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I frowned a little, glancing uncertainly at Nathan He gave a little shake of his head, signaling forto him seemed like the better idea

"Once we have a car, the two of you can take Dr Banks and head for SymboGen," continued Fishy calet overrun with sleepwalkers or taken out by survivors or anything cliché and inconvenient like that"

"But e do once we have Tansy?" I asked, alarlanced back over his shoulder "Bring her here If I can’t stay docked, I’ll at least stay close to the shore, so you can see me Then we’ll just have to find a place where you can park and I can pull in close enough that you can get on board It’ll be a fun challenge"

"A fun challenge," I echoed faintly I felt like I wanted to be sick Throwing up would have been a terrible idea, but that didn’tThat horrible hot/cold etting softer, harder to hear, which struck me as bad in so to be on life support," said Nathan "Putting her in the water could kill her"

"Which makes it all the more important that someone stay with the boat" Fishy turned the wheel delicately to the side, and we slid in along the dock as if our boat had been intended to sit there all along: thepiece of an elaborate puzzle "Welcome to San Francisco"

Only one of the other ferry bays was occupied, by a boat that was half sub hole in its side I had no idea what could have done that to one of these sturdy, metal-plated craft, and I didn’t want to know The dock was clear, and nothing moved in the shadows That hat really ht now: that ere, for the moment, alone

"Sal?" asked Nathan

I nodded tightly and left the cabin, , but his words ashed away by the roar of the engine as Fishy did whatever he had to do in order to lock us into place, and so I just kept walking, turning my back on the scientist who had helped to e of the boat I stopped, restingto listen with everything I had The noise didn’t matter; my ears weren’t a part of this

Pheroenerated by bodies in motion, and left behind by bodies that have already passed Ants use thes as part of their territory And tapewore, incomprehensible way, to communicate I didn’t knohat an unaltered tapeould have to say, but I knehat the sleepwalkers were saying with their phero to them when they happened to cross :

Here I a was stale, thick with salt and a faint, sweet foundation of decay There had been sleepwalkers here--I couldn’t have explained how I knew that, because the knowledge didn’t coe that they weren’t here now The water was too close and too bitter, and it got too cold at night They had been driven deeper into the city, or at least away fro to o of the rail and turned, unsurprised to find Nathan and Dr Banks standing behind me "There’s no one here but us," I said "It’s an enclosed space, though There could be a hundred sleepwalkers outside and I wouldn’t know about it"

Dr Banks sneered "Leave it to Surrey to build an early warning systeh walls What use are you?"

"I don’t know," I said "But I guess I’ll have ti down the engine, and then he’s going to come help us find a car," said Nathan "It should be a minute or so"

The slow ru at the sudden lack of vibration Fishy trotted out fro was all right Beverly jus For one terrible h the still air of the Ferry Building like a conde That was how things went for us Wrong

Fishy slowed as he drew closer, and Beverly did not growl "Are we clear?" he asked

"No sleepwalkers in the building, but that doesn’tto stay that way, especially after we open a door," I said "I can’t be sure they’re not at the front, either I’ as they leave et so the side of the ferry He was s, calmly and consistently

I didn’t like that expression--soh not in a way that would haveinto conversion--but it was Nathan who spoke, asking, "Are you feeling all right, Fishy? I didn’t expect you to volunteer to stay behind"

"Yeah, I’ood See, this is where we split the party to deliver the MacGuffin"--he pointed at Dr Banks, who looked ue that’s been destroyinginto a series of cut scenes If I stay here with the boat, I’ll either get an unstoppable wave of eneht, or I’ll be ready when you coood"