I had a view of the broader landscape, and I could see where the roads formed an almost hammer-and-sickle image, the half-circle of road with forest cupped in it, and the line stabbing through the southeast or east, leading to the Fallen camp. Gilpatrick’s group was to the northeast.

The wind blew at my hair and pulled my hood back as I flew. Something I’d need to fix. My arm throbbed with renewed pain, not because I’d moved it, but because I’d changed the angle of my body and that changed how the blood flowed through me.

“Are you with us, Looksee?” I asked.

“I am. I called Gilpatrick, told him. You sound windy.”

I sounded windy because I was flying. Looksee, though—she sounded quiet, and not nearly as talkative as before.

“Are you okay? No effect through your tinkering?”

“No effect,” she said.

I was especially aware of the fact that she hadn’t verified she was okay, and she didn’t sound okay.

“What’s wrong?” I asked. “Cut the others out of the call if you need to.”

“Already did. Victoria—Damsel is with Gilpatrick. She’s sitting in the back of a van.”

“Yeah,” I said.

“What did I miss? Don’t leave me out.”

“I’m not,” I said. “I haven’t talked with the others about it, they saw, but I don’t think Rain knows yet. We’re digesting.”

“Digesting what?”

“She snapped, Looksee. Not quite like we’ve seen before. I think—she went there because she needed a time out. I don’t know what’s going to happen.”

“Okay,” she said.

I could see Gilpatrick’s trucks. I could imagine where we’d last seen Mama, and where she might have gone. I averted my eyes from the part of the forest where Mama might be.

“Did someone die?” Looksee asked.

“Someone died,” I said.

“She looks like someone died,” she said.

“I’m at Gilpatrick,” I said. “I’ve got to focus. Step back. Get away, phone her, or—”

“I want to help.”

“Then work on projections, or try again with our ‘reinforcements’. Throw yourself into this if the distraction helps. Just don’t look at Mama on camera, don’t dig into code she’s affected, and listen to the little voice inside you if it has doubts about doing something.”

“I’ve got your back,” she said.

Below me, a few people fired into the trees. There was no returning salvo.

I dropped out of the sky, landing more softly than I usually did, on account of my arm.

No Mama. The Fallen were remaining in the trees.

“Victoria,” Gilpatrick said. “Thank you for the warning.”

“No trouble?”

“We had a sudden influx of evacuees. No guns, no problems. We cut it off, told them to stay back.”

“And?”

“And if Looksee is right, I think your problem cape thought she’d conceal herself among hostages and catch us by surprise.”