The rest of the day they traveled, stopping only briefly to eat and
once during the afternoon when they came to a small river. Nelson's
admiration for Glynnis increased. She responded intelligently to his
commands, and learned quickly. She was strong and athletic, with the
reflexes of an animal.
They made good time. When darkness came Nelson estimated they had made
almost fifty miles since the raid, even over rough terrain. He hoped
that that would be enough. He was tired, and though the girl attempted
to hide her own fatigue, her attempts were becoming more and more
exaggerated. He searched out a camp site.
He found one on a hill, overlooking a river. There was protection from
the wind. The moon was up and there was plenty of light from it; but
Nelson didn't think the searchers would be out at night.
After they had eaten, Nelson leaned back against the thick bole of a
tree and found himself studying the girl. Her features were even
enough, but she was not a classically beautiful girl. Nor an
unattractive one. It was her eyes, he decided. She was staring off
into the sky and forest. Her eyes were large, dark, enigmatic eyes
that expressed much; expressed it eloquently. But he had the feeling
there was much in the girl that those eyes hid. Her body was lean, but
whether from exercise or undernourishment he couldn't be sure. Her
figure was full, for all the leanness, and ample. She was strong,
though she hardly looked muscular. She had been toughened by her
environment. Edna had not been as tough as Glynnis.
With sudden embarrassment, he realized he had been comparing Glynnis
and Edna frequently. He didn't want to do that--but he couldn't help
himself.
"Something wrong?" Glynnis asked anxiously.
She was returning his stare. "No," he said. "I was ... looking at
you." For a long moment, neither spoke. Then he said, "We'll be
together for a long time."
"I know. We'll have to be."
"I'm glad I found you. I lost my wife to the patrol some time back."
"I've never been anyone's wife before. There was Frank, but I was
never really what you could call his wife, exactly."
"Many people ever stay with your folks?"
"Not many. Frank only stayed a few days. I liked him. I wanted to go
with him."
"Why didn't you?"
She broke off a blade of grass and slowly began tearing it into
strips, intently gazing at it. "He just left suddenly without taking
me. I guess he thought I was just a stupid brat. That was maybe two or
three years ago." Her voice sounded as if she were smiling a little.
Nelson thought that strange.
"You ever think much about the sleepers?" he asked suddenly.
"Sometimes. I wonder what it's like in their dreams."
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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