Nightrise

took.
    "When can we leave?" Daniel asked.
    The boy was eleven years old. He had been kidnapped in broad daylight, separated from his mother, kept prisoner for seven months. Jamie understood how he must be feeling.
    Then Joe appeared, carrying a saucepan.
    "When can we leave?" Jamie repeated the question.
    "Where do you want to go?" Joe asked.
    "We have to get back to Reno. Danny's mother is waiting for him there."
    Joe considered. "Another twenty-four hours," he said. "The nearest road is seven miles away and we'll have to move at night. I have friends waiting for us. They'll drive you wherever you want to go."
    "Can we really leave tomorrow?" Daniel said.
    "If Jamie is ready."
    "Don't worry, Danny," Jamie said. He took a sip of the tea. "I'll be ready."

    ***
    They left the following evening, Jamie supporting himself on a staff that Joe had brought for him. He knew he wasn't really ready for the journey. His shoulder and left arm were on fire and he was still weak from loss of blood. But he couldn't keep Daniel waiting any longer. It was a perfect night with a full moon guiding them on their way, as well as perhaps a million stars. They came slowly down the mountain, but once the ground leveled out they made better progress. Joe knew exactly where they were going and never hesitated once. Jamie imagined that he had been born with these skills, something handed down instinctively from generations ago.
    Soon he was exhausted and wishing he had waited longer before setting out. Every step seemed to take the pain and amplify it, sending it shuddering through his body. He found himself leaning on Daniel for support. But he refused to complain, and although they stopped a couple of times for water, he never asked for a rest.
    He didn't actually see the road until they reached it. One moment his foot was on sand, the next it had come down on pavement. He looked to the right and there it was, a straight line cutting into the far distance. There were no buildings anywhere around, but a line of telephone poles followed the road, the wires looping between them. Daniel let out an exclamation of delight. Telephone wires meant contact with his mother. It was all he wanted.
    They had walked down the road for about a hundred yards when Jamie saw headlights moving toward them. He was immediately nervous but then he glanced at Joe, who nodded slowly. This was what he had been expecting. A few moments later, a beaten-up minibus pulled up with an Indian driver behind the wheel. Jamie wasn't sure how he had found them. Had he been patrolling the road every night, waiting for them to show up? But that didn't matter now. He was just grateful to get off his feet, glad to be finally on his way.
    Joe spoke a few words with the driver and they all climbed in. At once they set off. Daniel must have been more tired than he thought because he fell asleep almost at once. Jamie sat slumped against the window, watching the landscape — dark and empty — flash by.
    An hour later they stopped on the edge of a small town. Jamie saw electric lights in the distance and the bulky shadows of houses. He had no idea where they were.
    "I'll leave you here," Joe announced.
    "Thank you." Jamie wasn't sure what to say. "What will happen to you now, Joe?" he asked. "The police will be looking for you. And you don't have a job."
    "My people will look after me. You don't need to worry. And if you need us again, we will come."
    Jamie knew that was true. He had no way of contacting them but somehow they would look out for him.
    If the need arose, they would be there. Joe leaned over and the two of them shook hands. Then the Indian climbed out of the minibus and the three of them set off, leaving him standing alone.

    After that, Jamie slept.
    The next time he opened his eyes, he knew at once where he was: right back where it had all started, in the city of Reno. The familiar landmarks were all around him. The Hilton hotel in the distance. The great black, glass block of the city hall, towering over the city center. The casinos and the pawnshops. The rushing water of the Truckee River. In a way, it was the last place he had wanted to be, but he and Alicia had agreed that it made sense. She wanted to be close to him while he was in Nevada — but not too close. Alicia could rent a place in Reno and be just a few hours away from the prison. She had decided she would wait for him there.
    "Where do I take you?" the driver asked. Jamie knew nothing about him — not