We gathered in a circle around the little kitchenette table inside of the RV, smoke having been mostly cleared out by the overhead fan. Despite all of the damage sustained during the road race that led us to the bottom of the ravine, the microwave oven and the gas range inside still worked suitably to warm up some food for everyone.

Hunter attempted to crank up the RV's motor so we could run the air conditioner, but we’d apparently broken something inside of it for good in all of the commotion. The engine wouldn’t even turn over any more.

"Once the batteries die and the natural gas tank runs out, we're out of power for good," he told us, arriving back at the table with a concerned look in his eyes. "We’re going to need a tow truck to get this rig out of here, anyway, and it’s so late that we should probably just camp out until morning."

"I was going to say," Janine brought up, "that we’re already pretty close to the main gates of the research center, at least as far as the agent that we talked to directed us," she said, looking at me for confirmation. "We could probably walk there in the morning, after taking a little nap. I see that you’ve got some sleeping bags."

To build a fire...