Samantha didn’t wait. With Alex close behind and a few determined searchers clinging to hope, she crossed the empty fields, cutting straight toward the orchard. The mist had thinned, but a heavy stillness hung over everything, like the town itself was holding its breath, waiting for something to break.
The orchard loomed ahead, a stretch of twisted, half-dead trees bordered by a crumbling stone wall. Samantha vaulted over the wall without hesitation. The others followed, their flashlights swinging through the crooked rows. She pressed forward, her heart thundering louder than her boots crunching over the brittle grass.