After Dawn (Book 3 of the Into the Shadows Trilogy) by Karly Kirkpatrick Page A

silently next to Paivi.
    A hand on her arm got her attention. Her mom.
    "She would be grateful for this." Her mom's words were light on the breeze.
    Paivi reached down and grabbed a handful of dirt. She held it over the grave and opened it, releasing it onto her friend.
    Molly was free. In so many ways.
    Paivi wondered if she would feel that free, even at her own death. Would the weight of the world finally be lifted? She doubted it was possible in this lifetime. Maybe if she could be like Master Song, be born again, she could have a chance to unload every ounce of pain and sorrow that clung to her soul like boulders.
    Paivi put up a hand and flung her energy back over the fence. She needed one last thing to complete the burial.
    A rough piece of wood, possibly part of the barrack walls, flew over the fence and implanted itself at the head of the grave.
    Some of the others had picked up the shovels and made quick work of closing the grave.
    Xavier walked to the head of the grave and knelt before the piece of wood.
    "What was her name?" he asked, looking back at Paivi.
    "Molly," Paivi whispered.
    Xavier turned toward the wood. He blocked it with his body. Smoke rose above him. When he stood Paivi could finally see what he had done. He blew on his finger, which was still smoking.
    He had burned words into the wood.
    Molly
    She died FREE.
     
    "Thank you." It was all Paivi could manage.
    The light was now gone. It had disappeared below the horizon and darkness settled into the desert around them.
    The sun had set on a lot of things that day. The camp. Molly. Her dad.
    But they weren't free from fear and death just yet.
    Paivi didn't want to know what the dawn would bring.

Chapter 13
     
     
     
    The long train of semis and vehicles rumbled slowly down US 95. Paivi sat in the cab of the first vehicle. Breathing was a chore. The air was thick with heat and dread. She needed to contact one of the guys, to let them know they were on their way. There was no telling how long they had before the government figured out just what was going on.
    They also weren't very inconspicuous. Driving at a normal pace, they might have reached Mexicali in nine hours. But with a large number of their convoy walking on foot, it would take days to get there.
    Lights glowed on the horizon far in the distance. Electric lights, definitely not the rays of the sun, though the sky was lightening to the east. It wouldn’t be long before the sun rose, exposing them for the world to see.
    "What's that ahead?" Paivi asked Peter, who was immersed in a giant map.
    "Not good. It's Las Vegas." Peter attempted to fold the map, but gave up in a huff and shoved it on the floor. "We need a plan. It'll be dawn by then. There is no way we'll pass through there like a bunch of tourists."
    "I don't have a plan." Paivi was annoyed. If she could just concentrate, she could get them a message. "I'll figure it out when we get there. You've got all the people who can control their powers in the trucks and jeeps, right? We just have to work together to protect the group."
    "Paivi, don't you understand that this is nearly an impossible task?" Peter said, his voice oozing doubt and fear.
    "Don't you think I know that, Peter?" Paivi shouted. She rocked back and forth, her head in her hands. "Just trust me. I did it at the camp. I can do it again."
    "But they're going to have weapons this time. Big guns, tanks, airplanes." He shook his head.
    Paivi could tell his analytical mind must be running full speed, trying to determine if they had the power to make it through, to get to Mexicali. She didn't know how they were going to survive, but she knew they would. She had seen it long ago. The battle would happen.
    She pushed it all out of her mind. The chatter between Peter and Dennis in the front seat, her mom's light snores next to her, the radio they were listening to in order to figure out if the ATC knew what happened, the rumble of the engine.
    With a gasp, she found herself in the