She hesitated, then extended a claw, pointing at a house. “We’re staying there too, so don’t bring trouble to our doorstep.”

“Thanks Damsel.”

I flew over, crossing a field, a large yard, and stopping at the door. I knocked.

Tattletale opened it. From the looks of it, she might have been napping or sleeping off a thinker headache.

“Rachel,” I said. “Lookout.”

She was immediately alert, turning to pick up her coat. “Take me.”

Imp’s follow-up comment was cut off, as I immediately took flight, carrying Tattletale into the dark settlement, illuminated by patches of orange and yellow from fires and lamps, all so small that I could block out my view of them with my hand stuck out.

“Could have waited until I had my jacket on.”

I adjusted my grip on her. Looking a little nervous, phantom hands gripping her by the waist and hips, she pulled on the jacket.

“Kenzie took a puppy,” I explained.

“Fuck. Okay. Should be fixable.”

“Given the state of things? Stress? That Rachel’s hurt.”

“Might be fixable,” Tattletale amended her statement.

“Where would she go?” I asked.

“To her dogs.”

“The stable?”

Tattletale nodded, her face not so visible in the gloom, but her blonde hair was.

She reached over and her hand bumped into my forcefield. I saw her tilt her head, looking at me.

“What is it?”

“Chemical burn.”

I felt a weird kind of relief, dramatic considering my history with acid, and the suggestion that what I had suffered might be a scar that would permanently affect my hairline.

But it wasn’t radiation, at least.

Funny, that Tattletale’s less certain word made me feel more secure than Kenzie’s expertise.

“I was freaking out about it,” I said.

“Mm. You’re going to have to see a healer at some point, you know.”

“Tattletale,” I said, through grit teeth. “My control over my forcefield is good now, but… maybe don’t say stuff like that while I’m carrying you.”

She didn’t respond.

It was weird, how I felt relieved, but I didn’t feel better. I couldn’t let go of the bad, and my feelings still felt tremulous. I’d run up against a wall just like Switch Hitter had, the thing that had brought me to that wall was gone, but… the wall was still there.

And I had no idea what to do.

We flew to the stable, removed from the rest of the settlement, set at the base of the hill. I set Tattletale down on the ground, then dismissed the forcefield.

I could hear Rachel barking out orders, and I could see the kids leaving the stable. Aiden and the younger boys looked spooked, Candy looked more distressed.

“Out. Go,” Rachel said.

“We didn’t do anything wrong.”