Prudence dropped to all fours in the middle of Main Street in front of the pharmacy. "Can't…go…on," she said, grunting with each pause.
"You have to," Wendell said. He climbed down off her back, now a pigtailed toddler in canary yellow pajamas. "We can't stop now. We're so close."
"Go…without…me."
"I can't. I'm too little." As if to emphasize the point, Wendell shrank another half-inch.
"I'm too big," Prudence said. A fit of coughing, wheezing, and grunting seized her throat. "Please…go."
"No. There has to be another way."
"Like what? Reverend Crane…was right. We're…doomed."
Wendell sank down next to Prudence, unconsciously sucking on his thumb as he thought. They couldn't fail now, not when they only needed to get another couple miles. It's not fair, he thought. We're so close! Tears came to his eyes as he put a hand on Prudence's gut and listened to her strain for every breath. The hundreds of excess pounds were killing her. The only question remaining was whether she would die before Samantha finished them off.
Prudence deserved better than this. She worked as hard as anyone in Eternity to make sure all the children had clothes to wear and sheets to sleep on. She had braved the sea with he and Samantha to get supplies for the children back home. What had she done to deserve such a cruel fate?
If he couldn't save her, at least he could comfort her in their final moments together. He snuggled up against her chest, tucking his head underneath her chin. "I'm sorry," he said.
"For…what?"
"For all the terrible things I said to you. You're not a stupid fat girl. Without you, we'd probably all still be under Reverend Crane's thumb," he said.
Prudence rubbed the top of Wendell's head with her snout. Poor little Wendell, she thought. He tries so hard even though he's so small. She didn't know what they would have done after the hurricane without his knowledge about architecture and engineering. They probably would have ended up living in the caves like primitives. They certainly couldn't have built the boat to take them here without his help. And for all that she and everyone else paid him back with bullying and insults. "I'm…sorry too," she said. "You're…not…a girl. You're…the…strongest boy…I know."
"You mean that?" She nodded. "Mr. Pryde mistook you for my sister once. If I had a sister, I'd hope she was like you."
"If you…didn't…love…Sam…antha…could you…and I-" Prudence couldn't find the strength to finish the sentence. As she tried to get air into her lungs, she felt an intense desire to find a cool patch of mud. It's happening, she thought. Not much longer and she would lose that final shred of humanity.