asked FirstMan as he walked beside Jack. They hadn’t taken Jack’s words on faith, and he thought that FirstMan believed him only because Ryan believed, and he made a note to ask how the boy had gained such trust among these men. “What?” asked Jack. “The way you and Ryan find things,” said FirstMan. The man was older than Jack had expected, probably older than Jack by a decade, and he bore the scars of combat to show for it. Deep lines etched one side of his face, which Jack suspected may be shrapnel wound scars, and there was mark on his chin that looked like it had been very deep. “You just stand there and then you know where stuff is,” said FirstMan. “It’s quite unnerving.” “It’s not really just standing there,” said Jack, finding it awkward to explain. “I can somehow read my surroundings and…sense? I think that’s the best word, sense, what happened before, just by the signs left behind. You ever hear of something called dowsing?” FirstMan nodded. “Well,”
