CHAPTER TWENTY

FOR A LONG second I floated there, a few feet above the road’s surface. The initial rush of wind slowed to a subtle Texicas breeze, then a hot desert wind. The inevitability of being crushed by oncoming traffic evaporated along with the humidity in the air. What moments earlier had been a complex structure of metal, plastic and fiberglass forming a minivan, crumpled and shrank, passengers and all.

Windows exploding, the vehicle collapsed like an aluminium can beneath a boot before dropping to the ground and spilling the last of its oil, gas and blood into the desert sands.

The red-eyed man’s heavily accented voice came from behind me. “You cannot run from self.”

Suddenly my momentum returned. Shooting forward, I struck the pavement with my shoulder first. Bouncing and skidding, I came to a stop face down. The smell of tar in my nose and taste of blood in my mouth were the only two sensations real to me—all the rest noise.

Nightmares from the past, horrors in the present, and dreams of the future battered me inside and out. Nothing remained of my physical body except misfiring synapses. Maybe some broken bones. How could I know? This was what dying felt like.

Above it all, something rhythmic continued—maybe the beating of my heart. Maybe the pulse of the universe.

Evie.

My leg jolted with pain as my foot slammed down on the pavement. The other one jerked forward and did the same. Over and again they repeated the process of their own volition. No, of a deeper self-will. I risked a glance over my shoulder, legs still pumping. Unfamiliar homes rushed past on both sides. I searched for address numbers, street signs. Constitution and Law.

I’d run a dozen blocks. The last of the mental haze cleared. Two blocks further there was a vactrain entrance. I’d get off the street and regroup. I had to find Evie.