Allie's War Episodes 1-4(47)

At the small opening in the hedge, I scooped up the clothes I’d stolen for Revik, then ran behind the denser vegetation and through the next backyard over. I made it back up to the wooded park above the row of homes a few minutes later, trying not to think about whether Revik would still be there.
Panting, I ran up to the cluster of roots on to the tree where I thought I’d left him.
He wasn’t there.
My heart stopped again, until I realized I’d gone to the wrong tree.
I found him after I’d already started to panic, skidding to a stop when I saw his long legs splayed. When I saw his eyes closed, I panicked, sure he was dead...but they fluttered open as soon as I crouched beside him.
“I didn’t sleep...” he said. “I didn’t.”
Relieved beyond words, I kissed him on the mouth.
His eyes registered a dim surprise.
“Sorry I took so long,” I said, embarrassed, then grinned. “But hey, look!” I showed him the headset. Fitting it over my ear, I switched it on, even as it occurred to me to hope it didn’t have a DNA key. I knew some of the newer ones did.
Luckily, it wasn’t that new.
I scrolled through the woman’s cached numbers until I found one labeled “taxi.”
“Yeah,” I said when the dispatcher picked up. I waited for her to trace our location. “Yeah, now.” I glanced at Revik, watched him fumble with the sweatshirt I’d brought him. “We’ll be in the parking lot.” I hung up, crouching in front of him again. “You up for this? We can’t go door to door...we’ll have to have them drop us near a bus stop, or downtown. It’s in Chinatown, right?”
He nodded, unbuttoning his shirt.
I continued to stand there as he began struggling out of it. Looking down at his exposed neck and shoulder, I noticed a question-mark scar curling up from his back to his throat, such a pale white color it had to be really old. It wasn’t small though, or particularly light. In fact, it was nearly the width of my index finger.
I hesitated, wondered if I should offer to help, given his condition, then thought better of it and walked off a few paces instead, sitting on the grass with my back to him.
Twisting off the clasp ties, I reached into the plastic bag filled with bread, selected a big piece with dark crust and began munching. It was soft with a crunchy, chewy crust, and at that moment I decided it was the best damned bread I’d ever eaten.
I played lookout while I ate, combing fingers through my hair to get as much gunk out as I could, pausing occasionally to try to clean up my face on the long-sleeved tee.
“Stockholm syndrome,” I muttered, then laughed, stuffing another piece of bread into my mouth and chewing.
I would think about that later.



The sun slid towards late-afternoon before we finally stood in front of a red-painted basement door.
I looked up the cement stairs to the street, where a woman leaned against a telephone pole. Nylons torn, makeup running down her cheeks under a slightly askew wig, she swayed drunkenly on high heels, staring at Revik with half-hearted interest. She saw me looking at her and gestured in a dismissive wave.
“Enjoy yourself, girlfriend.” She burst into a laugh. “That one’s too drunk to fuck, so you be nice...I find him in the gutter tomorrow, I’ll remember your face, honey...”
My eyes found Revik’s. He continued leaning against me, his hand on the wall. He was having trouble breathing.#p#分页标题#e#
I said to him, “You sure this is the place?”
He didn’t look at the woman, who called out again, trying to get his attention. “Yes.”
“Hey, lover! Be careful! That one looks like a predator...” She burst into drunken laughter. “Wanna come home with me? I’ll take good care of you. Hey! Tall and dark...”
“This part of town isn’t exactly where I’d put a ‘safe’ house,” I muttered. “You’re sure we’re at the right—”
“Seers have photographic memories, Allie,” he said. “Trust me. It is here.”
Seeing the exhaustion behind the request in his eyes, I gripped him tighter, but still hesitated, staring at the chipped, red-painted door. I was about to walk into a house full of seers. Seers who would probably think I’d done this to him.
And they wouldn’t be that far off.
“Knock, Allie.”
I raised my hand.
The door opened before I could touch the wood.
A woman stood there with stunning dark-red hair that hung in ringlets down either side of her heart-shaped face to bare, pearl-white shoulders. My eyes took in that flawless face, the dark blue eyes that shone almost violet and perfectly drawn lips. Everything about her, from her clothes to her figure to her hair reminded me of an old sex siren from the forties or fifties. The clothes she wore fit so well they could have been made for her.