Hawk - James Patterson Page 0,63

Flock watching me, smiles on their faces. Clete, Moke, and Rain had gotten off, and Clete was looking at me anxiously. I smiled reassuringly at him and landed with as much grace as I could possibly manage, given what I’d been through during this long night.

Calypso slid off my back and sat down on the ground, talking quietly to herself, her eyes closed. Clete came over and I did our weird hug where I put my arms out, pretended to hug him, then pulled them back. He wasn’t crazy about being touched.

Moke was running his hands through his hair, making it stand up wildly. He looked upset and angry—the Rainbow was having a Mokelike effect on him, just like it was having a Calypsolike effect on Calypso and a Rainlike effect on eyeless Rain. It was like it was taking all the parts of their personalities and making them stronger, larger, too big for the bodies that were supposed to hold them. Rain had sunk down, curled up, and was moving her hands gently in front of her face, as if writing something that she could still see.

Now I could look around. I had to press my teeth together so my mouth wouldn’t drop open like a gaping fish. The Flock hadn’t been lying to me. There was a village here, spread out beneath the enormous, endless overhanging canyons. Multiple “streets” branched off from this entrance, winding away as far as I could see. Dim, predawn lights were coming on as the inhabitants woke and started their day.

Buildings were carved into the stone sides of the canyon. Some of them were obviously businesses, their windows stocked with wares. But sometimes I could see curtains hanging at a window, or even plant boxes that made me think it was a house.

Not just a house. Someone’s home.

There were rows and rows of them leading up and back to the very last wall of this overhang, and the village continued on the other side, leading through connected canyons. In the middle of this main canyon, water flowed quickly, strongly, through a narrow channel. Most of it was covered with walkways to the other side, but I could still see and smell it as it rushed by.

I inhaled deeply. Yes. I could smell the water, and right away I knew that it was a water smell, like, of the water itself, not the chemicals or sewage or whatever always pollutes water. I thought maybe if I took a bath in this water, I might actually come out clean.

“Where does the water come from?” I asked.

A man I hadn’t noticed before stepped forward. “We’re lucky—we have two separate natural springs in Tetra. We still filter the water, but mainly for sediment. This water is continuing to create our home, digging it a tiny bit deeper all the time.”

The man’s skin was very dark—he was much shorter than me and had a nice smile and straight red hair. I could hardly see his eyes because his smile had almost squeezed them shut. He came toward me and I automatically tensed, moving one foot backward to be in a strong fighting stance.

Still smiling, he came toward me very slowly. “My name is Durrel.”

I shook his hand, still tense and awkward. All this civilization was going to wear me out. “Hawk.”

CHAPTER 61

“Okay, we have to go,” Fang said abruptly. He still seemed wired with tension and looked like shit. It felt like a month since we’d broken him out of prison—had it really just been yesterday? His face was bruised, he had big dark circles under his black eyes, and his cheeks were hollowed out like he had something in him, sucking him dry.

He didn’t look like someone who’d be all geared up to go somewhere. Gazzy went to him, put his hand on Fang’s shoulder, and said, “We gotta eat, man. Birds need fuel, ya know what I’m sayin’?”

Fang gave Gazzy a look that, if he looked at me that way, I’d either run or pull out my knife. Probably run. Fang was pretty much the only person in the world I’d run from. He was that scary. Sometimes.

Clete edged over to me and whispered, “I’m hungry, too.”

As soon as he said that, my innards suddenly felt like they’d been empty for days or maybe weeks, like I was just waiting for someone else to admit to the weakness of being hungry. I looked at Calypso, talking to herself, Rain, writing her invisible words, and Moke, who