Friday, July 14, 8:30 PM. Amy.

We found people. I can’t believe it. We really found people.

Trevor and Daniel are down for the night. I put Daniel in with Trevor, in his room. They’ve gotten pretty attached today. Claire is putting Beth down. Garrett is outside, shutting down the farm. I’m watching over Sofia. She still hasn’t woken up.

Here’s what happened.

Trevor insisted we go to town this morning. He wasn’t even sure why, he just wanted to go. I don’t know what to make of that. We’ve all been stuck on the farm for weeks, we were all looking forward to getting out. But it was Trevor who suggested it.

We were going along the road into Charlottesville when we saw a thin stream of smoke ahead. I didn’t think all that much about it; we’ve been deceived by smoke before. But when we came upon it there was a car in flames on the side of the road, smashed up into the safety railing that guards a little gulley. Lying in the center of the road were two bodies. Human bodies.

I slam on the brakes, stop the car, and sit there in shock a few seconds, not sure what I’m looking at.

Claire says, “Those are people!”

I throw the car into park and jump out. Garrett says “stay here” to Claire and Trevor and gets out too.

We walk slowly toward the bodies, cautious, not sure what to do. The burning car is just a few feet away from them, and you can feel the heat. Several yards farther, in front of the car, is a little fawn, dead on its side.

We approach the bodies, two children, a boy and a girl. The boy starts to move. He lifts himself on one elbow. Garrett says, “He’s alive!” and runs toward him. I come too, and as we reach him he opens his eyes and sees us. His eyes grow big. He freezes. He’s trembling and unsteady.

I start to check him, looking for wounds or breaks. “Are you okay?” I ask. He doesn’t respond. He winces when I touch his wrist but otherwise seems okay. He sits up. “Can you stand?” I ask. He’s in shock and looks like he can’t hear me.

I tell Garrett, “Check the other one.” She is unmoving. He steps around and kneels beside her, checking the pulse in her neck. He looks at me with wide eyes. “She’s alive!”

He leans down and speaks to her. No response. He shakes her. “Wake up,” he says, louder.

The fire is burning more fiercely. We can feel it searing us. We need to get away. “Can you lift her?” I ask. He picks her up easily. I lift the boy to his feet, pull him onto my back, and we run back to the van.

Behind us we hear a rush of flames, rumbling and hissing. When we reach the van we look back. The whole car is alight, singeing the trees that overhang it. Burning fuel sprays the road where the children had been laying.

We ease them into the van, still hurrying. We don’t know whether an explosion is still coming. I sit in the back with the two children, the girl’s head on my lap. Her skin is nearly black, and I’m afraid she’s burned, but when I touch her it’s an oily grime of smoke. The flesh underneath seems fine. But she is not moving, not responding to touch. “Hurry, Garrett,” I say. He races us home, driving like I’ve never seen him drive.

Daniel only speaks Spanish, and not much of that. He’s still in shock, traumatized, and frightened. I think he trusts us, but we’re new people, and I don’t think he’s seen new people in a very long time. He’s frightened for his sister, afraid she won’t wake up. Hermana does mean sister, doesn’t it? We never thought to supply ourselves with a Spanish dictionary. He’s seven years old but small for his age. Trevor’s clothes are too big for him. We’ll get him some of his own tomorrow. He’s real cute now that he’s cleaned up. He doesn’t smile much, but when he does he’s got dimples. He has been ravenously hungry all day, scarfing down everything we give him and drinking gallons of milk. Poor thing.

The girl is Sofia, he tells us, and she is herida, whatever that means. I’ve cleaned her up as best I can. I don’t want to move her too much. She seems uninjured except for a big bump on her head and a few scrapes and bruises.

Both of them were filthy, they’re both seriously underweight, and they look like they may have…parasites. If they’ve been on their own for long they may have drunk some bad water or eaten something they shouldn’t have. I had Garrett mix up some rehydration solution like we did for Brewer: water, sugar, a little salt. I’m using an eyedropper to get her to swallow a bit at a time. It’s better than nothing.

God help her. I hope she makes it.