The armored SUV storms from the bunker out into the gloomy skies made semi-dark from the ash clouds that have made their way around world, dispersing over time but gripping the planet from east to west. All but the extreme north and south corridors of the globe are affected. The darkness, even this afternoon, makes the hottest part of the day at least twenty degrees colder, held in a perpetual twilight until the sun goes down. But today, the air quality has improved temporarily as a thinner band of ash passes in the skies overhead. Under normal conditions, the island of Kauai should be around eighty degrees Fahrenheit, but the dashboard thermometer only reads fifty-nine. It's brighter than normal this afternoon, the landscape covered in layers of gray ash like an eerie dirty snow. The smell of soot fills the air and reminds me that better days are not ahead of us. Soon, the ash will thicken and more will fall from the sky, making a respirator necessary.

I mash the gas pedal, racing over the winding dirt roads made by the people of the island. As I continue on, I check the middle console and discover a stack of masks that will keep the current ash levels in the air from ripping my lungs to shreds.

In the rearview mirror, the giant gorilla in the back of the hangar attempts to smash its way deeper into the bunker. That helps me in more ways than one. First, it thins out the enemy the more the creature wreaks havoc, and it keeps them from sending out vehicles to pursue me. Now, it's me versus the drones. I have to reach Eve and the children first.

The dirt roads circle and crisscross the island at different points, most of them a few feet wider than the SUVs, and some narrow enough to test a driver's skill and bravery. This vehicle has a map system that plots the rugged terrain and shows everything with a GPS transmitter. Jude had them installed in every vehicle at the Kauai facility, even our tracer.

I can't get over the fact she's dead—the original girl since before the flood—and the android murdered moments ago by Damian.

While I thunder west along the southern coast, following the outer perimeter of the island, I locate the drones and the tracer on the dashboard display. The tracer, identified as TC-01, is flying north on the western flank, the drones halfway between me and my family. Jinx has increased speed, but they haven't left Kauai for deeper water or another Hawaiian island. Eve must have convinced the AI to make a lap around the coast, hoping to rescue me somehow before leaving me behind. I can only guess. It doesn't matter. All I need to know is that they're safe. At the moment they are, but not for much longer.

I grab the tablet from the passenger seat to see if there's anything I can do while driving this winding, bumpy road. That's a big negative with the SUV jostling me about, making it impossible to control any functions on the device.

I toss it aside.

My gaze shifts to the vehicle's display screen. I spot a switchback that would seem to add more time to my route, but then I notice another cutback on that stretch of road that passes through a tunnel system, which is a shortcut across the middle of the island, going under the mountains in the center. If I take the switchback, I'll have to hope I reach the tracer first, if they even maintain a flight path around the island. If they venture out over the ocean, I won't be able to follow them anyway, so taking the switchback is a chance I have to take. I won't catch them on my current route; I can only hope they continue on the flight path they're on, a circuit of the island's perimeter.

With a hard turn of the steering wheel, the SUV slashes right, the off-road tires skidding over the ash-covered red dirt and blasting out a smokey dust trail in my wake. As soon as the road straightens out, I floor the gas pedal, speeding up to sixty and seventy miles per hour, pushing the vehicle and my ability to drive it to the max. The trees and wild grass look wilted and weighed down with gray as I race by, the speedometer needle bouncing with the SUV as I slow down and speed up as needed to stay on the road and avoid a crash.

The dark mouth of the tunnel looms ahead.

Given my speed along with the tracer's, the exit point should insert me right behind them as they skirt the northern coast, hopefully, before the drones catch up to them. As the SUV blazes a trail through the thick vegetation rising above me on both sides of the road, I ponder the possibility that Jude's tablet might offer more than primate control and GPS tracking. It's possible I could send out more drones to attack the two pursuing the tracer, but then I consider how long it would take the machines to depart the bunker and intercept the others. It would take too long. I'm the only hope unless Jinx can figure out something on his end.

The SUV plunges into the heart of darkness. The tunnel is straight and long, and has a smoother surface. Headlights switch on without me touching anything. The beams illuminate the sides, ceiling, and area in front of the vehicle, giving me the confidence to press the gas pedal even harder.

The speedometer rises to eighty, then eighty-five. According to the map display, the entire island is twenty-five miles across from south to north. Fortunately, there's no traffic, which means full speed ahead. The cross trip should take about twenty minutes at seventy miles per hour, but I'm pushing ninety, so I'm looking at seventeen minutes to reach the northern coast.

Nine minutes later, my heart kicks into rhythm as the end of the tunnel draws near. I glance at the display and realize I still have several miles to go.

As soon as I break into the open, I can't help but squint. Today, the thinner ash allows more sunlight to penetrate the sky. Of course, once my vision adjusts to the gloomy air, the gray dreariness becomes real again for me.

The SUV hits a series of bumps, bouncing me up and down. Add to that, unpredictable twists and turns, and I back off the gas, slowing the vehicle down to a manageable speed. I need to press it, but if I careen off the road and crash, I'll be no good to my family.

On the map, the tracer flies past the location where I'll exit the cross-island shortcut. That'll get me back onto the main perimeter roadway, headed east. With Eve and the children beating me to the interception point, I now have to gun it to come out ahead of the drones.

I glance down at my speed; I'm stirring up dust behind me, moving along at sixty miles per hour.

Once I hit the last straightaway, I stomp the pedal harder.

The drones are fast. They had taken a direct route to catch-up to the tracer, however; I believe Jinx used the tracer's superior speed to gain an advantage.

Five minutes later, I slow down enough to take the hard right; the tires sliding sideways as I make the turn in stride. The gray and red dust I kick up fills the air behind me, rising higher and higher. Soon, I realize it may blind the pursuing drones. As I continue east, I see on the map that the tracer has cut back south, buzzing over the coconut and palm trees.

Wait.

It's stopped moving. Like it's hovering on the display, but I don't see it anywhere through the windshield. Then the tracer disappears from the map. I don't know what's happening.

The drones are still buzzing somewhere behind me, still in hot pursuit.

That's when I realize something that shouldn't surprise me. Eve must have found the GPS unit and unplugged it, making them invisible on the display. The unit might be inside the fuselage, within her reach. That means the drones can't track them anymore, unless they get a visual. There is one other possibility. Unable to be tracked, Jinx could have them blazing away, out of sight, leaving me behind. But I have no way of knowing that. I have to assume they're still in danger.

Based on the location of the drones, I can tell the smoky cloud I stirred up slowed them down. With that in mind, I decide it's time to make my move.

I slam on the brakes and come to a dusty halt.

I stretch into the backseat and snatch the sniper rifle. Upon examination, I determine the cartridges are 30-30 rounds, just like the rifle I had used on a vile wolf once upon a time. Removing the magazine, I find it loaded and ready to go.

Outside the SUV, with a slight awareness that the island's primates may be out and about today too—with the thinner ash clouds—I take up a position on the hood and take aim at the approaching drones.

Seconds pass. All I see is smoky dust.

I calm my breathing, steadying my aim.

The scope's crosshairs shift from side to side as I search for the eagle-sized drones. I don't know if the small machines are autonomous or controlled by remotes. It doesn't matter; my task is to shoot them out of the sky.

My pulse thumps in my neck. Like I feel it thudding under my skin.

Soon, the gray-red cloud dissipates to a dirty haze.

Amid it, a pair of dark shapes appear, becoming clearer as the seconds fly by. It's the drones.

I zero in on one of them, feel the trigger providing tension against my finger. In the scope's circle of glass, I have the perfect shot... but then I cough, gagging on the fine traces of ash I had inhaled.

I forgot to grab a mask!

As another cough reflex battles at the back of my throat, I bring the drone into the center of the crosshairs and fire. The recoil bucks my shoulder as I burst into a fit of coughs that force me to retreat into the vehicle. But as I grasp for the door handle, I see the fruit of my labor—a drone spiraling out of control and smashing into the dirt road with a smack of plastic and metal.

"One down." I collapse into the passenger seat, landing on top of the tablet.

In the process of clearing my lungs, hack-coughing in a frenzied blur of watery eyes and raw throat, I fumble for the center console and finger out a mask. By the time I gather myself and stymie my coughing fits, the second drone has flown overhead and left me behind. It keeps going until it disappears, and all my fears nail me head on. Even if Eve or Jinx disabled the GPS unit, if the remaining drone finds them, it will kill them, and they have no way to defend themselves.

I drive my fist into the dashboard and yell in frustration.

This can't be happening. I was so close to saving them. I could never live with myself if I let my family die.

But as I'm about to lose hope, I feel the tablet pressing into my backside, giving me a spark of inspiration that might win the day just yet.