@@@@@Our eyes stayed closedHis
@@@@@Our eyes stayed closedHis footsteps
crunched quietly away from usWe couldn't tell which direction he wentWe didn't care
anywayThere was no way to find them, no hopeJared and Jamie had disappeared,
something they knew well how to do, and we would never see them again
The water and the cooler night air were making us lucid, something we did not wantWe rolled
over, to bury our face against the sand againWe were so tired, past the point of exhaustion and
into some deeper, more painful stateSurely we could sleepAll we had to do was not think
When we woke, it was still night, but dawn was threatening on the eastern horizon–the
mountains were lined with dull redOur mouth tasted of dust, and at first we were sure that we
had dreamed Uncle Jeb's appearance
Our head was clearer this morning, and we noticed quickly the strange shape near our right
cheek–something that was not a rock or a cactusWe touched it, and it was hard and smooth
We nudged it, and the delicious sound of sloshing water came from inside
Uncle Jeb was real, and he'd left us a canteen
We sat up carefully, surprised when we didn't break in two like a withered stickActually, we
felt betterThe water must have had time to work its way through some of our bodyThe pain
was dull, and for the first time in a long while, we felt hungry again
Our fingers were stiff and clumsy as we twisted the cap from the top of the canteenIt wasn't
all the way full, but there was enough water to stretch the walls of our belly again–it must have
shrunkWe drank it all; we were done with rationing
We dropped the metal canteen to the sand, where it made a dull thud in the predawn silence