The bus coughed its last breath of diesel fumes onto the cracked pavement of Everbrook’s tiny bus depot, a single, faded sign clinging precariously to a brick wall. Elara stepped off, the worn leather strap of her duffel bag digging into her shoulder. Everbrook. It was even sleepier than she’d imagined. A single, elderly woman was sweeping the depot’s concrete floor, and the only other sign of life was a rusty pickup truck parked across the street, its owner presumably inside the diner, nursing a bottomless cup of coffee.