Shadows hid on the roads between streetlights. I pedaled through them to Jo's from the motel, sticking to the middle of the streets. Dad and Darby were still asleep, so I left them a note, the first of my final farewells to them.

Maybe it was lack of sleep or the knowledge that this would be my last day alive or the fact that I'd put my friends and family in danger, but I was pissed. Instead of quaking in my combat boots, I wanted to kick someone's ass. I pumped the pedals on ...