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Walking together became trickier once they were in the woods While Wells had to slon to navigate exposed roots and htly over the sa a noise, but Sasha racefully and silently as a deer This was clearly land she had crossed many times He wondered what it was like to know a section of forest as inti your foot over a fallen log as naturally as youWells down a hill he’d never seen before, where the trees were thinner and the grass grew higher, al braid had come loose, and her dark hair rippled down her back

"Do you think they’re worried about you?" he said finally

At first, he wasn’t sure Sasha had heard him, because she didn’t turn around or break stride But the chain connecting thehtly "Worried… and furious," she said "We were ordered to stay away frothened his step so they alking side by side for the first ti what it was like in space, what you were all like I didn’t really get to know the people in the first group I barely got to talk to any of the to hed, then winced as the chain went taut Sasha had stopped in her tracks and was glowering at hi It’s just crazy to think about you i about Earth"

Sasha gave hiain "Really? So what do you want to know?"

Wells barely missed a beat "How many people survived the Cataclys? What kinds of animals are there? Have you ever seen the ocean? What happens when…" He trailed off when he saw Sasha grinning at him "What?"

"Why don’t we do one at time?"

"Okay," Wells said with a smile "The first one, then Who survived? What happened after the bombs fell?"

"We’re not sure," Sasha ad boround, where the limestone kept theo that they en of hue, we’re the only ones who survived But who knows? There may be others around the world"

"And where are we exactly?" Wells asked

"Really?" She furrowed her brows as though wondering if he were joking "We’re in North Ainia Did they really not tell you where they were sending you? Why all the secrecy?"

Wells hesitated, unsure howthat they’d all cohteenth birthdays probably wasn’t the best way to seem trustworthy "The dropships don’t have the ation syste to end up"

Sasha looked skeptical "Yet you landed within ten miles of the other dropship You must have been sent to this area for a reason You were probably ave Wells chills No one on the Colony could have known about the existence of Sasha’s people--could they? "If we’re in Virginia, are we near Washington, DC?" he asked, eager to change the subject "Did any of the buildings survive?" His heart sped up as he thought about exploring the remains of the White House, or better yet, a ton, he recalled

Disappointh him as Sasha shook her head "No, the city was razed Just a few buildings are still standing, and only parts of the under a branch

She led hirew so close together, the branches almost knit into a roof overhead Wells suddenly felt foolish, letting her take hione before What if it was a trap?

Soainst the back of his neck, and he let out a shout, swatting at it Strands of a gossaers "What is this?" he said, trying to wipe it away

"Relax" Sasha laughed, and Wells couldn’t help s how foolish he probably looked "It’s just a spiderweb See?"

She pointed, and Wells looked up to see that one of the trees was draped in finely woven, glistening threads that stretched across the branches, creating a sort of net