Sarah stepped out onto the sidewalk and looked both ways. It didn't look much more populated than she had thought before, but there were signs of people now. Ash no longer fell from the sky, but there was a thin layer on everything in sight.
She remembered what Joel had said about the underground fires, and she wondered to herself why anyone would live like this.
Out of habit, she checked her phone. There, in the top left corner was a new voicemail notification. She sighed, exasperated that she must have had signal long enough to receive it and hadn't noticed. She dialed her mailbox and followed its prompts.
Her face fell as the voice began speaking into her ear.
"Sarah. Sarah, I need you to find me. I'm waiting."
'Jeremiah.'