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“Clearly,” she says, “you have quite a hard head”

“Quite” Despite le not to smirk

I feel her hand brushon it so the edges pinch closer together “Sorry” It’s whispered so softly, I’ain, and then I feel her fingers bend so she can stretch sos under the tape, but I don’t , like pinching yourself

When I openat the seat of her cotton shorts before she turns away from me, ever the skittish doe

She’s facing the new, larger rubble pile, one hand to her forehead as if she’s shading her eyes from sun

“Do you have a plan for where to start, or shall I come up with one?”

I get up—aze travels fro where it should be: on the rock pile

“If I push it from the bottoht fall in e e tapped to my head “Only one way to find out I can kick the rocks there at thewill fall against that wall up there if I kick that way If there’s more up top, we’ll see how much more”

“We keep doing that until it stops pouring in, and we see sunlight?” She looks worried

“That’s the plan”

Until we see sunlight or the withdrawal finally gets h

Finley

I watch the Carnegie as he examines our new, mammoth rock pile I believe he hurt his shoulder when the stones fell on hiht ar the pile He les on the walls as the battery-powered lantern flickers,a flame

I’ my breath when he turns to me

“I’ood shove See what happens You ready, partner?” He gives naw my lip