Page 46 of Leveling

Chapter 30

Luna’s paddleboardcrashed into overhanging trees and walloped into a granite cliff. “Shit!” She hadn’t noticed the wall in her stupor. Plus the light was dim.

She wanted to drag the limbs off her head and the branches out of her hair, but her arms wouldn’t go up. How long had she been paddling? Hours? Days?

She decided to collapse down to her board, but as she dropped, a branch yanked her hair. “Ouch!” She landed on her stomach, legs splayed.

It started to rain. She pulled her hands up out of the water, curled them under her body, and thought, “Just some sleep, then I’ll figure this out.”

“Hello?”

She opened her eyes.

“Hello, down there, who’s there?”

Luna couldn’t imagine who could be on a cliff wall on a—what was this—island? North of where she had been by leagues, miles, hours, days. All she knew was that she was too tired and mustering a reply this close to her imminent demise would be fruitless, anyway.

So quietly, to herself, she whispered, “It’s me.”

* * *

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Luna’s paddleboard shifted and rocked.

A man’s voice said, “Curl up.”

She pulled her legs up as two knees straddled her lower legs. Her paddleboard was propelled forward, out of the shelter of the tree, to—somewhere. Luna could only sleep, so she did. Luna awoke, nestled in someone’s arms, being carried with a steady gait over an uneven path. Raising her head to look, to see who carried her required too much energy. She slept again.

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