@@@@@ But being here, so close? It seemed like 410
@@@@@
But being here, so close? It seemed like Ihadto tryPlease ?and suddenly she was pleading
with me, begging me, no trace of resentment in her thoughts?please don't use this to hurt them I don't know if Ican hurt themI'd rather??
What? Die myself? Than give a few stray humans up to the Seekers?
Again we flinched at the thought, but my revulsion at the idea comforted herAnd it frightened
me more than it soothed her
When the wash started angling too far toward the north, Melanie suggested that we forget the
flat, ashen path and take the direct line to the third landmark, the eastern spur of rock that
seemed to point, fingerlike, toward the cloudless sky
I didn't like leaving the wash, just as I'd resisted leaving the carI could follow this wash all the
way back to the road, and the road back to the highwayIt was miles and miles, and it would
take me days to traverse, but once I stepped off this wash I was officially adrift
Have faith, WandererWe'll find Uncle Jeb, or he'll find us
If he's still alive,I added, sighing and loping off my simple path into the brush that was identical
in every directionaith isn't a familiar concept for meI don't know that I buy into it
Trust, then?
In who? You?I laughedThe hot air baked my throat when I inhaled
Just think,she said, changing the subject,maybe we'll see them by tonight
The yearning belonged to us both; the image of their faces, one man, one child, came from both
memoriesWhen I walked faster, I wasn't sure that I was completely in command of the motion
It did get hotter?and then hotter, and then hotter stillSweat plastered my hair to my scalp and
made my pale yellow T-shirt cling unpleasantly wherever it touchedIn the afternoon, scorching
gusts of wind kicked up, blowing sand in my faceThe dry air sucked the sweat away, crusted
my hair with grit, and fanned my shirt out from my body; it moved as stiffly as cardboard with
the dried salt
I drank water more often than Melanie wanted me toShe begrudged me every mouthful,
threatening me that we would want it much more tomorro
