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must have seen it, too, because she chose that moment to dig in her heels with a vengeance.
    That’s when they tripped.
    Taemon went down hard, skinning his palms, but Mam took the worst of it. She landed on her back, and her head hit the sidewalk with a sickening crack.
    Taemon knelt next to Mam. She looked at him, her breathing shallow, the black centers of her eyes wide and deep.
    “Mam? Are you okay?”
    “Darling Houser,” she said. “Find him.”
    “Mrs. Houser?” Amma shook Mam’s shoulder. “Stay awake, okay? We’re taking you to see your sister.”
    Will Mam even remember that she has a sister?
Taemon wondered vaguely. They’d been separated as children, his aunt Challis sent to live in the powerless colony when it was discovered that she possessed unusual — and therefore dangerous — powers. He wondered what sort of behind-the-scenes negotiations had resulted in Challis’s being sent to the colony rather than to an asylum.
    Regardless, Taemon had grown up believing that his aunt had died at the age of four. Would Mam remember the truth?
    Taemon looked up when he heard footsteps crunching down the path. Drigg was running toward them.
    “I’ll carry her,” he said. “You go back to the hauler.”
    Drigg picked up Mam, and the four of them continued down the path. Taemon hurried ahead to the gate. As he held it open for the others, he heard a sound that made his stomach twist.
    The hauler.
    Taemon watched their only source of transportation speed away without them, spitting gravel as it went.

Drigg eased Mam off his shoulder and laid her gently on the grass before he started cursing. “Blazing skies in the morning! I thought it would be safe for a few seconds. I didn’t see anyone nearby.”
    “I think there are people hiding in the woods,” Amma said. “I got that feeling when we first came here.”
    Taemon knelt to check on Mam. She was out cold. Amma crouched next to him. “Is she sleeping?” Taemon asked. All the excitement and struggling had probably worn her out.
    “I think she’s unconscious,” Amma said. “We need to get her to the healers as quickly as possible.”
    Drigg rubbed the bald spot on his head. “It’s at least a day’s walk to the colony. And sundown’s in a couple hours.”
    “Then we’d better start walking,” said Taemon.
    Drigg looked longingly at the quadriders that had been abandoned in the parking lot after the Fall. Taemon knew exactly what Drigg was thinking because he thought the same thing every time he saw the useless quadriders. They were surrounded by vehicles that no one could drive again.
    “I hate to say this,” Drigg said, “but maybe we should stay here for the night and get an early start in the morning.”
    “I’m not spending the night in that place.” Taemon shuddered.
    “I’m with Taemon on this one,” Amma said. “Besides, if people really are living in the woods around here, we may not be safe overnight.”
    Taemon turned back toward the asylum. “I’ll go find something to carry Mam with.”
    “I’ll see if I can find any food pouches,” Amma added as she followed.
    It had been fully dark for at least an hour before they agreed to stop. Drigg had put together a stretcher from some poles and rough canvas Taemon had found at the asylum. They had taken turns as they walked, two of them carrying the stretcher and one resting. Even so, they were tired and hungry, and they still had a long way to go. This was the kind of situation where psi could really be helpful. Taemon and Amma could have used psi to carry the stretcher with very little exertion. They might even have been able to press on through the night and arrive at the colony by midmorning.
    Instead, exhaustion forced them to stop and rest. They sat down next to another abandoned quadrider. They’d passed several since leaving the asylum. The windshield of this one was smashed; the owner had probably had to break it to get out. Without psi to open the door, a person