“But why?” Molly didn’t get it. Living people gave blood forever. It was as dumb as a parasite killing its host. Didn’t politicians need to keep their constituents alive, at the very least? She started to say something to Cat about it, then saw her face as the water washed away the blood. Molly leaned forward from the dumpster and gaped at the Callite’s lips, touching her own. “Your face—!”

“Still bad?” Cat asked, smiling a little.

“No, I—your lips, I could’ve sworn—”

“I’m fine.” Cat bent the hose to stop the flow and handed it out to Molly. “What about you? You need a doctor? They do anything ’sides bleed you?”

Molly drank some more water and shook her head. She ran the cool liquid over the pads of her fingers, numbing them a little. “No, I just . . . feel a little weak. I . . . I’d be dead if you hadn’t come along.”

“We!” Walter hissed from the darkness.

Cat and Molly smiled at each other, complete strangers sharing a post-adrenaline moment where bonds were immediate and humor oddly enticing. Again, she marveled at how untouched Cat appeared. What had seemed a missing tooth must’ve been darkened by blood. And perhaps some of the blood on her belonged to another Callite—from a donor bag, or something. She watched as Cat reached down to adjust one of the strips of fabric around her thigh, bringing it up to hide a tattoo of some sort, a purple line that encircled her brown, scaly leg.

“So, I’m Molly,” she said, holding out her hand. “Not quite how I’d hoped to meet you.”

Cat wiped her own hand on the back of her shorts and held it out.

“Gently, if you don’t mind,” Molly said. After shaking, she held her palm up for Cat to see. “I’m what they call a frequent voter.”

“Looks like you need a lesson on haggling, I’d say. Or at least on stocking up before an election.” Cat smiled at her, looking her up and down before shaking her head. “You was just a baby when I saw you last. Hand couldn’t wrap around my finger.”

Molly froze, the column of cool water splashing from the hose to the dirt. “Do I know you?” she whispered.

“Naw. Just saw you the once, after you was born.”

There was a sound down the alley, a banging and rattling noise like the lid of a garbage can falling. Cat leaned out and looked around the dumpster while Walter hissed with alarm.

“Probably a night glyph, but we should keep trucking. Can you walk? Them two boys behind the counter won’t be out forever, and I’m certain they’ll come looking for us. Especially after how we left their friends.”

Molly nodded and let Cat help her up. “Do you have a place nearby?” she asked Cat. “My ship might not be safe.”