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There A herd of deer appeared in silhouette at the top of the ridge, twenty head in all, and, ae buck His rack was massive, like a tree stripped for winter She would have to make her approach from the doind side; it was a wonder they hadn’t detected her already She placed her rifle in its holder, took up her crossbow and a sling of bolts, and disive ot to eat" She patted his neck in assurance "No wandering off, all right?"

She circled the ridge to the south The deer still appeared oblivious to her presence On knees and elbows she inched her way up the incline She was fast, but they were faster; one shot of the cross,, she reached the top The deer had fanned out into a V shape along the ridge The buck stood forty feet away Alicia, still pressed to the ground, pulled a bolt into her cross

A puff of wind, perhaps A moment of deep animal perception The deer exploded into movement By the ti down the ridge, away

"Shit"

She flung the cross to the ground, drew a blade, and took off after the would deny her Fifty feet down the ridge the ground abruptly fell away, and Alicia saw her chance: a convergence of lines that her mind beheld with absolute precision As the buck darted below the drop-off, she raised her blade and launched herself into the air

She fell upon hi-armed arc to drive it upward into the base of his throat A spurt of blood and his front legs folded under him Too late Alicia realized as about to happen As she pitched over his neck, her body was snatched by gravity, and the next thing Alicia knew she was tu head over heels down the hillside

She calasses had been stripped away She rolled quickly onto her sto her face in her arms Fuck! Would she be forced to lie here, utterly helpless, until dark? She eased one ar

The only thing to do was open her eyes and look Her face still nestled in the crook of her arainst her ribs Well, she thought, here goes nothing

At first she perceived only whiteness-an obliterating whiteness, as if she were staring into the heart of the sun The shock was like a needle in her skull But then, with unexpected swiftness, so Colors and shapes eh the barest slits; she allowed her eyes to open just a little htness receded to unveilyears in shadow, Alicia Donadio, captain of the Expeditionary, beheld the daylit world

Only then did she realize where she was

She called it the Field of Bones Though neither was it a field, in the strictest sense, nor were they bones, exactly Rather, the cru the tableland to a far horizon How ? A hundred thousand? Athem From each footfall rose a cloud of ash The taste was in her nose and throat, painting the walls of her mouth like a paste Tears rose to her eyes Of sadness? Of relief? Or simple amazement at this unaccountable event? It was not their fault what they were It had never been their fault Dropping to one knee, she drew a blade from her bandolier and touched it to herself, head and heart Eyes closed, she bowed her head and cast her mind outward in prayer I send you home, my brothers and sisters, I release you from the prison of your existence You have departed the earth to unlock the truth of what lies beyond this life May your strength pass into me that I may face the days ahead Godspeed to you

Soldier was just where she’d left hiht we had a deal, they said Where the hell have you been? But as she neared, his gaze deepened knowingly Alicia stroked his withers, kissed his long, wise face His ue licked the tears froood boy

She would have liked to press on, but her prize wouldn’t wait She pitched her tarp between the trees, sat on the ground, and re, bloody lump of the buck’s liver She pressed it to her nose and inhaled deeply, drawing in its delicious, earthen, blood-tinged sht; it was perfect as it was

So Alicia could feel it, deep in the bone A profound shift-seis on its axis But there would be tiht, she would eat

Chapter 33

Peter saw little of Michael for the next three days The deadline of departure loo double shifts With no scrip to spend at the card table, Peter passed his ti restless walks around the co about the commissary Karlovic he liked, but Stark was a different matter Peter’s arrival had elicited all the resentment Greer had predicted The ht, let him stew It’s not like I wanted this duty, anyway

Histime was spent with Lore Her appetite for information about the Colony, and Michael in particular, was as robust as everything else about her Between shifts she would seek hi him to an empty table where they could speak out of earshot No matter what Michael had said, it was plain that beneath her bawdy exterior her attach quality, as if Michael were a lock she couldn’t quite open What had he been like back in those days? Smart, yes-that was obvious to anyone who knew him-but what else? What could Peter tell her about Sara? And their parents, as the story? Of their journey from California, the woman knew only the public account: with the Colony’s power source failing, they hadby sheer chance on the Colorado garrison Of Amy, and what had occurred on theat all, and Peter left it that way

Theturn in the conversation was Lore’s interest in Alicia Evidently Michael had spoken of her a good deal Beneath the surface of Lore’s questions, Peter detected an undercurrent of rivalry, even jealousy, and in hindsight he suspected thattoward this subject Peter even went so far as to assure Lore that she had nothing to worry about Michael and Alicia were like oil and water, he said Two more different people you’d never h What gave you the idea I orried? Soone? Believethe notion away, that’s the last thing onwith Karlovic and Stark, going over the details of the trip Ten tankers full of fuel, evenly ate Beforethere would be two more The convoy would travel with an escort of six security vehicles, Humvees and 4×4s with fifty-cals mounted in the beds The distance was three hundred hway 10 at Sealy, a straight shot to the outskirts of San Antonio, where they would circuhways, then back on I-10 for the final fiftythe route, but the practice was to drive without stopping Traveling at an average speed of twenty miles an hour, they would pull into Kerrville a little after ht

Peter’s attention was drawn to five e over the San Bernard River west of Sealy; another at Columbus, where they would cross the Colorado; the San Marcos bridge at Luling; and a pair spanning the Guadalupe, the first just west of Seguin, the second at the town of Comfort The first three were a sht-but they wouldn’t reach Seguin until after sunset Virals had been seenup and down the rivers as they hunted, and the sound of idling diesel engines was a known attractor To e was in such poor repair that only one tanker would be per the area would provide a measure of protection, but the convoy would be broken up for nearly an hour

Everyone gathered at the tankers in the predawn darkness The air was damp and cold For nearly all of them, the trip was old hat They had become inured to it, even a little bored Cups of chicory coffee were passed As ranking oiler, Michael would ride in the lead Humvee, with Peter Ceps would drive the first tanker, Lore the second Peter had planned for Stark to ride up front, as a gesture of goodwill, but to Peter’s relief theinstead to re DS detachates were opened A dozen big diesels roared to life, clouds of dense black exhaust chuffing from their smokestacks Michaelthe walkies and conferring with each of the drivers a final time He took his place at the wheel of the Humvee and radioed each of the drivers in turn

"Tanker One"

"Good to go"

"Tanker Two"

"Good to go"