CA

From the corner of the nearest building, you saw it pause at the first intersection. The window rolled down. Your father leaned out, looking at the road, then at the tree line. He didn’t seem to be looking for anything specific. Just looking. The truck idled there for a long moment before rolling on, the brake lights flaring once and then disappearing around the bend. The gate began to close again. The street settled into quiet. Far off, a walker moaned somewhere deep in the trees, too distant to be a threat. Closer, a loose piece of chain clinked against the fence in the wind.