The woman coughed. “This is a nice enough place. Gets nasty when it rains a lot, otherwise it’s okay. Don’t nobody ever bother me here. Know I ain’t got nothin’ worth takin’, I guess. An’ I’m too old an’ ugly to interest ’em much, if you know what I mean.”
She rubbed her cheek. “Might need to get you some clothes, though. So as you don’t stand out so much. Ain’t gonna be easy to find somethin’ that’d fit you, big as you are. But I know this place, thrift store, might have somethin’. Run by some church. They give me free clothes when I go there. Guess I can head over there today, seein’ as I gotta go get water anyhow.”
She paused. “Might be nice if you could talk, at that. Might be nice to have a little company.”
Adam watched her. *This woman reminds me of Judith Mocker. I think I can trust this woman.*
“See if I can score me some cigarettes today, too. Only got one left. You a smoker?”
He shook his head.
“Good. More for me that way.” She stood up with a groan. “Well, no use in wastin’ good travelin’ weather. You stay here, an’ I’ll be back ‘fore too late. Best if you stay out of sight, ‘least durin’ the daytime, seein’ as how you’re on the run an’ all.” Moe took something (grocery cart) from against the wall of the tunnel, turned it over onto its wheels. “Go down to the far end if you gotta take a dump,” she said. “Water always runs out that way.”
Adam watched her walk away. She walked with a slight limp, leaning on the shopping cart. He heard her coughing. He thought of Judith Mocker. And of Joseph. This woman was like them, both of them, in some ways. He closed his eyes. In his mind he saw another face (Maribelle Tate), another friend. But Maribelle Tate was different.
He lay back. Now was a good time to sleep. Here in the shade and solitude of his new den. Today he would rest. The sunlight hours belonged to the Humans, anyway. The night would be his time.
Besides, he wanted time to think.
