Cait shrugged. “It looks like a decent-size town to me.” On the horizon, buildings started to emerge and coalesce. They passed a couple of concrete boxes that looked like office buildings, a corrugated-iron-clad barn, even what looked like a suburban road lined with houses, cars parked neatly out front. “I think there are actual people living here.”
“Are you sure we should stop? Won’t there be road signs we can follow?”
“I don’t want to risk us getting lost in the desert and running out of gas again. We should have bought an extra can back at the station, but I didn’t think of it at the time.” More houses, a middle school, a couple of sheds. “There’s enough civilization around. We should be safe.”
A sign for an RV park, an old military tank parked in the middle of a stretch of brittle, frost-tipped grass, a motel. “There should be a night receptionist on duty there,” Cait said, pointing to the motel sign. “I’ll run in and ask for directions.”
America’s Best Value Inn turned out to be a bust: it was closed for renovations until February. They climbed back in the car and took a right on Route 66. There was a Food Mart directly after the turn, and Cait pulled in and parked at the pump. “I’ll just be a second,” she said as she unbuckled her seatbelt.
“Take your time,” Rebecca said, already halfway out the passenger door. “I need a little air.”
Cait swiped her credit card through the reader and watched Rebecca pace around the parking lot as the tank filled up. She looked washed out and anxious; her eyes were still puffy from crying. The gas pump clicked off, and Cait placed the nozzle back in the holder and screwed the cap back on the tank. “I’m going to go inside and ask for directions,” she called. Rebecca raised a hand but didn’t look at her.
The gas station took its location literally: the walls of the shop were painted in racing checkerboard and lined with Chevy and Ford decals. Behind the register, someone had painted a reasonable approximation of the classic Route 66 sign, the words america’s road of freedom written underneath. The attendant looked up and smiled. “You get your gas okay?”
Cait nodded. “I paid at the pump. Can you tell me the best way to get to Albuquerque from here?”
The man scratched at his beard. “I reckon the fastest route would be to head west on 66. You’ll see it marked as 40 sometimes, too—don’t worry about that, you’re still on the right track. That’ll take you straight into the city, I believe.”
Cait thanked him and bought a pack of gum and a Diet Coke for his trouble. No stealing this time, not from this guy. She was about to stick her head out the door to ask if Rebecca wanted anything when a scream shattered the air. Cait dropped the Coke on a shelf and ran, the attendant fast behind her.
Outside, Rebecca was still screaming as a skinny kid in baggy sweatpants and a wifebeater took off down the street. He had Rebecca’s bag in his hands.
Cait didn’t think. She ran after the kid, sneakers slapping against the concrete, arms pumping, lungs screaming. He was quick, but he didn’t have the stamina she did, and after a couple of blocks, his pace started to drop. She saw her opening. She opened up her stride until she was nipping at his heels, and then she launched herself onto his back, bringing him down to the pavement heavily. She started pummeling him with her fists. “Who the fuck are you?” she screamed, her voice raw in her ears. “What the fuck do you want?” There was a smell coming off him, something animal and damp, and it made Cait’s stomach heave. In that moment, she was convinced it was him.
A hand grabbed Cait’s shoulder and lifted her off him. Cait kicked at the air. “Leave him be, now,” the attendant said, pulling her back. “That’s enough. He didn’t mean no harm, did you, Billy? He can’t help that he’s a goddamn jackass.”
The kid—and he was a kid, she saw that now, no older than fifteen—raised his bruised head off the pavement and shook it solemnly. He held out Rebecca’s bag to her. “I’m sorry, miss.”
“Wait till I tell your mother about this,” the attendant said, tugging the boy to his feet and giving the side of