Page 70 (1/2)

CHAPTER 29

KURT AUSTIN HELD THE AWKWARD POSITION HE’D LANDED in as long as he possibly could Even after the vehicles drove off, even after the ruines had faded and he was left with only the sound of flies buzzing in the dark, he remained still

They zipped here and there, settled for a ain Even when they landed on him and crawled on his face, Kurt did all he could not to flinch in case so But eventually he had to move

With a glance up to the circular opening high above, he slid one arm to the side, rolled over slowly and then propped hi position and eased back until he was leaning against the wall Every ainst the wall he decided to stay there for a minute or two

He checked his leg So, but he found no bullet hole and figured it was a piece of the wall blasted off when a shell ricocheted His shoulder hurt like crazy, but it seemed to move okay

He reached over and checked Joe, shaking hiently

Joe opened his eyes halfway like a runted and generally appeared confused Looking around at their surroundings didn’t see any clarity

“Where are we?” he asked

“You don’t remember?”

“Last I reed by a truck,” he said

“That was the high point of our journey,” Kurt said, looking up “Literally”

Joe forced himself to sit up, an act that seemed to cause as much pain for him as it had for Kurt

“Are we dead?” Joe asked “’Cause if not, this is the worst I’ve ever felt while still alive”

Kurt shook his head “We’re alive all right, at least for now We’re just stuck at the bottom of a ithout a rope or a ladder or any other way out”

“That’s good,” Joe said “For a second I thought ere in trouble”