For the most part our footing was cheatgrass-covered basalt, not horrible hiking if I’d had shoes. It would have been better if I could have shifted into coyote, but I didn’t know these men—and I don’t make it a habit of telling everyone what I am. Too many bad things happened to people who admitted too openly what they were without a powerful group behind them—and sometimes even with a powerful group behind them. I’d survived a long time by keeping my head down and blending in; I wasn’t going to change that just to make my bare feet feel better. The Owens brothers and Calvin took turns carrying Benny. Jim led the way and carried a couple of flares to flag down the ambulance with. We all, except for whoever was carrying Benny, carried flashlights, which did a fair bit to destroy my night vision. I brought up the rear—though they had all suggested I stay down by the river. I could have done that, but what if they ran into Adam? Under normal circumstances, they’d be perfectly safe.
