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She put the truck into the lowest gear and took her foot off the brake The truck began to creep forward

Slow and steady, that would be the way, Lana knew The pathway to the mine entrance was a mess of potholes, narrow, crooked, and steep

She turned the wheel It wasn’t easy The truck was old and stiff with disuse And Lana’s driving experience was extremely limited

The truck advanced so slowly that the coyotes could keep up at a walk They fell i

nto place around her, almost like an escort

The truck lurched crazily as she pulled onto the path “Slow, slow,” she told herself But now she was in a hurry She wanted it to be over

She had an i fro A thunderclap And then the sound of collapsing rock Tons and tons and tons of it Then billowing dust and smoke and it would be over

Come to me

“Oh, I’,” Lana said

I have need of you

She was going to silence that voice She was going to bury it beneath a mountain

There was a sudden jolt Lana glanced into her mirror and saw the deformed, scarred face of Pack Leader He had jumped into the back of the truck

“Hu machine,” Pack Leader said in his unique snarl

“Human do whatever she likes,” Lana yelled back “Hu”

Pack Leader digested that for a while