The Deep Read Free Page A

whisper in
astonishment. “How can the thing just move ?”
    “Maybe it’s powered by waves we can’t see,”
Walt philosophizes. “Tony mentioned energy from the sun, right?
Well, maybe this carriage sails on waves of light.”
    “The Force,” I mumble, dumbfounded. “Light.
Like in the twins’ swords.” They may not have existed for real, but
maybe the man who created Luke and Leia’s story did use the truth
as inspiration for his heroes and their powers.
    When Tony stops the bus again, he invites us
to get in. One by one, the travelers from Tresco board the strange
vehicle, looking around them awkwardly. Padma shoots me a nervous
little smile when she pushes past me, and I momentarily pump her
hand for encouragement before she sits down.
    “We’re going to Dartmoor,” Tony announces. “I
think the president will be eager to meet you all. Besides, that’s
the best place to find more info about the world as it is today, as
well as how it used to be.”
    “President?” William echoes. Walt, he and I
have picked seats right behind Tony. As we drive off, my stomach
lurches because of the sudden movement. We speed up quickly, and my
entire body tenses up because of it. I’ve never gone this fast.
Anxiously, I grab Walt’s arm, who doesn’t look too comfortable
himself.
    “Yeah, he’s like your Eldest, or Bookkeeper,”
Tony is clarifying in the meantime. “He or she is elected by the
people. President Jacob reigns over Dartmoor and he has strong ties
with the mayor of Bodmin. He knows about Henry and me setting out
to investigate that distress signal.”
    “Is it far?” Walt asks.
    Tony shakes his head. “By bus, it will take
about three hours. We’ll do about fifty miles per hour once we
leave Penzance.”
    Walt chuckles disbelievingly. “Yeah,
right.”
    Tony cocks an amused eyebrow. “I’m not
kidding, Walt. It’s really possible. This bus has an electric
engine, which is now fully charged thanks to the sun. Henry thought
we might need a big vehicle to transport people if we found any
survivors on the island.” His eyes fill with a quiet sadness. “I
hadn’t considered the possibility that he wouldn’t be among
them.”
    “Did he have family?” I inquire softly. My
insides coil even tighter because of his remark.
    Tony nods. “I have to tell his wife that he
passed away. Which is why we need to go to Dartmoor in the first
place, because that’s where she lives.”
    I gulp down the lump in my throat. “That
woman must hate us. Maybe she wants us to go to prison for
murdering her husband.”
    Walt puts a calming hand on my shoulder.
“Whoa, slow down. It’s not your fault, Leia. If anything, you tried
to stop it.”
    As the bus gains more and more velocity and a
nagging, sickening feeling nestles itself in the pit of my stomach,
Tony shakes his head. “We don’t have any prisons,” he replies
quietly.
    “At all?” William asks, sounding puzzled.
    “No, we don’t.”
    “So what do you do with lawbreakers?”
    Tony remains silent for a moment. “There
aren’t any,” he then replies. “It never comes to that.”
    I shoot Walt a sidelong glance, frowning
slightly. What on earth does Tony mean by that? I can’t imagine
that the entire Dartmoor population consists of saints and kind
souls.
    Walt shrugs, taking my hand. “We’ll just have
to get there to see it,” he mumbles. “You want some water, by the
way? You look pale.”
    “Yeah, the speed isn’t helping.” I smile
bleakly and gratefully accept Walt’s water flask. Slowly, I take a
few sips and lean my head against the window. Even the bus has
glazed windows. The Other Side is full of wonders I could never
have dreamed of.

    As we continue our journey to Dartmoor, I’m
starting to appreciate the thick glass between me and the world
outside. The road we follow is cracked and fissured, and with each
hole we hit, the bus trembles and rattles violently. But that is
not what scares me most. It’s the blackened fields