@@@@@She's my friend! And Mel! What about Mel?
@@@@@She's my friend! And Mel! What
about Mel? You can't kill Mel! Please! You have to –” He broke off, his expression agonized
I closed my eyes again, trying to block the picture of the suffering boy from my mindIt was
already almost impossible not to go to himI locked my muscles in place, promising myself that
it wouldn't help him if I moved now
“So,” Jeb said, his tone far too conversational for the moment, “you can see that Jamie's not in
agreementI figure he's got as much say as you do
There was no answer for so long that I had to open my eyes again
Jared was staring at Jamie's anguished, fearful face with his own kind of horror
“How could you let this happen, Jeb?” he whispered
“Thereis a need for some talk,” Jeb answered“Why don't you take a breather first, though?
Maybe you'll feel more up to conversation after a bath
Jared glared balefully at the old man, his eyes full of the shock and pain of the betrayedI had
only human comparisons for such a lookCaesar and Brutus, Jesus and Judas
The unbearable tension lasted through another long minute, and then Jared shook Jamie's
fingers off his arm
“Kyle,” Jared barked, turning and stalking out of the room
Kyle gave his brother a parting grimace and followed
The other dirty members of the expedition went after them silently, Paige tucked securely under
Andy's arm
Most of the other humans, all those who had hung their heads in shame for admitting me into
their society, shuffled out behind themOnly Jamie, Jeb, and Ian beside me, and Trudy,
Geoffrey, Heath, Lily, Wes, and Walter stayed
No one spoke until the echoes of their footsteps faded away into silence
“Whew!” Ian breathed
“Inspiration in desperationBut we're not out of the woods yet,” Jeb answered
“Don't I know it! You didn't leave the gun anywhere obvious, did you?”
“