Chapter 16

Sheriff Mose Destry and Joe Hardy lead Jack to the ruined Great Road and an old hangar. After failed cartomobiles, Jack finds a charged three-wheeled scooter and sets out despite warnings. He tests his Glock, rides hard over broken pavement, then crashes into a fissure after being distracted by a giant plunja. Bloodied and exhausted, he salvages food, abandons the ruined scooter, and continues on foot through the bluffs.

As Jack falters, a yellow bus arrives piloted by Hemphill’s Mayor, Freel Ginley, and his attendants. They bring Jack to Hemphill in “Rebecca,” give him water, food, and shelter. Ginley offers a charged Binny Ding for Jack’s onward journey to Pernil. Lilith Ginley cleans Jack’s scalp wound and flirts; Jack declines staying longer, intent on reaching his imperiled ally in Pernil.

That night, Jack reads his memoir pages about childhood traumas and world-merging dangers, then sleeps. He awakens to Lilith—naked, wearing a jug hat—attacking him with a knife, her breath bitter and her skin splattered with blood. As chaos and cruel laughter rise downstairs, Jack realizes the redhead madness has infected Hemphill; Ginley’s household has been slaughtered.

In a desperate struggle, the bed collapses; Lilith stabs herself in the belly amid the thrashing. Jack confirms her dyed-red hair and hears redheaded assailants at the door. He grabs Sophie’s book and his Glock, backs onto the balcony toward the waiting Binny Ding below, and drops when the railing gives way as invaders burst into the room.