This was new territoryMy muscles all locked up;...
This
was new territoryMy muscles all locked up; I moved forward with stiff legs, unbending knees
Jeb patted my hand but otherwise ignored my nerves“This is mostly sleeping quarters and
some storageThe tubes are closer to the surface here, so it was easier to get some light
He pointed up at a bright, slender crack in the tunnel ceiling overheadIt threw a hand-sized
spot of white onto the floor
We reached a broad fork–not really a fork, because there were too many tinesIt was an
octopus-like branching of passageways
“Third from the left,” he said, and looked at me expectantly
“Third from the left?” I repeatedIt's easy to get lost around here, and that wouldn't be safe for you
Folks'd just as soon louis vuitton denim pleaty handbag stab you as send you in the right direction“Thanks,” I muttered with quiet sarcasm
He laughed as if my answer had delighted him“No point in ignoring the truthDoesn't make it
worse to have it said out loud
It didn't make it better, either, but I didn't say thatI was beginning to enjoy myself just a little
It was so nice to have someone talk to me againJeb was, if nothing else, interesting company
“One, two, three,” he counted off, then he led me down the third hallway from the leftWe
started passing round entrances covered by a variety of makeshift doorsSome were curtained
off with patterned sheets of fabric; others had big pieces of cardboard duct-taped togetherOne
hole had two real doors–one chanel j10 watch knock off red-painted wood, one gray metal–leaning over the opening
“Seven,” Jeb counted, and stopped in front of a smallish circle, the tallest point just a few
inches higher than my headThis one protected its privacy with a pretty jade green screen–the
kind that might divide the space in an elegant living roomThere was a pattern of cherry
blossoms embroidered across the silk
“This is the only space I can think of for nowThe only one that's fitted up decent for human
habitationIt will be empty for a few weeks, and we'll figure something better out for you by the
time it's needed again
He folded the screen aside, and a light that was brighter than that in the hallway greeted us
The room he revealed gave me a speedy louis vuitton strange feeling of vertigo–probably because it was so much
taller than it was wideStanding inside it was like standing in a tower or a silo, not that I had
ever been in such places, but those were the comparisons Melanie madeThe ceiling, twice as
high as the room was wide, was a maze of cracksLike vines of light, the cracks circled around
and almost metThis seemed dangerous to me–unstableBut Jeb showed no fear of cave-ins as
he led me farther in
There was a double-sized mattress on the floor, with about a yard of space on three sides of it
The two pillows and two blankets twisted into two separate configurations on either half of the
mattress made it look as if this room housed a coupleA thick wooden sale tiffany jewelry pole–something like a
rake handle–was braced horizontally against the far wall at shoulder height with the ends lodged
in two of the Swiss cheese holes in the rockOver it were draped a handful of T-shirts and two
pairs of jeansA wooden stool was flush with the wall beside the makeshift clothes rack, and on
the floor beneath it was a stack of worn paperback books
“Who?” I said to Jeb, whispering againThis space so obviously belonged to someone that I no
longer felt like we were alone
“Just one of the guys out on the raidWon't be back for a whileWe'll find you something by
then
I didn't like it–not the room, but the idea of staying in itThe presence of the owner was strong
despite the simple louis vuitton bag for women belongi