Page 84 of Escape Velocity

She kept her gaze glued to him when he ducked low, making himself a smaller target as he approached the closest wall. He reached the side of the building, and she breathed out a sigh when nobody rushed out to attack him. He stayed there for several moments, then moved out of view, making her heart start to thud. She clenched her teeth, willing herself not to call out to him.

Seasons passed before he came around the corner again—this time from the other direction.

He looked back to where they were standing and made a “come ahead” gesture.

Amber started to run forward, but Rafe restrained her.

“Be careful.”

Together they followed the route Max had taken through the muddy growth.

“It’s an old house,” he said when they were close enough to talk in low tones.

“Not like the villagers?” Rafe asked.

Max shook his head. “No. It looks like someone from the city built a place out here, then abandoned it.”

“Why would they come out here?”

He shrugged. “To hunt or gather plants?”

As he spoke, he led them around to a sagging front porch, where she saw a door hanging crookedly on broken hinges. The windows had once held panes of glass, but it was mostly broken.

After following Max inside, she waited for her eyes to adjust to the dimmer light. Finally, she could make out a room sparsely furnished with a couple of chairs and a long piece of furniture with a padded seat, back and arms. It looked like it was made to hold several people—or one if they used it like a bed.

“What’s that?” she asked, pointing.

“A sofa. You don’t have them on Naxion?”

“No.”

“People sit together on it. This one’s seen better days.” He gestured toward the rear of the house. “There’s a kitchen back there. And it looks like a fight broke out.”

“How do you know?”

“I can see a burn mark on the wall.”

She cringed back. “Then this is a bad place.”

“Maybe that keeps people away.”

While they were talking, Rafe climbed the stairs and came halfway down again. “There are three bedrooms. And—good news—running water in the sink.”

“From where?” Max asked.

“A well, I guess. We can wash up.” He turned and ascended to the second level again.

Max and Amber followed him up, where they found him opening closets. “There are some clothes in here. Some pants and shirts. Maybe Amber can wear a shirt, and we can take the pants—until we can brush the mud off our clothing.

Amber crossed to the closet. The clothing smelled musty, but she supposed it was better than the muck on what they were wearing.

She pulled down a shirt and held it up, judging the length, which seemed to be long enough to cover her thighs.

“You go wash,” Max said, and we’ll keep looking around.”

Gratefully, she stepped into the bathroom and closed the door behind her. Before she could take off her ruined outfit, someone knocked on the door. When she opened it, she saw Max was holding a second shirt. “Use this for a towel.”

“Yes, thanks.”

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