Chapter 23 Summary

Friday, September 10, 2027. Another gun battle occurs during the night hours. Lauren manages to sleep through part of it, thinking ironically about how she can be so complacent with bullets and screaming all around her. The next morning, as Lauren is crawling out of her sleeping bag, she notices two sleeping persons who are not part of her group. One of them, a young woman, wakes and begins to rise. Her daughter, a young girl about age seven, wakes, rolls into a tight ball and begins to scream. Her mother also rolls into a tight ball. Lauren speaks soothingly to them and offers them a meal before they leave. They sit up, and other members of the group begin to offer food. The mother asks if they can stay with the group. The group has a vote, and though some are hesitant, they agree...