At the checkpoint, I stay silent and slouched in my seat, mindful of the eyes that flicker over me. It's nothing new, but it's been a while since it's felt like this. Even aggression on the island tends to come off as teasing, and this is anything but.

There are hollow-eyed children hovering along the side of the road, lost even at their mother's side, and I'm suddenly, overwhelmingly relieved that the girls aren't here, no matter how much I wish we weren't all apart. I don't think I could see them in a place like this.

Just driving down the street's like going through a fuckin' gauntlet, silent as a goddamn funeral march.