XXWhelm called a halt late that evening. The horse had gone as far as she could for one day. They'd seen no sign of pursuit. Finn stood outside the moving engine, testing his left knee to see if he could put any weight on it. Whelm oiled the bearings of one of the cart's iron wheels. Diane came to stand beside Finn, gazing up at the walls and the ruin beyond.
She slipped her fingers through his. “I don't see anyone in there. No defenders or anything.”
“I guess it's the same as out here. People fighting over the scraps.”
“You know,” she said, “it's possible we won't find any answers now. We must be prepared for that. Perhaps we're simply too late. And, I think, sometimes there are questions that have no answers. Terrible things happen for no reason. And then people kill themselves trying
