Chapter 22
Scout grew more and more stooped as the hours dragged on. She kept putting one foot in front of the other, the entirety of her plan, but neither dog was showing any sign of waking. Shadow’s fur clung itchily to her sweaty skin and Gert was a dead weight on her back.
The mere fact of Gert’s weight wasn’t the worst part of having to carry her. The worst part was that she had used her shirt for the sling, which left her arms and chest unprotected from the harsh rays from the sun. Her lower legs were exposed as well. All of her clothes were shorts because long pants didn’t work out well for her on her bike, but until today she had always been meticulous with her use of sunscreen.
But that sunscreen was in her saddlebags, with her bike and her father’s hat, back in the crashed rov
