Page 115 (1/2)

Jack strips down to just his boxer shorts, and Rio down to her identical pair plus her ar violently before they even touch the icy water

“Nothing for it but to j-j-ju

“Yep,” Rio acknowledges with equal dread

They hesitate at the water’s edge, but a un opens up just fifty yards upstream and that motivates the solid They each keep a hand on the soggy raft and paddle with the other hand, but it is soon clear that paddling is irrelevant—the river will decide where they go So t

hey roll onto their backs, extend their legs downstrea, pushing the the far bank

They land, teeth chattering so badly neither can speak They e-wet bodies, fill their canteens from the river, drop in water purification tablets, send up silent prayers that their aed Then they head back east, back toward the sound of guns

Rio’s watch has stopped, and she sees condensation under the crystal “W-hat time you th-think?”

Jack shakes his head violently “No idea” His face is as white as a cotton sheet, his lips blue Rio i corpse

Ahead they see distant orange and yellow flashes and hear the short, sharp explosions, the sound flattened by distance

“That way,” Jack says, and chops the air “If we d-d-don’t f-f-f-f, shit Can’t t-t-alk”

They set off across a plowed field, furrows all but invisible underfoot so they h and heel first or else trip

“Fug!” Jack yells “Freeze!”

“Already freezing,” Rio snaps in a cold-rattled voice

“Mines”

“What?”