TEN AS THE CARAVAN MADE ITS WAY DOWN THE TWO-LANE HIGHWAY, NO one spoke. The only sound was the clank of bicycle gears and the incessant creak of the makeshift wagons as they shifted in their traces. Esther sensed a change in the way the others viewed Aras. Even though he had once won their trust, now they avoided him. Only Skar appeared untroubled; while somber, she seemed serene as she calmed a shaken Michal. But Silas, who had been closest to Rhea from the start, hung back, whispering to Joseph and Asha. As for Eli, he was clearly furious. “He’s got to go,” he whispered to Esther when he caught up to her. Yet she refused to be pulled into an argument and bicycled ahead. Esther knew that Aras’s decision had been the right one. It was not only more sensible to let Rhea die quickly, but kinder, as well. Or did she just feel that way because she had never liked Rhea? With an uneasy feeling, Esther realized she didn’t know for certain and wasn’t sure if she ever would. By now, the muscles in her legs burned so badly that each downward movement of the pedal took enormous effort.
