There were times she struggled, her power worked against her, and nothing went right. Those were the times she worked on surviving. She took up residence in abandoned apartments or vacant apartments that were looking for rent, and she waited out the days, keeping an ear out for the radio and an eye on the news. The overlapping sounds of each were constant from the time she woke up until the time she fell asleep, playing throughout any naps she took. The radio she’d been using for the last few months had a stiff set of knobs, and it was dangerous to try to work them and risk destroying the thing. The television was an old style that she could turn off and on with her toes, but she tended to leave it on. When she got tired of being cooped up, she went for walks, usually at night, or she raided stores for things.

Then there were these times. She was in the zone. It was so rare that she’d be both in the zone and have an actual opportunity. Just about every time, she was thwarted. Thwarted. It was such a good word. Heroes got in the way, something critical went wrong at the last moment, and it all went to pieces.

They tried to watch her. The cops at the bus were only one instance. Each time, though, she learned.

This time would be something special.

Her eyes scanned the city, looking at stores, at the houses, at the bigger buildings of obscure purpose. She studied the people, who acted like nothing was happening, and she looked at the graffiti, reading it like the zig-zagging letters and scrawls were the guts of a bird splayed out for augury.

She’d always liked that image. The Romans had done a lot of really neat things. The documentary channel was one of the only interesting things that were on between one and two in the afternoon, and she’d seen the three parts of the Roman documentary six times each.

The one about myth and the one about Caligula had been the drop-everything, skip napping sorts.

“Ashley?” Xi asked, from the front seat.

“Mm?” Ashley was stirred from her thoughts. She turned her eyes away from the window. Matias was at the other end of the back seat, watching her.

“You want to come over for dinner? My mama always makes too much, and she loves it when people like her food. It wouldn’t take much convincing for me to have you over, and we’re not far from Dorchester.”

“I’m busy tonight,” Ashley said.

“Sure,” Xi said. “I thought I’d ask.”

Ashley shrugged. She looked at the city, trying to strategize. Run-down buildings were good. Areas without cars. There were stores she could target, too, if she needed to raid some place at night. If she got hungry, or if she wound up with no clothes. Things disappeared so easily, when the wrong movement of her hands could destroy it all.