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Ridley woke with the sky above her. She peeled her heavy eyelids back and squinted at the gathering storm clouds far above. Dark purple rolling into gray, with electric blue zigzagging across the scene. She shifted her body, becoming aware of the hard, uneven surface she was lying on. She blinked a few times as her brain tried to catch up with what she was seeing. But her thoughts were sluggish, half-formed, confused.
She slowly pushed herself up as she tried to think back—and then saw, with a nauseating jolt, exactly where she was: Outside the city wall. In the wastelands. With rusty vehicles, cracked roads, and the crumbling, overgrown remains of buildings nearby, and Dad, Callie and Malachi lying beside her.
Her racing heart sent adrenaline shooting through her body, helping to sc
