Chapter Sixteen
At first, Tam thought rain was falling, then she came fully awake and realized where she was. She lifted her head to catch the water in her mouth and saw two men above her, spraying her with a hose. The water was cold, and made her gasp, but thirst drove her to seek out the stream and lap at it. The men laughed, playing the water back and forth to see her chase it. Soon she was splashing about in puddles, and drenched, but her thirst was satisfied at last.
When the water stopped she called out hopefully. “May I have something to eat, Master?”
The men only laughed and went away.
She sat down again and shivered until she was dry.
Much later, as she crouched on the floor, a beetle crawled across her bare foot. She captured it, and with a grimace, swallowed it.
Shirley po
