Misplaced (122 page)

W
it
h
onl
y
th
e
soun
d
o
f
th
e
tire
s
gratin
g
alon
g
th
e
rough
road
or
the
occasional
jolt
of
a
pothole
to
acti
v
ely
capture
her
a
t
tentio
n
i
n
th
e
absenc
e
o
f
con
v
ersation
,
V
ictoria’
s
e
y
e
s
gre
w
heavy. Despite her desperate fatigue and the e
v
ents of the day,
she
pushed
on,
driving
without
thought
of
the
life
she
had
left
behind
.
Sh
e
dro
v
e
b
y
instinct
,
i
n
searc
h
o
f
tha
t
plac
e
where
he
r
mothe
r
stil
l
greete
d
he
r
eac
h
mornin
g
wit
h
a
kis
s
before
braiding
her
hair.
It
w
as
as
if
she
had
ne
v
er
done
anything
but
dri
v
e
.
Th
e
whit
e
nois
e
o
f
th
e
engine
,
th
e
empt
y
road
,
melted
e
v
erything into nothingness.

Suddenly,
the
Jeep
pulled
hard
to
the
left,
into
what
would
ha
v
e been oncoming traffic.
She s
w
er
v
ed, o
v
ercorrecting to the
right
and
almost
driving
off
the
shoulder.
Had
it
not
been
the
middl
e
o
f
t
h
e
ni
g
h
t
an
d
t
h
e
middl
e
o
f
nowhere
,
t
he
y
mi
g
ht
ha
v
e
been
killed,
but
some
strange
sort
of
luck
had
protected
them again.

Th
e
loo
k
Khar
a
sho
t
he
r
w
a
s
no
t
th
e
accusator
y
on
e
V
ictoria
knew
she
deser
v
ed.
“
Are
you
all
right?”
she
asked,
motioning
V
ictoria to pull o
v
er.

“Sorry
.
I
mus
t
ha
v
e
drifte
d
off,
”
V
ictori
a
mumble
d
a
s
she
shut off
the engine.

“
P
erhaps you would let me try for a while.”

“It’s
all
right,
I’m
wide
a
w
ake
now.
Besides,
you
don’t
ha
v
e
a license.”

“Anothe
r
o
f
you
r
meaningles
s
details
.
Th
e
roa
d
i
s
quite
deserted
,
an
d
yo
u
ar
e
beyon
d
exhaustion
,
V
ictoria
.
Eithe
r
w
e
rest here or you allow me to continue.”

The
passenger
door
w
as
flung
open,
and
she
found
herself
being
pushed
across
the
seat
and
into
the
space
still
w
arm
from
Khara’s slight body.

“Just for a few minutes.”

Khar
a
w
aste
d
no
t
a
secon
d
settlin
g
in
.
Sh
e
tilte
d
he
r
head
slightly
as
she
studied
the
instrument
panel.
Running
her
hand
lightly
around
the
steering
wheel,
she
admitted,
“I
ha
v
e
been
w
antin
g
t
o
tr
y
m
y
han
d
a
t
this!
”
The
n
sh
e
turne
d
th
e
engine
an
d
rev
v
e
d
i
t
hard
.
“Mmm
.
S
o
thi
s
i
s
ho
w
th
e
grea
t
beas
t
comes
to
life.”
Put
into
dri
v
e,
the
Jeep
lurched
herky-jerky
across
the
y
ellow
lines
of
the
shoulder.
It
v
eered
in
and
out
of
the
lane
a
few times, but Khara straightened it out and continued
w
est.

No
t
ba
d
fo
r
he
r
firs
t
tim
e
behin
d
th
e
wheel
,
V
ictori
a
thought,
struggling to keep her e
y
es open.
Not bad at all…

Sometim
e
later
,
a
sof
t
moa
n
pulle
d
he
r
fro
m
a
half-sleep.
“What is it?” she asked, panicked.

The
Jeep
had
slo
w
ed
to
a
cra
w
l.
Her
first
thought
w
as
that
Khara’s
driving
had
not
been
as
good
as
she
’
d
thought.
Where
w
ere
they?
Had
they
crashed?
She
looked
around.
Maybe
they
w
ere
dead
and
in
purgatory,
a
w
aiting
eternal
damnation.
She
held
up
her
hand
and
wiggled
each
finger.
Nope,
she
w
as
still
ali
v
e.

I
n
al
l
he
r
trek
s
wit
h
Elias
,
sh
e
ha
d
ne
v
e
r
see
n
anything
lik
e
this
.
Th
e
narro
w
high
w
a
y
cu
t
throug
h
a
se
a
o
f
solidified
ooze
that
cast
hair-raising
shadows
as
far
as
the
e
y
e
could
see.
Misshapen
mounds
of
melted
rock
stretched
for
miles.
A
single
patch
of
pig
w
eed
rising
through
a
crack
in
the
road’s
shoulder
w
a
s
th
e
onl
y
trac
e
o
f
greenery—ther
e
w
a
s
no
t
a
tree
,
no
t
a
bush,
nothing.
A
thin,
flat
la
y
er
of
clouds
filled
the
sky.
A
puny
breeze,
lacking
the
strength
of
a
legitimate
wind
and
devoid
of
scent,
stirred
occasionally.
This
w
as
a
landscape
for
ghouls,
an
uncanny
visualization
of
purgatory. Melancholia
surrounded
them
,
y
e
t
sh
e
foun
d
i
t
strangel
y
comfor
t
ing
.
Th
e
sorro
w
t
hat
Victoria had worn like a second skin for
so
long
had
finally
brought
her
here.
One
look
at
Khara’s
face
confirmed
this
w
as
not
one
of
her
dark
dreams,
the
kind
that
left
her
bewildered
and
jittery
for
the
rest
of
the
day,
and
sometimes
questioning
her
sanity.
Y
et
for
all
its
gruesome
features,
she
found
peace
in
the
midst
of
this
desolation.
She
had
arri
v
ed
at
the
place
where
nightmares li
v
e.