“The only doctor who could help me lived back in Mu.” Adam paused and swallowed thickly. He had to face the reality of the situation. “I might need to have my lower leg amputated. Before it spreads all the way up my body.”

“In this town you don’t need a doctor for that. Just get down to the jetty and hang your leg in the water. A shark will bite it off for you.”

Adam hung his head. “Thanks a lot. You wouldn’t say that if it was your leg.”

Sally leaned over and hugged him. “You know I really am worried. But maybe it’s not as bad as it seems. Maybe the numbing sensation will wear off.”

“I hope so,” Adam said quietly.

“Hey, what’s going on over there?” Cindy called from the other balloon, which was floating even with them, thirty feet away. Sally stood up to answer.

“None of your business,” she called.

“Where’s Adam?” Bum asked.

Sally glanced down at him. “He’s resting. He’s had a hard day.” She added, “But don’t worry. He’s not turning into a monster.”

Cindy and Bum looked at each other.

“Adam,” Cindy said. “Are you sure you’re all right?”

Adam struggled to his feet. “Yeah. I just twisted my ankle is all.”

“He doesn’t have a strange infection or anything,” Sally said.

“Would you shut up,” Adam whispered to her.

“What?” Sally whispered back. “I’m not saying anything.”

“The day you don’t say anything, the sky will crack open and angels will appear.”

“That happened here once,” Sally said.

“What do we do now?” Cindy called over.

Adam stared in the direction of town. They appeared to be drifting that way. He didn’t see any more Cold People but he realized that meant nothing.

“Right now we’re at the mercy of the wind,” Adam called back. “At least it decides which way we’re going. But using the burner we can rise high or sink lower. If we fly over some Cold People we might want to drop down and try to stop them with our flamethrowers.”

“But soon people in town will be changed,” Bum warned them. “Are we going to attack them as well?”

“There are some people in town I wouldn’t mind melting,” Sally muttered.

“We’ll cross that bridge when we come to it,” Adam said.