that he was free. And in spite of all the pain it had visited upon him, in spite of the hatred he'd felt for the alien at times, Ramon couldn't help but feel a pang of regret and sorrow at the thought of its terrible death.
"Still, better you than me, monster," Ramon said under his breath. "Better you than me!"
Chapter Seventeen
The first night was the worst. The river was placid so far north, so the only dangers were logs and debris floating invisibly in the dark water, aquatic predators like bloody mormons and carracao, and the cold. They were under no power, so unless the rocks or debris were stuck in the bed of the river itself, chances of a damaging collision were slim, and they were too far north to be in the range of most river predators. That left the cold.
Once the sun slipped behind the western trees, the river seemed to suck all the warmth from the air. Ramon was wearing the alien robe; warm enough, but too small to cover his legs and arms both at the same time. The other man, however, had sacrificed his shirt and the lower legs of his trousers to bandages and traps, so they'd agreed that the man should take the one-piece alien garment. He was curled on the iceroot leaves, wrapped tight and still shivering. There was no call to sleep in shifts. The light of a near-full moon was too bright and the chill too uncomfortable to allow for anything like sleep. Ramon considered pulling in to shore for the night, but he didn't suggest it. His twin would only take it as a slight, and the man never made the suggestion himself. Besides, Ramon knew they were both anxious to put as much distance as they could between themselves and the chupacabra. Ramon wondered how far a chupacabra's range was. Fifty kilometers came to mind, but he didn't know where he got the figure from. By morning, it would be safe to pull to the side. But perhaps they could move to the western shore, just to be sure.
"Hey, David," the other man said. Ramon blinked back to full consciousness, only now aware how near he'd come to dozing.
"Yeah?" he said, and coughed. He hoped he wasn't getting a cold. That would be just his luck.
"You ever spend time in Diegotown?" the man asked.
Ramon fought to focus his mind, looking over at the man. His twin was sitting up now, legs hugged to his chest. His frown cut deep lines in his face. He looked both brutish and desperately uncomfortable, but it was clear enough he'd been watching Ramon for a while.
"A little," he said. "Why?"
"I think I've seen you someplace before. What kind of things do you do in Diegotown?"
"Business, mostly," Ramon said. "You might have seen me around the governor's palace. You spend any time there?" He knew damn well he didn't, so the other man's shrug was expected. Ramon felt the urge to echo the movement - it was the natural thing; the motion most familiar to his flesh. It took an effort to shake his head and smile instead. "There was a bar I went to a few times," Ramon said, not knowing why he was choosing the embellishment until he'd already begun. "The El Rey. It was down by the river. You ever go there?"
"No," the other man said harshly. "I've never heard of that one."
"Huh," Ramon said. "Maybe I got the name wrong. It had wood floors. And the guy who ran it was named Michael or Miko or something like that. I got sick in the alley out back. There was one of those shifting LED lights. I remember that."
"Don't know the place. Maybe you're thinking of a bar in some other town."
His tone made it clear that the conversation was over, but in case Ramon hadn't taken the hint, his twin shifted, turning his back. Ramon permitted himself a smile and a shrug. He wasn't surprised the man had lied. If he'd met a stranger in the wild, he'd have been wary of the subject too. It was a good conversation stopper.
And yet there was also regret. His mind kept returning to the time before the fight, like a tongue exploring the hole left by a missing tooth. Killing the European, he had that like he was seeing it on a screen. But how exactly had things gone that far? He remembered a pachinko machine. There had been