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If this had been a city, he could have programmed the vehicle with their destination and let it take them there But it wasn’t the city, and there were areas they had to cross that didn’t even have roads The only way to cover the ground was manually

“Yeah Does your animal talk to you?”

“No Ies That’s about it This started with her, right?”

“You think there’s a connection?”

He shrugged “Maybe she woke so in the snake Maybe her presence hurried that evolution along Like I said, I don’t like coincidence and the way she can call to your snake, the way it’s taken with her, that worriesan effect—on you and the snake”

“I don’t see how All this stuff with my anienetics That’s the proble to happen to us next Hell, for all I know, I’ll wake up onemy body instead of skin” He rubbed a lock of Friday’s hair between his finger and thumb Silk Pure silk “That’s e need her None of us knohat’s co our way”

“I’ive us the anse need”

“You got a better idea?”

Silence was the answer Another few ain “I sure as hell hope we don’t turn into our ani time”

Knohat his friend had for an ani Striker tried to laugh quietly, but he couldn’t prevent his chest fro The movement disturbed Friday’s sleep She stirred, and he soothed her with gentle caresses and murmured words

Once she was deeply asleep, Mace glanced over at his does your snake say?”

“Mainly it tells s to him” He let his head fall back onto the padded headrest “When you were arguing with her, he toldher”

“Seriously?”

“Oh yeah He da so ht to stay still”

“I thought they couldn’t get free without us calling to them Well, everyone else’s animals, anyway” He sounded seriously pissed off about that, too