Back on the road, they made great time. The interstate in South Carolina was clearer than it had been further north, and the ATVs sped down lengths of empty road, only slowing occasionally to bypass wrecked vehicles. Court kept his face turned out of the wind, his cheek pressed to Ronnie’s back, and began to notice signs of other life on the highway shoulders. Burnt remains of fires, discarded water bottles, crushed aluminum cans, even some bones and skinned hides from animals that served as dinner for hungry travelers. As they drove farther into the depth of the state, Court even began to see others like themselves—weary bands of people, three or four at a time, weighed down with heavy backpacks and canteens.
The first time Court saw someone, it was a man squatting on the side of the roa
