The silence of the Deadlands was heavier than the toxic smog.
I sat inside the heavily armored command truck, a thick wool blanket draped over my shoulders. Leo was fast asleep in his carrier next to me, completely oblivious to the war that was about to unfold. My hand rested instinctively on my lower abdomen. It was still flat, still a secret between Caleb, Magda, Marcus, and me. But the life inside it made the stakes of tonight infinitely higher.
Outside the truck, the camp was a fortress of shadows.
Maya was moving quietly between the sleeping children in the nursery tent. She was adjusting blankets, checking bandages, and wiping ash from their pale faces. But her hands were shaking. I could see the tremor from thirty feet away.
I pushed the heavy truck door open and stepped
