Somehow it missed hitting every other standing column in the area, which might have slowed it a little. Instead, with nothing in its way and the speed increasing, Pandy knew that when it finally did hit something, whatever it hit and Homer were both going to be shattered. “Gods!” Pandy cried, watching the section bounce down the slope. “TangerINES!” Alcie screamed as she took off after Homer. Pandy and Iole also took advantage of the disorder around them and, escaping the astounded guards, ran after Alcie. Because it was much heavier at one end, the section was rolling fast in a wide arc directly through the main part of the village. People glanced up from their tasks at the screams and commotion on the hillside, then scattered like birds as Homer came crashing toward them. Oddly enough, the first thought that went through Homer’s mind as he started to roll downhill was not how hard the ground was each time his head hit it, but how good it felt to have the use of his arms back again.
