"I am awake," a small voice whispered beside him.
"Are you in pain, Rea?"
"Not much. Too near being dead for that. I'm done."
"No chance." Brink's voice was flat and false. She must have lost most of her blood. "How did it happen?"
"Was heading south on this highway. Planned to turn east soon. To Denver or some other deserted city where I might find a tube shuttle to Sippi Dome. You realize—this is really Earth?"
"Just now," Brink agreed gruffly. "Found a cornerstone. Must have been a public building—a bank they called it. This was Collrada Nation, or State."
"I knew ... weeks ago. Tried to tell you. So ... started alone."
She sat up suddenly, as though propelled by springs, and her good arm motioned toward the moonlit heights. She tried to say something, choked, and fell back.
There was no pulse....