Ava was starting to resent how many fields and brambles she'd been forced to march across at this point. At least before, she'd been left with the quiet of her own thoughts. But Charlie, as Abe's father finally had introduced himself, insisted that she'd need an assistant "on the outside," and he sent Abe north with her as well as two days' provisions in their packs. As there was no road to or from the crashed plane, there was no point in attempting it by car--and so, to Abe's apparent delight, they trudged.

She tried to tune out his chatter and let her mind drift to the last time she'd been in a place like this, before everything had happened. She realized with some pain but no surprise that it had been with Allie. Allie, the perpetual hippie, had insisted they find a "wild place" to celebrate the first day of spring. Of course, Ava refused to actually dance--she was annoyed at being pulled out of bed so early on a workday--but she went along anyway and waited patiently while her twin twirled it out of her system. And she'd bought them both coffee afterwards.

Ava rolled her eyes even now at the memory. It might have been better if they'd been in high school. Or even college. But no--they were a full twenty-eight years old at the time.