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Basically, the plan was for me to drastically war it uphile Paul created a vertical process to drag it all the way up to the reater forces until it fell apart The downside of it was that creating that kind of sudden, drastic updraft was going to rip apart the stability of this area Wind shears were a distinct probability-the kind that knocked planes out of the sky Hence,to Rashid; it would be up to hiital clock on the dashboard It took forever to flick over one athering, and I couldn&039;t tell if the stor his forces Either way, not a pleasant sensation seen froital clock finally flickered a new nurabbed air, and poured in heatheated it so rapidly, the molecules had to expand, no matter what the cost The storht two fronts; I felt it being dragged upward by Paul&039;s cold air funnel, sucked up through the friction layer, the troposphere, the stratosphere Slowing as it reached the arid, chilly spaces of the mesosphere

My enemy-whoever he or she ould have to power that story of fifteen or twenty nuclear reactors just to keep it together, and trying to bring it back doould be aliven the war Wariven a short time frame Eleo of it It was i to fall apart, but it did-blown apart, just like a puffball Without the as I could feel the pressure easing insideI flipped it open

"Nice," Paul said

"You, too"

"I can&039;t change my mind, kid Don&039;t come back"

"I didn&039;t think you would," I said "Don&039;t worry I&039;m not your problem anymore"

Paul chuckled, a sound that leftup the car phone when the first microburst slammed into the car with the speed of a bullet train and knockedscreaht as well have been ice and oil I skidded The world lurched And oh, God, there was so by the side of the road, I was going to hit him

I spun out in a spray of dust, felt a dull thue of the shoulder, and physics took over, giving the car a sickening tilt

Not the car, I thought in utter despair Please, not the car

And then soht me and steadied round I had the breath knocked out of me, but apart from some tread loss, neither one of us had been hurtall over So was I

I turned off the engine and put ulped in air that tasted now as hosts of fast food, but it was still delicious

"Sorry, baby," I whispered to Delilah "Thought ere both headed for the junkyard"

It took me a second to remember the rest of it The dull thump of impact

Oh, Jesus, I&039;d hit somebody

I fumbled with the seat belt, frantic Oh, God, no- let hiavearound to stare, and saw a shadow large, dark, and threatening I sucked in breath to screauy with brown hair that needed trilasses that reflected blazing sunlight A nice face, with slance would take hireen trench coat that for so enthusiast, or somebody who could afford only Salvation Army couture

I rolled down the

"You okay?" he asked, and adjusted a backpack on his shoulder Oh I got it He was a road dude, so when possible Houy in search of adventure

Well, he&039;d sure as hell found it this tied lank, oily hair back from my face "You&039;re okay? I didn&039;t hit you? No tire tracks on you or anything?"

He shook his head An earring glinted I tried to reay, and then doubted end I concluded it was either bullshit or the glint was in the heterosexual ear, because he smiled at me in a warmly nonacademic way

"So, can you believe this weather? Soinea cloud levitating with the speed of a freight train, straight up, then blowing apart like God hi at top speed and spinning out like NASCAR roadkill Not soht ere really in for it"

I hoped the as a generic kind of thing, not a hello-I&039;ll-be-your-stalker-this-evening warning sign "Gee, bad weather? I didn&039;t notice"

He hitched the backpack again, as if it were giving hihtened up "Well, be careful Too nice a car to end up in some ditch Not to uy-he&039;d put the car first So any weird vibes froetting as one with natureto my car on a hell-drive like this He even had a nice sht, just to be sure, but there was nothing special about hi but plain old Joe Norer door and said, "Need a ride?"

He stopped walking away and looked at me He had really dark eyes, but dark in a warm, earthy kind of way If he were a season, he&039;d be fall

"Maybe," he said "Pack&039;s getting kind of heavy What&039;s the price?"

"Nothing"

His eyebroitched like he thought about raising the"

"Pleasure of your company"

"That can be taken a couple of ways," he said, and shrugged off the pack It fit into the backseat like a second passenger He didn&039;t need asor anything"

I felt strongly that that should offend me "You really think I look like a chick who&039;d pick up souy on the side of the road?"

"No," he said with a sly, Zen-like calm "And just for clarification, I take exception to the skanky I have had a bath"

I waited until he&039;d strapped hiht flickered through trees, tiger-striping the road A gentle west-to-east breeze rustled leaves I hadn&039;t closed my , and the smooth, cool scented air blew ood on h?"

"You think I look rough?"

"Maybe a little grubby"

"I&039;ll accept grubby"

When I looked over, he chuckled I laughed, caught the edge of ht my breath and wiped my face

He said, "My name&039;s David, by the way"