The replacement took the turn, Kellan checked the next vehicle’s escorts, and only then did Eli’s small party leave the pickup yard.
There were fewer of them than the first proposal had assumed. Eli, Bram, Sera, and two volunteers familiar with narrow rescue work. No one had been taken from the last vehicle’s minimum crew. Tessa stayed where the medical transfers were still arriving, with a route for sending an advance notice if the rescuers brought patients back.
One of the volunteers asked whether Mira would understand why they were late.
“She doesn’t have to like it,” Eli said.
“Do you?”
He looked back at the yard. A man was asking where to find his sister after a vehicle changed its destination. Kellan took him to the contact board rather than pointing him toward a departing cart.
“No.”
They walked on.
