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Soon enough, we’d be in San Francisco Soon enough, we’d be past the point of no return, barreling into the future with no way back to the past we’d left behind us But for right noe could breathe

Nathan sat down besidehis hand between , "Fishy confirmed that we have a full tank of diesel We should be able to ood thing Fishy kno to drive a boat" I lifted h the fringe of et across the water if he didn’t"

Nathan grimaced "As it turns out… this was his first tiht "What?" The motion disturbed Beverly She scrambled to her feet, ready to run or stay as I commanded

"He just told me He’s never actually operated a real boat before, but he assumed the controls couldn’t be too difficult co a remote drone around the bottom of the Pacific Ocean, so he didn’t bother to provide that little bit of data until after we had left the dock" Nathan’s gri practices, but since they basically boil down to ‘are you hureat, here’s your lab coat,’ I don’t think it would do very ravely With noNathan blinked atinto a look of profound confusion

"I thought you’d be ht now," he said "The water’s pretty rough"

"Yeah, but this isn’t like being in a car," I said "We’re on a boat If we hit so or flip over or whatever, I can just say" There were al about, because I didn’t knohat they were The si on the water didn’t frighten iven asSally’s place only seemed to hold sway on land

That thought was sobering in at least one regard: ere al to need to steal a car or van in order to h the remains of San Francisco, which had been hit even harder than Vallejo by the sleepwalker plague Sherered at least one outbreak there that I knew of, and the nature of the implants meant that that initial outbreak would have had a do thousands, if not hundreds of thousands of people We’d neverto be in another car today, probably being driven by Fishy

"I guess that’s true," said Nathan He glanced back over his shoulder I knew that he was checking on Dr Banks, who had been sitting as far from us as the layout of the deck allowed ever since we left Vallejo "I don’t trust him"

"Neither do I" This was it: this was the moment where I could tell Nathan what Dr Banks had said aboutSally on some level, just repressed and locked away by trauma and socialization I took a breath "Nathan, I--"

"Sorry to disturb you kids, but you may want to move to the front of the boat" Fishy’s voice blared fro that sheltered us fro almost more crackle than words "I look forward to your helpful contributions"

Nathan and I exchanged a look Then, without a word, we got up and made our way to the front of the boat as fast as see our footing less certain than it could have been Still, we made decent time to the front of the boat, and stopped there, both of us frozen by the reality of ere seeing

The Bay Bridge was straight ahead, and it was packed with sleepwalkers They jaainst the pylons that held the span in place The fence designed to keep people fro off the bike path had been broken in several places, and sleepwalkers fell in an al with neither sound nor trace into the black waters below There was always another sleepwalker jockeying to take their place, hands outstretched in angry need It tookto accomplish I clapped ry tears

The cables that supported the bulk of the bridge were alive with crows I had never seen so ether until their bodies were al their feathers and occasionally taking off in brief flurries of wings that were alative reliefs of the waves below Black water and white foa fro the sleepwalkers, driving the that, and why aren’t the sleepwalkers eating each other?" I asked, baffled

Nathan ines and the crash of the waves, it would have been easy forhih for seach other as food The current will carry the bodies back to the beach Maybe in San Francisco,islands Either way, they’ll wash up, and there won’t be any fight left in the crow"