Free Shadows Have Gone by Lissa Bryan Page A

our community,” Justin said. “Austin, stand up, please.”
    Austin was sitting on a chair in the corner, in Pearl’s line of sight but slightly apart from the main group. They had cast curious looks in his direction, but it seemed most weren’t sure if he was a prisoner or a resident. Austin obediently stood. His head hung low, and his shaggy brown hair fell over his face, concealing his reddened cheeks.
    “Austin had been taken in by Marcus’s group, but I think he might fit in with our people better,” Justin said. “He’s staying with Pearl for a while until we figure out other arrangements.”
    Carly saw some wariness in her people’s eyes, but perhaps wariness was wise until they knew Austin a little better. Justin was right that Pearl could keep a close eye on him for a while.
    “There’s other news,” Justin said. “We made contact with a man driving an army truck.”
    “The army?”
    “Someone with the army?”
    “There’s an army?”
    “Whose army?” Pete’s voice rang above the excited babble.
    “That’s the right question,” Justin said. “ Whose army? He might have been wearing a uniform and claiming affiliation, but I have my doubts.”
    “He claimed to be from the US Army?”
    “ Claimed ,” Justin said, stressing the word hard. “And his claim had a few inconsistencies. I was in the Army, and I know. Whatever this guy is a part of, it’s not the army as we knew it.”
    “What did he want?”
    “Said he was out scouting and saw the smoke. He agreed to leave a message outside of Clayton if his people want to get in contact with us again. And I would imagine they will.”
    “Last thing we need is another fight,” Grady said. He took off his hat and wiped the sweat from his forehead. “You think they know where we are?”
    “General area. We wouldn’t be that hard to find if someone was really searching for us. If they’re really army, then yes, they know exactly where we are as we speak. But as I said, I have my doubts.”
    “Think it will come to a fight?” Pete asked.
    Justin scratched his chin. “I really can’t say. What I can say is that we always need to be prepared for it, prepared to defend what is ours.”
    “What if they really are the army? Would we be America again?”
    “Wait. When did we stop being America?”
    “America is dead.” This came from David, his voice as blunt as a dropped stone. “We all saw it die two years ago. I don’t know what we are now, but the Constitution sure ain’t in effect anymore. There’s no government. There’s no social contract holding us together. That’s what America was, you know—a collective agreement of the people. Now we’re just—” He sliced a hand through the air.
    “If the army is still active, that would mean there is a government, which would make this still America,” Grady said. “They’d be the government’s representatives, establishing order.”
    Justin shook his head. “You’re thinking way too far ahead. Even if they are US Army—and that’s a very big if —they don’t have control of the whole country. There is no centralized government, no law enforcement. They’re not coming to rescue us.”
    Carly heard someone gasp softly, as if a growing hope had been shattered. She knew how it felt. She had felt it as she staggered toward that truck, her arms poised to wave. Her first thought had been, it’s over! In that one shining moment, the Crisis had ended and the cavalry was here to reestablish the America she had known. An America with power, telephones, cable, and internet. An America with food on the shelves and a policeman cruising the street to make sure her family was safe. And when Justin had dragged her into that ditch, her heart had broken all over again.
    Now, in retrospect, she could see how silly that little moment had been, and her cheeks pinkened a little at the memory of struggling against Justin’s grip. Even the appearance of an authentic US soldier wouldn’t have