Page 1 (1/2)

1

Everywhere we fly, people scatter below us

They see the great shadow of our swarm above them, and they run

We fly over a cityscape that has been charred, broken, and mostly abandoned San Francisco used to be one of the most beautiful cities in the world, with its trolley cars and famous restaurants Tourists used to stroll Fisherman’s Wharf and cruise the crowded alleys of Chinatown

Now the grungy survivors fight for scraps and harass terrified women They scurry into the shadows and disappear as soon as they spot us The only ones left are theto escape the gangs for the few seconds it takes us to fly by

Below us, a girl hunches over a deadwith limbs spread wide She hardly notices us, or she si off soh binoculars, ora rifle at us as we pass

We ht A cloud of scorpion-tailed,out the sky

And in thea teenage girl At least, Raffe must look like a de on borroings

They probably think he kidnapped the girl he’s holding They couldn’t possibly guess that I feel safe in his ar my head on the warm curve of his neck because I like the feel of his skin

‘Do we humans always look like that from above?’ I ask

He answers I can feel the vibrations in his throat and see his , but I can’t hear him above the thunderous buzz of the locust swarels probably think we look like roaches scurrying from one shadow to another

But we’re not roaches or els think of us We are still the same people we once were At least, we are on the inside

I hope so, anyway

I glance over atbeside us Even now, I have to reirl I’ve always loved Well,on the shriveled body of Beliel, which is being carried like a palanquin by several locusts He has blood all over hih I know he’s still alive It’s no worse than what he deserves, but there’s still a part of ray island of rock appears ahead of us in the middle of San Francisco Bay Alcatraz, the notorious former prison There’s a ind of locusts above the island It’s a se called for help on the beach a few hours ago

I point to an island behind Alcatraz It’s bigger and greener, with no buildings that I can see I’el Island Despite the nae on that hellish rock