Zack fixed a dreary stare on the abandoned loaves and rolls. He assumed it was only professional pride that kept the bakers from selling rejuvenated bread.
“I hurt that guy back in the building. Rebel. I panicked and I aged his hand. If Dr. Czerny—rest his soul—was right about what that does to a body, then I probably shot a bunch of fatal air bubbles into his heart.”
“You were defending yourself,” Amanda said. “That man was trying to kill you.”
“Yeah, and you didn’t attack those cops until one of them fired a bullet at Mia. It’s also worth noting that Rebel would have killed me and Theo if you hadn’t stopped him. I’m sorry I never thought to thank you until now. I just hope the next time you think about the two men you hurt today, you also remember the two you saved.”
Amanda looked up at him with red eyes. Though she was loath to praise him in their tense early days together, she’d noticed from the start that Zack was humble to the point of self-deprecation. There wasn’t a vain bone in his body.
She took a deep wet sniff and gazed across at the bread boxes.
“They’d have to be big bubbles.”
“What?”
“Rebel. You’d have to make big bubbles in his bloodstream in order to kill him. A few centimeters at least. Even then, he could still survive if he got treated in time. You don’t need a reviver. Just a hyperbaric chamber. Most hospitals have one, at least where we come from.”
Zack almost laughed at his conflicting reactions to her information. He was relieved to be that much less a murderer, and worried that Rebel would be that much more alive to murder Zack someday.
“Thank you. It’s been bugging me all morning. I needed that perspective.”
“No problem,” she replied, with black humor. “I’m here to help.”
What began as a snicker soon escalated into a series of near-maniacal giggles. She caught Zack’s puzzled grin.
“I was just thinking about that pawnbroker. The expression on his face when I got all pissy on him. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve gotten that look from people, Zack. Complete strangers. My husband always said I made a strong first impression on people. It wasn’t a compliment.”
The cartoonist smirked sardonically. “That’s all right. I once had a woman slap me just thirty seconds after meeting me.”
Amanda laughed. “Yeah. I remember. Guess I made a strong first impression on you too.”
“Well, part of me.”
She wiped her eyes and brushed back her hair. She realized now that she’d have to dye it a different color. God. I’m already thinking like a fugitive.
“Zack, why does that trash bread look so good to me?”
“Because we haven’t eaten all day. Come on.”
He rose to his feet and extended a hand. As he helped her up, she wrapped herself around him.
“Oh. Hey. Huggage.”
“Thankful huggage,” said Amanda. “I’m glad you were still with us when all this stuff happened. I’m glad you’re still with us now. You’re a good man, Zack. Sometimes, on rare occasions, you’re even funny.”
He grinned along to her surprisingly droll humor, his hands falling awkwardly on her back. As a jaded New Yorker from an aloof and broken family, he was severely unskilled in the art of physical contact. But there was something jarringly beautiful about this embrace. They were both the same height, with the same limber frame. Her warmth and symmetry were a little too nice to handle right now.
At the end of their hug, Amanda suffered a sudden flashback to Esis Pelletier. The madwoman had approached her in an alley much like this one, uttering words so bizarre and cryptic that Amanda quickly forgot them in the chaos that followed. Except now a tiny fragment came back to her, an angry warning to not entwine with something. Or someone.
She crumpled the thought into an angry little ball and buried it in the back of her mind, along with the policemen, the pawnbroker, and Derek’s harsh words. No more of that business. It was time to be strong again.
—
They returned to the park with nourishing goodies, their first meal on Earth that wasn’t provided by physicists. For a gratifying twenty minutes, the Silvers sat around the picnic table, devouring their bounty like a pack of wild predators.
Amanda returned David’s T-shirt after the meal. She watched with puzzlement as he sniffed the fabric. She wasn’t sure if he was checking for sweat stink, cooties, or something worse.
While the others waged a run on the nearby department store, Amanda stayed in the park with Theo. Their clothes were too bloody for close public mingling. Theo was in no condition to go shopping anyway. Once Amanda finished changing his bandage, she led him to the shade of the pine tree and ordered him to take a nap. Though he insisted he was fine, he quickly drifted away on a bed of grass.