Dad wrote this, she said.
Conners hand nearly slipped off the tiller. What? Maybe he didnt hear right.
What the fuck is this? Vic asked. Where did this come from? She tucked the letter under one leg and eased the main, let out the jib. They lost some speed, and it got easier to hear, easier to talk. She pulled the letter out from underneath her and showed it to Conner. Dad signed this, she said. Is this why you said we should go west? This letter?
I didnt read it, Conner said. He gave his sister the tiller and took the letter. He read it. It was the note Violet had mentioned, the one that got lost. He turned to his sister. Violet told us some of this. Shed read some of it when Dad wrote it out. She said she lost the letter. Mom mustve found it. I had no idea. But yeah, this is what we were trying to tell you. Screw rebuilding, Dad wants us to move on.
But Palm says he doesnt believe this story
Palm is fried. He said this girl talks like someone else. That doesnt mean anything.
This girl whos our sister.
Yes.
The sarfer sailed on. Vic took in the main a little.
So whats she like, this supposed sister of ours?
Conner laughed. Headstrong. She sounds a lot older than she looks. Has all of our more annoying traits.
Vic laughed. A half-sister as half-crazy as the rest of us? That means Moms right about where all that comes from.
Heh. I guess. Youd like her. Shes a diver, too. Dad taught her. But she does talk funny
Vic stiffened. She turned and stared at Conner, pulled her goggles down around her neck. Her eyes were wild. But what if Palmers right?
Vic, Im telling you
No, what if this girl and Brock are from the same place?
I dont think But then Conner realized what she was getting at. That her conclusion was the opposite of Palmers. Oh, fuck, he said. Yeah. God, yeah.
Why would anyone want to level Springston? Vic asked. Why would they want to level Low-Pub? And Palmer said these people found Danvar but didnt seem interested in scavenging from
it, that they were just using it to fine-tune some map, to locate this bomb of theirs
They dont give a shit about whats left out here, Conner said, because hes not from here. He nodded, remembering something else. Violet said there were more and more of our people appearing in their camp, that were becoming a nuisance to them, like rats
Because theres been more people jumping the gash, Vic said.
So how do they turn that dribble off?
Its not by making us want to stay here. Vic clenched and unclenched her jaw. Its by getting rid of us.
How many do you think there are? The guy back there, your friend, was he?
No, Vic said. He grew up in Low-Pub. Ive known him forever. I know a lot of the guys running around with this crew, and they didnt just pop up out of nowhere. They were recruited.
But why would any of our people help them do something like this?
Vic didnt answer right away. She tightened the jib and got the sarfer back up to full speed. Finally, she turned to Conner. One crazy fuck could do this, she said. One crazy fuck with a pocket of coin who knows how to say the right things. Thats all it would take. He could find enough people to kill for the thrill of it, for some bullshit cause, for bread and water and copper and a chance to blow shit up. She slapped the tiller. Shook her head. Fucking Marco, she said. And she mustve gotten sand in her eyes, because she had to pull her goggles back up over them.
Conner slumped in his seat. He wondered if all they were thinking was possible. He suspected he and his sister were being crazier than Palmer with all of this speculation and nonsense. It didnt seem like any of what they were positing could be true. But which was more likely? That the girl whod crawled half-dead into his campsite was a cannibal from the north? Or that the crazed assholes who had leveled Springston were working for someone whod brought his thunder clear across No Mans Land?
Whatre you thinking? Vic asked. She turned and studied him, could tell he was mulling it all over.
I think youre fucking crazy, Conner said. And I think youre probably right.
54 Low-Pub
Conner nodded. It was a dangerous heresy for a diver to mutter, using a suit against another. But they were dealing with people who killed others by turning their own suits against them. They were dealing with people who leveled towns. He wouldnt hesitate. Yesterday, he had saved lives. Today, he steeled himself for the more gruesome task of taking them. He pulled his band down over his head and followed his sister into town. The two of them moved in a crouch. Low-Pub felt dead. Like everyone was gone or locked up in their homes. It was a hand past noon, the wind and sand whistling through town. The gunfire had stopped, which left them moving toward the area they thought theyd heard it emanate from. Vic turned and pointed down toward the sand. Conner nodded and lowered his visor. His sister disappeared, and he powered up his suit, pulled his ker over his mouth, and followed.