Earthseed

stopped; a small island near the distant shore could now be seen. They paused to put away their ponchos, then hurried on. The air was sticky. Zoheret wiped her face with one arm, feeling sweaty and dirty.
    When they stopped to fill their canteens, she heard Dmitri ask if they had time for a swim; Manuel shook his head. He gazed at Zoheret for a moment as she filled her canteen; his brown eyes seemed to be reading her mind. She looked away, still feeling his gaze.
    At last they turned from the shore and scrambled up a hill, hurrying along a clear space under the pine trees. Zoheret slowed, letting others move ahead of her. She noticed that Jennifer had fallen even farther behind; she was at least twenty paces away. Zoheret waited for her to catch up.
    Then she saw the bobcat. The large, tawny beast was in the air, claws out, arcing toward Jennifer as Zoheret pulled out her gun. She flicked the switch releasing the safety, sighted along her arm, aimed, and fired, knowing she had only one chance. A beam shot out of the barrel. Jennifer leaped toward a tree, striking the trunk with her shoulder as the cat fell at her feet.
    Robert and Serena ran toward Zoheret; soon everyone was gathered around her. “What happened?” Serena shouted.
    “A cat,” Zoheret managed to say, gesturing at the still form with her gun. “It must have a cub nearby, or it wouldn’t—”
    “It almost got me,” Jennifer said. “Zoheret shot it.”
    Someone grabbed Zoheret’s elbow. She looked into Manuel’s eyes. “Good work.” He smiled. Her anger was gone; she took a breath. His fingers squeezed her arm gently, then released her. “Are you all right?” he asked Jennifer.
    She nodded. “I’m fine—just whacked my shoulder.”
    “Are you sure?”
    “It’s just a bruise.”
    “Then let’s get out of here before it wakes up.” He began to walk up the path, turned, and stared at Zoheret as if wanting her to walk with him, then went on.
    The others followed. Zoheret walked at the end of the line, with Jennifer. The girl was walking with a pronounced limp now; her lips were pressed so tightly together that they were white. Her pretty face was drawn. “There’s a ravine up here,” Robert shouted from up the hill.
    Zoheret took Jennifer’s arm when they came to the ravine. “Can you jump across?” she asked the other girl. The ravine was deep, but not too wide. She did not remember seeing it on a map, but then Ship had not shown them every detail. Zoheret frowned. The bottom of the ravine, about six meters below her, was filled with pine needles, dead tree branches, and heaps of dead leaves; a piece of red fabric rested on the leaves.
    Jennifer pointed with one trembling hand at the fabric. “A scarf,” she said. “The Red team came this way.”
    “Can you jump?” Zoheret asked again.
    Jennifer nodded. Zoheret leaped across first, then turned, holding out her hand. Jennifer jumped toward her, moaning as she landed on her feet. She began to slide. Zoheret caught her and pulled her forward.
    “Are you sure you weren’t hurt?”
    “It’s my ankle,” Jennifer replied, “the one I twisted yesterday. It’s been hurting ever since we started out this morning.”
    “What’s wrong?”
    “It isn’t broke. I don’t even think it’s sprained. But I pulled something, and it’s getting worse. It might be a ligament—I don’t know.”
    “Then we’d better stop and see.”
    “No.” Jennifer spat out the word. “No. The others’ll get mad.” Her tongue stumbled over the words. “They didn’t want me on the team anyway. Don’t say anything, please.”
    “But if you’re hurt, we’ll have to carry you. We could rig up a stretcher somehow.”
    “I can walk.” Jennifer sputtered as she slurred her words.
    “Take my arm.”
    “No.”
    “Jen. Take it.”
    She took Zoheret’s arm. They walked together, managing to keep the others in sight. They walked as quickly as they could; Zoheret could tell from the pressure of Jennifer’s arm that the other girl was trying not to lean too hard against her.
    “Oh, no!” someone shouted up ahead. Manuel and those with him had reached the river. “What do we do now?” another voice said. As they drew nearer, Jennifer released Zoheret’s arm and limped more quickly.
    Manuel was pacing back and forth. Dmitri was staring down the steep bank. The gorge through which the river ran was almost twenty meters deep, and the tree that should have connected the two sides of the