ETHAN WAS AWAKE BEFORE the sun came up. A chill air had invaded the flitter overnight and he was shivering. Somehow, his blanket had fallen off. As he sat up stiffly, drawing his blanket over his shoulders, he saw that the flitter’s windows were covered in condensation. He wiped one clean with a corner of a blanket. Aside from pale stars in a lightening sky, all was dark outside. Lowering the window, he listened. The sounds of something shuffling around on the ground came from below.
He stuck his head out the window and peered down, but he couldn’t make out anything in the blackness. Only the shadowy shapes of the surrounding foothills were visible in the starlight. Keeping his gaze on the spot where the noise seemed to be coming from, he turned on the flitters’ lights. A flurry of moveme
