VII | Shifting GearsIT IS AMAZING TO HIM, unbelievable, how his mother manages the situation. In the space of five minutes she is able to rescue everyone from the swarm, to get poor Ricky, who is bloated up like a movie corpse and visibly yellow, who could possibly be dying, into the cab of the car, along with Max and himself, to watch over him, and to get them on the road, flying up Mission Avenue to Valley General Hospital, flying so fast the Kid presses against the seat and sticks his foot against the dash, feeling small, cowardly, the Camino’s payload full of kids, its engine roaring, her own arms covered in swollen welts, her temper calm except when a truck full of gravel swings into the lane right in front of them, startling him, making him flinch and cover up, creating a knot of ter
