang echoed through the confines of the church. We saw the pews, the altar, the stained glass windows, but there was no one inside.
“You getting anything?” Max asked.
I breathed in deeply. “She was here,” I said. I took a few steps forward, still breathing inward. “She walked up this aisle.” I came to the front of the row of seats and trailed my hand along the pews. “She sat here. I can sense her really strong, she must have lingered here for a while.”
Max’s eyes lit up with relief. “Okay, but where did she go?”
I circled the area for a minute, inhaling as deeply as I could, but something strange happened when I took a few steps in the direction of where I knew she was going.
There was nothing.
I smelled nothing.
“I don’t…I don’t understand…” I whimpered.
Max’s eyes no longer looked relieved. “What? What is it?”
“I lost her. She was heading in this direction, and then it’s like she vanished.”
“I thought you were supposed to be the best at this,” Priscilla griped.
“She is!” Rickey barked.
I was so confused. This had never happened before. “I keep trying, but—” My eyes began to sting from tears. I was so embarrassed. “I’m sorry,” I said to Max. I felt like pleading for his forgiveness for wasting so much of his time and abusing his trust. Maybe I wasn’t as good of a tracker as I thought I was.
Max didn’t look angry, but he looked sick to his stomach. “It’s all right,” he said very calmly. I didn’t know if his quiet and soft demeanor was for
