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The GPS insisted we turn right in fifty metres, but as we approached the street, three abandoned police cars were blocking the road, stopped every which way with their doors open.

Varesh sighed behind Luke but said nothing.

I propped my elbow on the console, running my pinky finger along the back of Luke’s hand as it rested on the gear shifter. We’d get there—I knew we’d find a way through—but how long would it take?

A removal truck appeared from a side street, with a hatchback following close enough that it almost kissed the truck’s rear bumper.

I tapped my fingers on my thigh again. “What if they’re just sending us in a loop right back to where we came from?”

A yellow detour sign leaned against a power pole, the arrow directing us between two transport depots.

“Oh my God,” Tim said. “Don’t even joke about that. Can you imagine?”

Four more cars came out of a side street without bothering to give way, slotting in seamlessly as if they were merging on the highway.

I clasped my hands, keeping them still. We’d barely seen any people in the regional areas, and now it looked like they were all evacuating at the same time. Before our world changed, it would have given us a sense of security. Strength in numbers. Now… I wasn’t sure what to think.

Maybe we should have left straight after seeing Sadie’s message yesterday. Driving in the fading light might have been easier than dealing with the traffic.

Luke checked the mirrors. “If anyone sees a turnoff, let me know.”

A Ford Ranger with a rooftop tent came next, and two women in the cab threw anxious glances our way before they fell in with the procession.

The movement still flowed freely, but the gaps between each vehicle were narrowing.

The industrial estate seemed to go on forever. Warehouse after warehouse, gravel yards, and stacks of brown and blue shipping containers.

Rainwater collected in potholes wide enough to wreck another wheel, and for the first time in a while, my mind went back to Bellmere. So much had happened since the night Luke first held my hand that it felt like a lifetime ago now.

When he slowed again, it wasn’t to let anyone in. We’d run out of room.

He repositioned his hands on the wheel, checking our surroundings as a couple of cars passed in the opposite direction.

“What about that street over—” Varesh pointed between the front seats, then pulled his hand back. “My mistake. Another dead end.”

We slowed to a crawl as another stream of vehicles merged, one slipping in while the others waited for a gap farther down.

I’d been in traffic like this on hot days when everyone decided it was the perfect time to load up their families and head to the coast, but now I couldn’t draw a full breath.

Every vehicle contained the most important parts of people’s lives, and each face wore the same tense expression. Keep moving. Don’t start anything with anyone.

Luke drummed a steady beat on the steering wheel.

“All good?” I asked. If he lost his composure, I might just lose my mind.

“For now.” His fingers stopped moving, and he nodded at the mirror. “It’s getting busier back there.”

I swivelled in my seat and looked through the rear window. The driver behind locked eyes with me, a blonde woman with a young girl beside her in the passenger seat.

Luke rounded a slight bend, and the rest of the line came into view. It was impossible to tell where the queue ended now.

“Do you think it was like this for Sadie and Theo?” I asked.

Tim twisted around and followed my gaze. “Not a chance.”

“People were hiding for the first couple of days,” Varesh said. “I’m sure Theo and Sadie would have had a straightforward trip—as much as anything is straightforward these days.”

I wished his words could comfort me, but the knot in my stomach twisted tighter.