Earthseed

right.”
    At last he got it loose. “Is that guard still out there?” she asked.
    “Yeah. I’d better wait before I take the screen out.”
    “We have to get out before first light.”
    “I know. Can you get some sleep on the floor?”
    She wrinkled her nose; she was getting used to the stink. “I think so.”
    “As soon as that guard wanders off, we’ll go. I want you nearby.”
    She curled up in the far corner. Ho would have to be told what she had overheard: Ship was now in danger. She closed her eyes, trying to sleep.

    “Now,” a voice whispered in her ear. Zoheret sat up, rubbing her eyes, awake again.
    Ho had pulled the screen inside. He squeezed through the window and she followed; he pulled her through by her arms. The guard was nowhere in sight.
    They ran across the yard, keeping low. When they reached the fence, Ho threw himself on the ground and inched under the bottom wire on his back while Zoheret waited, expecting the alarm to sound; then she crawled under the wire, careful not to touch it.
    He pulled her to her feet and they ran, keeping to the shadows near the riverbank until they were near the woods. He took her hand and led her into the forest. They moved cautiously through the darkness, thrashing their way through the underbrush; Ho could not risk lighting their way. A twig cracked, and she tensed; someone was close by.
    Ho pulled at her hand. “Come on.”
    “There’s someone in the woods.”
    “It’s probably an animal. Come on.” He pulled her along and she hurried to keep up. She felt as though she were being watched, and could not shake the feeling; was an animal stalking them? They had no weapons. She moved more rapidly.
    They struggled on. Birds fled from them, chirping as they flew up toward the treetops. It was growing lighter; she had slept longer than she had realized.

    By first light, they had reached the rope bridge over the ravine.
    Ho sat down hard, holding his knees. Zoheret was already tired. “We can’t stay here,” she said. “They’ll be looking for us soon.”
    “Just give me a minute. I have to rest.”
    “Caleb said you told him where your friends are. They’ll know where to go, and we can’t outrun their vehicles. We have to keep moving. I overheard something last night, I …”
    He got to his feet and stared past her. She heard the rustling of the leaves and knew it was not an animal.
    Turning, she saw Caleb walking toward them, his gun pointed at her.

17
    Zoheret stared at the man, unable to move until Caleb drew out a knife and threw it to Ho. Then she understood.
    She hurled herself at the boy; he slapped her aside, knocking her down, and pinned her to the ground. She screamed and kicked.
    “Scream all you want,” Caleb said as he stood over her. “No one’s going to hear you.” She was still. Ho dragged her up and held her by the arms, fingers digging into her muscles. “I’ve been following you ever since you escaped. Did you really think you’d get away that easily?”
    “She told me,” Ho said. “About Willem. You said she’d tell me that story.”
    “It’s too bad she did,” Caleb said. “If she’d tell you, it means she’d tell others. And I can’t have a story like that going around.”
    Her legs were suddenly unsteady. “Why did you have to tell him?” Caleb continued. “I was hoping you wouldn’t. As soon as I saw Ho remove the screen for your escape, I knew you’d talked. I gave you your chance. Do you think I like doing this?” He held her by the chin and peered into her eyes. “I wanted you to win my trust, I really did. It would have been to your benefit. But you had to tell him.” His watery eyes were rimmed with red. “Now I have to do something about this. It won’t hurt.” He waved the gun. “A few shots from this, and you’ll go quietly—it’ll be just like going to sleep.”
    “You can’t. They’ll wonder what happened to me.”
    “You escaped.” He chanted the words. “We went after you. And we found that a bear or bobcat got you, so we buried you.”
    “They won’t believe it. First Willem, then me. People will wonder.”
    “They won’t wonder. Accidents can happen, and I’ll have a witness.”
    “Until you kill him, too.” Ho’s grip tightened as she spoke.
    “That won’t be necessary. I can trust Ho. He’s my accomplice. He can’t speak without implicating himself, and he’s hardly likely to do that. He’ll go along.”
    Ho released her. She backed toward the