Looking at the girl on the slapped-together-piece-of-island-crap stretcher, I hoped she fared better than Rory. But I had to admit, it didn’t look good. We’d been walking for hours, and the girl hadn’t opened her eyes or made a sound. At least she was breathing. Taking in her ashen face, I thought,Whoever you are, please don’t die. I was sick of death and burials.
Charley walked beside me, her eyes straight ahead. She’d been quiet since Natalie missed the gate. Something had gotten to her; I just didn’t know what.Nat missing her shot? The girl on the stretcher, the newest Nil contestant? Or Li’s death, haunting us all?
Maybe all of the above, or maybe she just couldn’t fit a word in around Natalie, who wouldn’t shut up. About an hour ago, Natalie had dropped into rapid-fire Nat-speak, babbling about teams and timing, strategies and gate waves. As much as I liked Natalie, right now I wished she’d just stop. She was borderline Nil nutty.
“Nat,” I breathed, “give it a rest, okay?”
“Please,” Jason muttered.
“Okay. Sorry. I’m just really excited about Charley’s charts and the idea of a gate wave. I’ve just never thought about the order and the spacing, or the timing between each gate or sets of gates. It’s like they always come at noon, but I never really thought about the gap between gates that flash in the same place, like the ones at Black Bay, so—”
“Nat,” I broke in, wondering how Nat talked like a machine gun and still managed to breathe, “please.”
“Okay,” she said, “but you gotta admit Charley’s theory is awesome.”
Nat fell silent, and no one filled the gap. Charley’s eyes hugged the ground.
“Crowder,” I said, “you okay?”
“Yeah,” she answered.
No, you’re not, I thought, reading her face. But now was not the time to press. Not with an audience, not with a girl clinging to life in our hands.
“Hang in there” was all I said. For a second, I wondered exactly who I was talking to. Charley, the girl, me. Or all of us. Then I focused on walking and not dropping the girl. My legs burned, my arms shook, but I refused to take a break.
Near the City, smoke drifted into the night like a beacon. I sent Jason ahead, and as we staggered into camp, Rives came running.
I filled him in on the girl.
“Where’re you gonna put her?” Rives asked.
“With me,” Nat said. “It’ll be tight, but we’ll fit. Or”—now she smiled at Charley—“you could always bunk somewhere else. There’s someone I know who doesn’t have a roommate anymore.” Natalie winked at me, then turned back to Charley, beginning a new round of questions about the charts.
While Natalie monopolized Charley, I slipped into Nat’s A-frameand gently laid the girl on a bed. Nat had one of the smallest houses; I had the other. The bigger A-frames could bunk up to six, but our max was two.
Back outside with Rives, I cut right to the chase.
“We found Li. She didn’t make it.”
“Damn.” Rives blew out a hard breath. “You know, she was the first person I met on Nil. Where was she?”
“The black field, near the tubes. We took care of her. I gave her a coral cross.”
Rives nodded, then glanced toward the Wall. “I’ll carve for her. And I’ll tell Quan.”
“You sure?” I asked.
“Totally.” He looked back, his face set. Dark planes in a black night, touched by Nil’s demons. “You’ve been taking care of us for a long time, bro. Now take care of yourself. You hear?”
I nodded. “Where’s Jason?”
“Crashed out. Said he took second watch last night. I bet he’s already asleep.”
“Good.” I squeezed Rives’s shoulder, then went to find Charley. The City was quiet, like it always was when a large group had left on Search. Charley sat by the fire, alone, watching the flames. She didn’t look up until I stood right beside her.
“Where’s Nat?” I asked, taking a seat.
“Getting supplies for the girl. And talking to Talla about my charts.” Charley sounded less than enthusiastic.
