24
WE CLIMBED INTO the single carriage and sat, wet, dirty and dejected, on the floor between the benches. Few words were said.
The floor of the carriage had started humming, and outside lights came on. I felt terrible for leaving like this. I should stay and make sure that the injured were taken care of and that no one died because they’d fallen unconscious in the water and there was no one to pull them out.
But my decisions were not my own. Ezhya had placed absolute trust in me. He had asked for me to complete this task. He would not be impressed that we’d failed and he would probably issue further orders. I could do nothing but wait for them and his inevitable disappointment in me.
I could hear myself making excuses to him. Look, most of the time I did hare-brained things they ended
