Heroes of the Frontier

by Dave Eggers

When he got his bearings he stood up, a scarecrow given the gift of life, and kissed Sam on the cheek. “They never woke up,” he said, and then realized how morbid that sounded. “They’re sleeping like angels,” he said, making it worse. Josie wanted to know only this: Are my kids dead or what?

Another siren, this one wild and lonely, followed by the howl of a coyote, eerily similar, as if the animal had mistaken the siren for kin.