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One tickSasha

"Hurry up," I say over my shoulder as I slide its and it blastsin front of an inferno No hu in Colorado Just breath-stealing desert heat "We gotta go around back That’s where they keep them"

"Keep what?" she asks, as she skips a little to keep up with ot this" We walk around the building and I search the long line of busses, looking at the nah with relief when I see it Sandy Valley Community Center

I chose Sandy Valley for a base house for two reasons It’s cheap And it’s got a shitload of old ladies who love to gamble Almost every day they pile in a bus and corab lunch, then head back on the bus so they can get home in time to take the afternoon nap

I knock on the door and the driver whooshes it open "Help you?"

I dig in my wallet and pull out a Sandy Valley Community Center Transport card Then point to Sasha "My kid sister’s co at it a little It’s legit The city recreation er is a Coht be the only guy on the planet who has a card like this, the dude cannot find any good reason to tell s and hands it back "Welcome aboard Take any seat you want"

Sasha and I hop up the steps and I have a little moment of pride when she does not automatically take the last seat in the back, but instead takes one that faces the aisle You sit in the back and everyone sees your face straight on But if you sit in the aisle, they only see your profile

Her dad was a good teacher and I’d hate to have to kill her But I will if I have to and the her her chances of survival climb

A little while later the old ladies coe and don’t need help or anything But since we’re taking up two seats that weren’t filled on the way out here, I stand and let a grandma have my seat

It’s a thirty-minute drive back into Sandy Valley, and from there it’s a three-mile hike outside of town tothe whole way And by this tie of an ee and shield h the desert instead of the streets Come on, we’ll be there in like twentyup sand and dirt, but when I glance back, she’s still back there on the sidewalk "What?" I shout at her She’s been good since breakfast and right now I need her to stay that way I’o!"

She lifts her foot and waggles it around "Flip flops, Jathat desert in flip flops"