Chapter 63

When Maxi came to, the setting sun had begun to tinge the sky red. She stared dazedly at the scarlet rays streaming in through an arched opening. Thick furs encased her, and the ground rattled beneath.

Realizing that something was terribly wrong, she frantically wiggled her arms to sit upright, but her limbs felt weighted like water-soaked cotton. Groaning, she managed to haul herself up. Her groggy mind slowly began to recount the moments before she had passed out. She stumbled onto all fours and crawled toward the canvas opening to look outside. A dusky plain bathed in twilight glided past.

Finally grasping that she was in a wagon, Maxi cried out in despair. How long had she been unconscious? Fear and confusion roiled within her, and she glanced left and right. She crawled closer to the end of the wagon as if to leap out.

They came to an abrupt halt. Maxi glared through her tears at the head that poked through the canvas.

"You're awake," Ruth said with a drawn-out sigh.