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"They’re all taken," Hollis said glu me borrow this one"

Peter took a place on the bench He knehat Hollis ial, with nothing to do, no role to play Sara and Aated to their tent, but for all his relative freedom, Peter felt just as trapped And none of the soldiers would have anything to do with the worth saying and would be leaving soon anyway

He updated Hollis on all he had learned, then asked the question that was really on his , with Rai short recon patrols to the southeast When Peter had asked Vorhees how long they’d be gone, he had answered, enig it takes"

"How’d she look?"

"Like one of them" Hollis paused "I waved to her, but I don’t think she sawher?"

Peter shook his head

"The Last Expeditionary" Hollis frowned at this "Kind of a mouthful, if you askmore to say If they were extra li for her in his hts to the place where Alicia should be It wasn’t the kind of thing he thought he could ever really get used to

"I don’t think they really believe us about Amy," Peter said

"Would you?"

Peter shook his head, conceding the point "I guess not"

Another silence descended

"So what do you think?" Hollis said "About the evac"

With all the rain, the battalion’s departure had been delayed another week "Vorhees keeps urging us to go He ht"

"But you don’t think so" When Peter hesitated, Hollis put down his fork and looked him in the eye "You know me, Peter I’ll do whatever you want to do"

"Why ae? I don’t want to decide for everyone"

"I didn’t say you were I think it’s just a case of what is, Peter If you don’t know yet, you don’t know It’ll keep until the rain lets up"

Peter felt a twinge of guilt Since they’d arrived at the garrison, he had somehow never quite found the moment to tell Hollis that he knew about hione, part of him didn’t want to face the fact that the force that held the The three men had been billeted in a tent adjacent to the one where Sara and A for the rain to stop; for two nights running, Peter had awakened to find that Hollis’s bunk was e away Peter wondered if Hollis and Sara were staging this for his benefit or for Michael’s, as, after all, her brother As for Amy: after a period of time, a day or so, in which she had seeht them their meals and escorted them to the latrine, she appeared to have , content to bide her ti soon? she had asked Peter, her voice gently urging Because I would like to see the snow To which Peter had only said, I don’t know, Amy We’ll see, after the rain stops The truth, yet even as he’d spoken, the words had the hollow taste of a lie

Hollis tipped his head toward Peter’s plate "You should eat"

He pushed the tray aside "I’ry"

They were joined by Michael, ept down to the table in a rain-beaded poncho, carrying a tray piled high with food Of all of thened hi to ready the vehicles for the trip south He placed the tray on the table, sat before it, and dug in greedily, using a piece of corn bread to shovel beans into his mouth with his oil-stained hands

"What’s theup He sed a mouthful of bread and beans "The two of you look like somebody died"

One of the soldiers -eared private, his bald head shinut," he said to Michael

Michael brightened "Sancho What’s the ups?"

"De nada Listen A bunch of us were talking, thought maybe you’d like to join us later"

Michael s"

"Nineteen hundred in thethes can cootten used to this term There was always a note of derision in it

"Come where?"

"Thanks, Sancho," Michael said "I’ll run it by them"

When the soldier had nut?"

Michael had resu on names like that I kind of like it better than Circuit" He mopped the last of the beans frouys, Peter"

"I didn’t say they were"

"What’s tonight?" Hollis asked after a ed dis "I’ht"