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When Ava unfastened her seatbelt, my gaze snapped to her. “What are you doing?”

“Having a look.”

“Wait.” I rested my hand on her forearm, my thumb brushing her puffer jacket.

Her eyes glinted in the grey morning. “Do you… have something to say?”

Tim snorted in the back seat.

I opened my mouth and closed it again. “I’ll come with you. Let me get my backpack first, just in case.”

“All these pheromones,” Tim drawled. “I think I just got pregnant.”

“Shut up.” I smiled and pushed my door open, jumping out into the cold air. Standing on the road with a clearer view didn’t give me any new information.

Ava climbed out, zipping her jacket higher, wisps from her ponytail floating on the light breeze. “What’s going on?” she asked. “I can’t see anything from this side.”

“It’s the same over here.”

I went around to the boot, giving the woman in the hatchback a quick smile. She barely reacted at first, then blinked and shook her head before looking away.

Tim and Varesh exited the car, and I shouldered the pack I’d stocked with emergency food and supplies.

We grabbed our weapons, and Ava stared at the road as I locked up. “The line in front has to be at least twenty cars deep,” she said, standing on her toes as if it would help her see better.

Tim puffed out his cheeks. “If the blockage clears when we’re all the way up there, we’ll be pissing everyone off while we make it back to the car.”

“Why don’t we just walk close enough to see what’s going on?” Varesh pulled on a khaki beanie and repositioned his glasses.

Ava’s nose had turned red, and her breath clouded in the air. She led the way, sneaking a glance into the car in front as we took off down the passenger side of the line.

I caught up to her in a couple of strides while Tim and Varesh stayed close behind us.

Almost everyone we passed carried a weapon. Shovels. A cricket bat. Two young guys had a crowbar between them, and the blonde one gave us a nod as we passed.

The farther we walked, the more people called out to us.

“Any idea what’s going on?”

“Was there a crash?”

“Is it the dead ones?”

A woman with a toddler on her hip appealed to Ava. “Do you know if they’re letting people through?”

Ava swapped the axe to her other hand, keeping it out of sight of the little girl. “No,” she said, her pace barely slowing, “but we’re heading up there to find out.”

The woman turned away before Ava had finished speaking, as if searching for someone who might know more than we did.

“Keep an eye out for anyone who looks sick,” I said, glancing over my shoulder. Varesh nodded, surveying the area.

A man who was too polished for the apocalypse stood beside a clean car, holding nothing but his keys. A disposable mask covered the lower part of his face, and his eyes darted to my pickaxe. Without a word, he jumped back inside and slammed the door.

“Are you going up the front?” an older woman asked, bundled in a scarf, gloves, and a beanie.

“That’s the plan,” Tim said.

“We’ll let you know what we find,” Varesh added.