The truck descended from the mountains like a stone rolling downhill. The engine hummed, a low vibration that matched the pulse in Ezra's wrists. He kept his hand on the dashboard. The plastic was warm. Alive. The Node in the Mountain had woken up, and its energy was spreading through the grid of the old world. Roads that had been cracked were healing. Weeds were growing through the asphalt, not to destroy it, but to hold it together.
Mara sat in the back. She hadn't spoken since they left the compound. She was wrapped in blankets, but the glow beneath them was brighter than before. It pulsed with her breathing. In. Out. Blue. White. Blue.
Ezra checked the rearview mirror. Her eyes were closed. Her skin was translucent. He could see the veins beneath, filled with light instead of blood.
