Chapter 22: New Plans
He waits for Leila to wake, not wanting to disturb her. She does after a short time, smiling at him as she lifts her
head, embarrassment in her face, but gratitude, too.
"You didn't have to do that," she says.
"I know." Reid gets to his feet and offers his hand. "But we should be getting back to the others."
As they make their way through the trees, Reid notices something odd. He's become so in tune with the outdoors he can
feel the night aging, the coming dawn now so tied into his internal clock he is pretty sure he could predict the exact
moment the sun will come up.
He and Leila find the rest of the group huddled in a miserable clump. They watch him with hurt and frightened eyes, more
a pack of wild animals than kids, jumping at the slightest sound, looking far older than they really are, as though the
chase has aged them. For all he knows it has, the stress on their bodies so powerful he wonders if some of the weaker