And she’d not want to be around if Alastor found out her last name was Graven.Con almost asked about this Toby, but he couldn’t be sure those two couldn’t hear them.
There was really only one way that looked like it might take them clear of the square and the cluster of buildings that surrounded it, so they headed that direction.
It was both necessary and happy that Con needed to hold Rita’s hand, and that she didn’t object.
“Do you think we’ll ever get back,” he asked, “somewhere that is kind of normal?”
“Normal does feel very far away,” Rita agreed with a slight smile.
They reached the end of the sidewalk.He half expected a parking lot, and it kind of was, but the cars were weird looking.
“What are those?”
“That’s how we get around in my time,” Rita said.
“Do they fly?”He’d kind of expected flying cars to happen, but was somehow still surprised.
She grinned at him.“Yes.”
“Do you suppose they still work?”If he was going to travel through time and get seriously messed over, the least he could do was ride in a flying car.
Logically, he knew that flying was flying and the name didn’t matter that much.But still…
“No,” Rita said with regret.
He wanted to ask her why, but he realized that the atmosphere around them kind of wavered, like a desert mirage.He sighed.
“Pity.”
“Indeed.Any chance you know what direction we should go now?”
Now that they were clear of the buildings, Con could see the terrain better, including distant mountains.They were a more reliable landmark that just about anything he could think of.
“That way, I think,” he said, assuming that north and south were the same in this weird place they were caught in.“If we can go that way?”
“Time isn’t objecting,” Rita said.
Thank goodness it wasn’t that hot, though the was also weird.But at some point they’d need food, water, and facilities.He could go find a sad bush, but Rita would need more than that.
They walked for several minutes in silence.Con enjoyed the feel of her hand in his, and the look of her in the side long glances he stole at her.The ground had been leveled at some point, so it was safe to do, though he noticed the desert seemed to be creeping closer to the leveled ground as they walked.
He finally stopped and pointed at the swirling phenomenon.“What does time think of that?”
Rita looked down and then looked up.“What’s that?”
Con looked up, too, and realized that now a thin highway stretched out into the distance.And coming toward them was a camper.
A very familiar looking camper.
“It can’t be,” he muttered.
“It can’t be,” Alice said.Though Ty hadn’t liked it, she’d taken on the task of checking out the small cluster of buildings that had appeared on the horizon.
No one like separating, but someone had to do it.At least Alice had the ability to see the time waves.She had some hope of being able to react to them.
Ness had opted to ride with Alice.No one objected or seemed surprised by this.Standing around in the desert—even one that weirdly wasn’t hot—wasn’t a compelling activity.
“What can’t be?”Ness asked, straightening from a rather sulky slump to peer out the window.
