40
We settle into our familiar positions, Daniel and Red and I, the three of us crowded onto the top of Daniel’s bed. Sarah is in her bedroom right now searching for footage of Dr. Venn. I’ve taken off Halli’s boots for the last time today, and changed into more comfortable clothes. If Daniel has a lot to tell me, I want to feel as relaxed as possible first, since I have the feeling I won’t be this relaxed once we really get into it.
Daniel has his tablet on his lap. He’s created a holographic chalkboard the way I’ve seen him do before, and it hovers above us in 3-D, ready for him to draw on it.
“I need to talk with you about trees,” he begins.
“Trees? Okay.”
“Specifically about clonal colonies.”
“Oh, yeah. I wondered what that meant.” I remember those words speeding past me when Dan
