Dakota was frustrated at their slow progress. Injury caused Chip’s feet to drag and the shock of Beth’s death was clearly weighing on his mind, but at least the young man seemed to be in less pain than the night before. They kept a steady pace, walking without speaking for a long time. His wound seemed to be healing.
On each rise and hilltop, they’d pause for a second to look at the endless stretch of barren earth. Nothing was different. The same featureless, blackened plains spread out as far as the eye could see. Gray skies. Black earth.
They spent the night huddled together in a depression, where a creek once ran. There had been no sign of scavengers following them. Nor had Dakota caught sight of Buddy.
They sat off the next morning, with only a few sips of water for each of them. Re
