Outside, the world aboveground is silent. Zora and I fold ourselves on the ground. She places her palms up, head back, and chants the words the same as last time, asking the Ancestors for their favor over our travels.

My hands are scratchy on the pavement, but I find a hum of quiet and make my own plea to the Ancestors, for confidence, for strength, for wisdom, for everything I could use more of. My Ghizonian isn’t as sharp as hers, so I lay out my prayers in English, hoping they still hear them. We rise together and her countenance is warm, perked up. She always beams after prayers. I hope some of that optimism rubs off on me.

Zora hops up, dusting off her legs. “Sorry, if you’ll excuse me.” She walks in the opposite direction, fidgeting with her armor.

“I’ll see you in there,” I say, heading inside.

Back underground, Stain and Joshi have all the Macazi in neat rows and are checking off names. I scan for Taavi but don’t see her. I haven’t seen her all morning, come to think of it.

The little girl with the shaved head is at the front stuffing bits of bread into her pocket. I really need to learn her name. The spots on her ankle that should be purple in a few days are full of pallor. She looks good. Strong. Thank you, Bri.

“You doing alright?” I ask.

She glances both ways. “M-me?”

“Yeah, you.”

“I-I’m fine. Don’t worry about me, please. You have so much to… I’m fine.”

Thick skin, this one.

Armor.

I snatch a few pieces of hard meat from a tray and pass them to her. “Back home, I used to roll up pieces of my grandmama’s corn bread in a napkin and munch on it all through first period at school.”

She smiles.

“Wish I had some of that to share. It’s so good.”

“Thank you for helping me last night,” she says, finally meeting my eyes. “I don’t mean to take you away from the important things you are doing.”

“Looking out for you is one of the important things I’m doing.”

“Well… thank you.”

“What’s your name?”

“I am Rojala.”

“I’m Rue. Or Jelani, whichever.”

“Nice to meet you, Rue or Jelani.”

“You let me know if you need anything, alright? Whatever it is, you tell me.”

She dips her chin in agreement, and I leave her to it. She could be Tasha. And instead of being at home on the couch watching SpongeBob, she’s here marching with a stranger, hoping she doesn’t die.

“I’ma get you that corn bread one day. I mean it.”

She smiles and her eyes flicker with something I hadn’t seen before in her: hope.

With everyone formed up, Julius is easing the Seer onto her cart with some sort of makeshift wheels.

“Where’d you find…?”