Kelton knows that a reservoir is only a few miles away, and they set out in that direction. Instead of the salvation they believe awaits them, they discover that Brady had been living in the bug-out, and had consumed the food and water stored there. They travel off-road for a full day and are desperate for water by the time they reach the bug-out. The teen, Henry, agrees to let Alyssa's group use the truck if they take him along.

They discover that Herb and others in the neighborhood contracted dysentery from drinking tainted water, and that Herb traded his truck to a teenager in the neighborhood for bottled water. The three, with Garrett, set out for the bug-out but Kelton says they need a truck to reach it.Īlyssa's Uncle Herb has such a truck and they go to Herb's in the hope of borrowing it. Alyssa and Jacqui drag Kelton away from the scene. With Brady dead on the kitchen floor, the situation erupts into chaos. When the back door opens, Kelton's father fires his gun only to discover it is Kelton's brother, Brady. Before they can leave, however, the neighbors storm the house, desperate for the water Kelton's father has but refuses to share. Kelton's father announces that they will soon be leaving for their “bug-out,” a shelter in the forest that is stockpiled with the necessities, where the family will ride out this crisis. Kelton's parents are preppers and Kelton – against his father's wishes – provides antibiotics for a girl named Jacqui and allows Jacqui, Alyssa, and Garrett to spend a night with them. They have a chance encounter with some boys who are desperate because of their dehydration and see hundreds of cars in gridlock on the highways. The next day, they ride bicycles to the beach and discover that the desalination machines did not work out. They do not return and Kelton spends the night at Alyssa's house, providing security for Alyssa and her younger brother, Garrett. When government officials announce that desalination machines are being setup on a nearby beach, Alyssa's parents go there in the hope of getting water. He assures Alyssa that he does not need any of the ice because his family has a tank of their own and still has water available. Alyssa's neighbor, Kelton McCracken, helps carry the ice inside. Alyssa only manages to get the ice out of the store with the help of her Uncle Herb. She decides to load her cart with bags of ice. Alyssa realizes that ice will melt into water. By the time they figure out that this is not a short-term issue, they are too late to stock up on water from the local store. A water shortage has abruptly reached crisis level. They quickly learn that the problem is not with their plumbing. Kindle AZW file.Īlyssa Morrow's family is caught completely off guard on the day the water stops flowing into their home. The following version of the book was used to create this study guide: Shusterman, Neal, Dry.

Dry by Neal Shusterman