Now it stretches away in front of us. Parched, scorched, criss crossed with great cracks an crevasses. Endless.
My heart drops into my boots. I lick my lips.
I cain’t see th’other side, I says.
It’s there, says Jack. We should of had it in sight by now.
We couldn’t of gone no faster in this heat, I says.
I know, says Jack, I know. It’s my fault. We should of set o earlier or … He grabs at his hair, frustrated. Gawdammit, he says, I thought we’d have plenty of time. He looks at Ike. Whaddya think?
We might make it across before nightfal , says Ike. But you can tel by his face, by his voice, that he don’t think no such thing.
I don’t see what the problem is, says Epona with a frown. We’l jest ride across. As fast as we can.
Yeah, I says an Ash nods.
We cain’t go fast, says Jack. There’s too many cracks, too many places a horse could stumble.
Wel al right, I says, we’l go slow an careful then. An if it turns dark before we finish crossin, we’l jest set up camp on the lakebed.
We cain’t, says Ike.
I look at Jack. At Ike. They’re starin at each other, their faces grim.
What is this? I says. We got a cross before dark, we cain’t camp on the lakebed … I ain’t likin the sound of this.
That makes two of us, says Ash.
Try three, says Epona.
I cross my arms over my chest. Fergawdsake, jest tel us, I says. Why is it we got a cross before dark?
Ike spreads his hands. Tel ’em, Jack, he says.
Jack curses unner his breath. Looks at the ground fer a moment. Then he reaches fer the edges of his shirt an pul s it of over his head.
Emmi gasps. Beside me, I hear Ash’s breath hiss in. I already seen ’em, back at Hopetown, but my stummick stil clenches.
Three long pink claw marks that slash across his body from his right shoulder to his left hip. Jack stands there fer a moment. Then he turns so we can see his back. A smal er set of claw scars slash across his right shoulder-blade.
He turns around again an puts on his shirt.
Does that answer yer question? he says.
What did that to yer back? Emmi whispers.
It was dark, says Jack. I didn’t git a good look.
They cal ’em hel wurms, says Ike.
Wurms with claws, says Epona. An big wurms by the look of it. I ain’t heard of nuthin like that before.
An you ain’t seen nuthin like ’em neether, says Ike.
What are they? says Ash.
Story goes that a long time ago, back in Wrecker times, they put some kinda poison into the lake, says Ike. It kil ed o everythin. Essept the wurms. They grew.
You said they, says Epona. That means there’s more’n one. How many more?
A lot more, says Jack.
This jest gits bet er an bet er, I says.
There’s silence. Then, That set les it, I says. I’m goin on alone.
Wel , everybody starts talkin al at once, even Tommo, one over top of th’other, git in louder an louder til at last I put my hands over my ears an yel , Shut up, wil you! Jest … shut up!
They do. They al look at me.
He’s my brother, I says. An I ain’t let in none of you come with me if that’s—I point at Jack—what we got a deal with before we even git to Freedom Fields. Now, I cain’t a ord to go back down the hil an wait to try agin tomorrow. We’re nearly at midsummer. If I start right away, I might reach th’other side of the lake before dark.
She travels fastest who travels alone, says Ike, is that it?
That’s it al right, I says. Okay, Emmi, you—Emmi, what the hel ’re you doin down there?
While we bin talkin, Emmi’s bin scrabblin around on the ground. Now she stands up an holds out her hands. She’s got a pile of white pebbles in one an a pile of black pebbles in th’other.
White means we go with you, she says. Black means we don’t. Whatever we git the most of, that’s what we do.
I ain’t got time fer this, Emmi, I says, I’m—
Shut up, Saba, she says.
An I’m so astonished that I do.
She sets the pebbles in two piles on the ground. She leaves a space in between.
Everybody gits one vote, she says. You choose yer pebble an then you put it in the middle. When we’re al done, I’l count ’em up. Now, turn around so’s you cain’t watch what the other person’s doin.
Nobody moves. We al jest stand there, starin at her.
I said, turn around! she says. Tommo, you go first.
The rest of us turn our backs. Ike’s next to me. I see it runs in the family, he mut ers.
Emmi directs the whole thing. I’m th’only one left.
What about me? I says.
You don’t git a turn, she says. Okay, turn around.
You don’t git a turn, she says. Okay, turn around.
In the middle there’s six white pebbles. Not one black one.
I crouch down. Pick up the pebbles an hold ’em in my hand. They feel solid, warm. I look up into their faces one by one. An it’s like I’m lookin at ’em fer the rst time. Jack, Ike, Emmi, Epona, Ash an Tommo. Every one of ’em wil in to walk with me across the lake. To go with me into the darkness an face what lives there.
My throat feels tight.
You don’t hafta do this, I says.
Epona shrugs. We’re yer friends, Saba, she says. We wanna help.
I wish you wouldn’t, I says.
Too bad, she says. We’re stickin with you.
If this gits any more heart-warmin, says Ash, I’m gonna start cryin. Now if we’re done here, I say we git movin.
Jack gits us to mu e the horses’ feet with cloth so’s the wurms don’t know we’re passin over the top of ’em. Then we move out onto the parched lakebed.
We go as quick as we can, but like Jack said, we got a guide the horses safely past al the cracks an crevasses, big an smal , that split the earth an slow us down. We don’t talk, try not to make no sound. But the horses sense somethin. They’re nervy. Soon they start to shy at their own shadows.
An we don’t make it. We don’t make it across the lake before dark. Even though it’s the season of long days, we’re only about halfways across when we start to lose the light.
Jack stops. Looks at the sky. He waits fer everybody to catch up. When the light goes, he says in a low voice, it’s gonna go fast. We got a be ready wel before then.
My stummick clenches. Ready fer what? I says.
Hel wurms sleep in the day, he says, deep inside the mountain. When night fal s, they come up through the cracks in the lakebed. They’l be lookin fer food. It could be we git lucky. If they already got ful bel ies from last night or even a couple of days ago, they might stay down there an sleep it of . But if we don’t git lucky—
—the minute it’s dark, says Ike, wurms is gonna crawl out a them cracks an cover this lakebed faster’n you could ever imagine.
You should of told us this before we started of , I says.
I was hopin I wouldn’t hafta, says Jack. But would it of made any dif erence? Anybody?
Everyone shakes their head.
Hel no, says Emmi.
We decide to let the horses go. We unwrap their feet an set ’em on their way across the lake. This way, there’s at least a chance they might make it safe to th’other side. Once the wurms come out, they won’t have no chance at al .