CHAPTER 42
THE CLUBHOUSE, WITH its many windows, was lit like a beacon in the darkness of the neighborhood. The generator was cranking out power. By the time Riley and Nate arrived with Dr. Deb, Frank and Millie Newcombe had things well under way. They’d set up cots in meeting rooms A and B, where most of the families were bedding down, and distributed pillows and blankets among the couches in the lounge. Before everyone went to bed, they gathered in the dining room so Frank could dispense some basic instruction as to drinking water, the use of the toilets and showers, power conservation, and meal arrangements. Riley was drooping, fighting the yawns, when the peace of the room was split by an abrupt and deafening siren, complete with revolving red lights.
“And that,” said Frank, “is just
