The courtyard seemed to be an impromptu marketplace in the morning. Rickey suggested they simply blend into the crowd, but one look in the locker room mirrors told them all that there could be no blending in. It was obvious that they had been ill, that they were starving. And starving meant they looked desperate. Desperate was dangerous for everyone. The people in the courtyard were thin and their goods few and mostly broken, but they weren’t starving and they were each conspicuously armed. Melissa and Vincent spent the morning peering through a small crack in the doors, watching the crowd. Rickey turned the television back on until Molly forced him to shut it off, terrified the sound would draw others. Pam kept packing and repacking all the gear, scared they would leave some trace behind. Henry was a little relieved that they couldn’t start yet, still struggling with everything that lay ahead. He studied Melissa’s route, trying to see how far they were from the City’s borders.
