[ONE MONTH BEFORE]

Jonah squinted through the windshield as Adam helped move a fallen tree off the road. Clouds were coming in, great heavy rolls of them. He licked his dry lips and looked to Abby.

She had a university-level chemistry textbook open in her lap. Her baby bump wasn't showing yet, but pregnancy was taking a heavy toll on her health. Her hair had been falling out, and her already pale skin was turning sallow. Most of the camp let her have sips of their water rations whenever she passed.

"Abbs?" He rubbed the seam of the steering wheel.

She hummed, her eyes still fixed on the book. She chewed on her thumbnail as she read. Her seatbelt was undone.

"I think a storm's coming."

She snorted. When he didn't say anything else, she popped her thumb out of her mouth and lifted her eyebrows at him. He couldn't help but feel relieved that she was looking at something other than that stupid book for a moment.

"There hasn't been one in months."

Jonah pointed at the clouds.

She leaned forward and squinted. Then she shook her head and leaned back in her seat. "Just clouds," she whispered, "just clouds."

Lightning struck the ground between them and the tree. Jonah yelled, his eyes blacked out and pulsing in pain from the light. The smell of smoke filled the trembling air. Abby's fist hit his shoulder and he realized that she was yelling at him. Slowly, her voice pierced the fog.

"Get out! Get out of the fucking car!"

His fingers scrabbled for the handle, the door falling open under his weight. He hit the asphalt shoulder-first, scraping his skin through his hoodie. His head spun as he dragged himself away from the car.

The second lightning bolt slammed into the car, sirens wailing and people screaming. Jonah thought he heard Adam's voice somewhere in there.

Jonah pressed his hands over his ears, finding them wet with blood.

The air shook again, wind picking up as a third bolt shattered the windows on the car.

"Stop!" Abby's voice, muffled and crackling strangely, broke through the stupor. Jonah opened one eye. Abby's blonde hair stood out like a beacon, whipping back and forth in the sudden wind.

"Stop!" she screamed again.

Then Jonah's vision filled with Adam's face. Fingers pressed into his throat and he was hauled to his feet. Adam started dragging him away from the car, towards the woods. "No, Abbs --"

He tried to turn around, but his limbs were strangely unresponsive, he craned his neck to peer over Adam's shoulder. The sudden motion made his vision grey out and his legs go slack. Adam cursed and picked him up completely.

When Jonah opened his eyes again, Abby jogged over, completely untouched. The wind had died down and the clouds left behind a clear blue sky. Jonah's mouth felt like it was full of cotton when she ran her hands over his face. "You're okay. It's over."

She hugged him, kissing the top of his head. "It's fine now. Nobody's gonna hurt you."

Nothing made sense anymore. He wrapped his arms around her waist and tried to pretend he would wake up any second.

[ONE WEEK BEFORE]

Jonah trailed behind Donovan, watching his former professor count heads. He looked older. Way older. His once-red hair was almost entirely grey, his face wrinkled and sun-damaged. His frame was leaner than it should be, all jutting angles.

Donovan's shoulders sagged. "That's everyone."

"All 592?" Of the eight thousand they had started with. Almost none of the original refugees were still alive, and Donovan had watched half his students die in the past months. "That's good, Prof. The weird lightning thing was cool, at least."

"You could have died. We lost most of our blankets and ten tents," Donovan rubbed his face, setting his clipboard down on an empty table, "but sure. It's 'cool.'"

Jonah snorted and looked around. They had made camp in an old parking lot, the remains of a WalMart looming over them. It had been abandoned early on by the company, and was home to a rather large colony of snakes that they had unanimously decided to ignore. On one side, the highway ran empty, on the other, a threadbare forest.

"How's Abby?" Donovan asked.

"She's good."

Donovan sighed and crossed his arms over his chest. "Really? Henry just died a couple months ago."

It took Jonah a moment to connect the name to the man. "Her fiancé? Yeah, she's over it."

"He exploded into a puddle of blood in the tent. I'm having a hard time thinking she's 'over it'."

Jonah shrugged. "She doesn't seem all too different. Reads a lot more, maybe. Lots of science stuff. A bit late to get into STEM but it's good that she's busy, I guess."

Donovan exhaled slowly and looked away in that way that said he was disappointed. Jonah's jaw tightened. "Do you know who that is?"

Jonah turned around and followed Donovan's line of sight.

A girl -- probably in her mid-teens -- stood at the edge of camp. She was barefoot and wearing a speckled blue sundress. Her hair was a rat's nest cropped just below her chin, and haunted black eyes stared vacantly at the camp.

"No. She's definitely not one of ours."

Donovan nodded and made his way over, hands at his sides. "Excuse me? Miss? Are you lost?"

The girl took a moment to realize he was there, and once her eyes were on Donovan, all she did was swallow harshly. Jonah fumbled to unclip his canteen from his belt and unscrewed the lid, passing it to Donovan. He held it out to the girl.

"You thirsty?" She didn't move. "It's just water, don't worry."

Donovan took a sip before passing it over. She took it gingerly, eyeing them like they might turn to wolves and swallow her whole.

"What's your name?" Donovan asked softly, lowering himself into a squat to look up at her.

"Petra," she whispered.

"I'm Pierce Donovan," he said, "this is Jonah, one of my students."

She blinked and took a sip of the water. She didn't seem as desperate as most did when the camp gave them water. "You're a teacher?"

"I was."

"Don't like teachers," she muttered petulantly.

Jonah smiled. "He's one of the good ones, don't worry about it."

Petra's gaze fell on him, a chilling sensation following. Jonah barely had time to frown before he realized he couldn't move. He couldn't move his face or speak to warn Donovan. 

The sky darkened with black clouds.

Wind ripped at his clothes and Jonah could hear tents ripping free from the earth and sending tables clattering. There were no shouts. No calls for help or confusion. Donovan hadn't moved either. 

Petra turned around and put her fingers in her mouth, blasting two short whistles. She screwed the canteen shut and walked past the two men into camp. Out of the woods came about twenty or so teenagers. Most of them were girls. 

They'd done this before, that much was obvious. They moved like a well-oiled machine, frisking people's pockets and removing keys and tools before moving on to the tents. They didn't speak. A prepubescent boy grunted as he unclipped the holster from Donovan's hip, taking his handgun like it was just another tool.

Jonah's eyes would have watered if there was any liquid in his body. He couldn't blink, could barely breathe. His head felt like it was about to explode.

"Run!" Petra appeared in his line of sight, grabbing the young boy by the collar and shoving him towards the woods. "Everyone, get the hell out!"

Heat billowed against his back, orange light flaring from behind him coupled with the screams of children. Petra screamed and the grip on Jonah's body failed. He gasped in air and immediately regretted it. 

It smelled like singed hair and barbecue.  

Petra sobbed and lightning flared in the sky again, rocketing over Jonah's head and cracking the earth. He cursed and turned around.

Abby pushed her hair out of her face, stance wide as she stood between Petra and the camp. Her eyes were wide and shining, a broad grin across her face. At her feet, two charred corpses smoked. She stretched out an arm towards Petra like a superhero. Flames licked up her fingers for a split second before a tunnel of rippling heat exploded into light. Petra screamed and flung herself aside. 

Jonah stared at his sister with his mouth hanging open. Donovan's arms wrapped around him and half-dragged him away. Jonah dug his heels into the asphalt as he scrabbled towards Abby.

"Stop," Donovan whispered, "stop, she'll kill you."

Jonah couldn't force words from his mouth. All he could do was watch as Abby threw waves of fire at Petra. 

The girl didn't know how to defend herself. She dodged frantically, throwing herself to the earth and crawling to her feet. Her lightning was more static than true bolts, her strength wearing low. 

Abby laughed. She laughed as the little girl scrabbled for purchase. Jonah swallowed as he realized Abby was waiting for Petra to stand before attacking. 

She was toying with her.

"Abby, stop!" Jonah yelled. 

His sister turned her attention to him. Her eyes had gone black, the darkness extending to the whites of her eyes.

Donovan gasped and jerked away from him as if he'd been burned.

Jonah sprinted to Abby, the air around her blistering against his skin. He collided with her, wrapping his arms around her and burying his face in her hair. Behind him, the sound of Petra's sneakers slamming against the concrete as she ran made his stomach churn.

The air went cool. Abby's hands closed across his back and she sighed, almost irritated. "I had her."

"They were kids."

"Doesn't matter. She would have killed you," Abby said. 

FOUR DAYS BEFORE 

"It's magic," Abby said.

Jonah just nodded. "Makes sense."

"It keeps asking me to hurt you." He looked up, brows furrowed. Abby kept her head down as she scraped the burnt bottom of the pot. "It thinks you're going to hurt me."

He scoffed and looked around the tent. They were alone, the only ones who were willing to scrape the dishes at night. "I'd never."

"I know."

"I'd die before I hurt you."

"I know. I'd kill everyone before hurting you."

He laughed, lowering his head as he did.