Chapter Twenty
Chapter Twenty
Spruce’s pace had been faster than Turner’s at the start of the uphill hike. Credit adrenaline. He felt an urgent need to separate themselves from the scene. After a while, though, Turner passed him. Then it was Spruce who lagged, frequently stopping to catch his breath. Turner’s pace remained steady the entire climb. He was the tortoise who inevitably passed the hare. It was no coincidence that the passing happened after Spruce began to feel they were safely away—and it helped that the tortoise was thirty pounds lighter than the hare, and in better shape.
They stopped near the closest summit after reaching a well-worn hiking trail running north-south. From this spot they could see all the way back to the highway, and even to the interstate beyond.
But it
