Read The Singular Six (The Chronicles of Eridia) Page 3

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  After Freud left, Adam and Maggie went in search of a pair of mules. They found only one mule owner in town willing to part with any of his beasts—a decrepit though sly-eyed old man named Thénardier who was completely unphased by Adam’s appearance and refused to trade two mules for anything except an atomic flashlight.

  “There’s no way in hell that snotty little halfling’s gonna get one up on me,” he said, shaking a withered fist.

  “But we have only a single flashlight left,” Adam said.

  Thénardier eyed him without an iota of sympathy. “Do you want the mules or not?”

  Adam and Maggie exchanged a glance. They had hoped to keep the flashlight, but right now they needed the mules more.

  “Very well,” Adam said with a bitter sigh.

  By the time they got back to the RV, night had fallen and the center of town was dark and silent. They tied the mules to the RV’s drawpole and climbed into their beds, where they lay awake for hours, their thoughts returning again and again to Anna’s empty bunk.