doing!” Cam said, wincing.
“Sorry, dude. Let me set you over here.” Sam placed him back on the passenger seat on top of Mara’s piled jacket. Sitting back, he looked down at the head. “How exactly are you trying Mom’s number and not getting a response? It’s not like you’ve got anything to dial with.”
“I’m able to tap into the cellular network directly with my own signaling capabilities,” Cam said.
Sam tapped on his mother’s listing in this contact list. After a moment, a rapid stuttering sound emitted from the phone. “I can’t get through either.”
“Tell me something. How did you get here so quickly? You appeared out of nowhere, and that truck driver disappeared. Did I see that correctly?”
“Yeah, Mara did it. She can move things and people around like that. So you’re saying she swapped me with the guy who was driving the truck she hit?”
Cam looked as if he were attempting to nod and said, “He went where you were?”
“Yeah, and I hope he doesn’t trash Mrs. Zimmerman’s place, or I’m going to have a lot of explaining to do.”
“So, if Mara has this ability to move people from one place to another, why doesn’t she just bring your mother and daughter here or transport them somewhere else away from the dragon?”
The corners of Sam’s mouth turned downward, as he pressed his lips together and pondered the notion. Why couldn’t she? He glanced out the windshield to see Mara standing in front of the crumpled hood, leaning over, trying to find the release lever to open it. After a moment, she straightened and then pounded on the car with her fists, sending tiny splashes of water into the air.
Still looking at his sister, Sam said, “I don’t know why she hasn’t done that. Sometimes she forgets what she can do.”
He rolled down the window and leaned out into the rain. Holding his hands around his mouth, he shouted toward this sister, trying to be heard over the drumming rain and the swish of tires from vehicles passing by. “Why don’t you just bring Mom and Hannah here?”
Mara shook her head and held up a hand to her ear.
Sam waved her over to him.
Mara stomped over, clearly put out. “I can’t get the hood open. What is it?” she said, red-faced and soaked.
“Why can’t you just zap Mom and Hannah here, like you did me?”
“Doesn’t work like that. I can’t visualize where they are. I’ve seen Mrs. Zimmerman’s place dozens of times. Mom and Hannah are on the move, and I don’t have a clear-enough idea of where they are to do it, to see it in my head and make it happen.”
“I think you are underestimating what you can do and how you do it,” he said.
“Thanks for the constructive criticism, but, unless you have some suggestions for how to pry open a smashed hood and fix a broken radiator—and God knows what else—I’d recommend you stick your head back in the car and wait for me to tell you when to try the ignition.”
Sam rolled his eyes at her. “I’m not sure how your moving-people-around abilities work, but I know you can fix stuff without even trying.” He looked at his sister and prompted, “Fix the car, Mara. Fix it now.”
Mara’s eyes glazed over, and she walked through the downpour to the front of the car. Leaning forward, she placed her hands on the hood. A loud groan followed by a metallic screech drowned out the patter of rain and the drone of traffic. Several loud hollow pops rang out from beneath the hood, and Sam felt a vibration ripple through the frame of the car. He ducked back inside, mopped his wet hair with a hand and gazed out the windshield at the hood of the Outback. It shifted and moved in waves, as if coming in and out of focus, pixelating and solidifying, then smoothing and extending forward. The sounds of rending metal ceased, and the vibrations dissipated. The car looked intact.
Mara staggered backward from the bumper and, after a moment, appeared to get her wits about her. Catching Sam’s eye, she made a twisting motion with her hand. Sam waved and tried the ignition key. The engine turned over and caught. When he pressed the gas, it revved smoothly. Mara jogged over to the driver’s door and opened it.
“Slide back over. We need to get going,” she said.
Sam lifted Cam’s head and rolled back into the passenger seat.
Mara flung herself into the car, put it