| previous chapter |
Chapter 11 sees Wanderer and Melanie in disagreement and frustration for they are still lost. The car is out of gas and because she was so persistent to go a different way than what Melanie instructed, Wanderer now has to walk sooner than later.
The rest of this chapter is filled with more quarreling from the two girls. The sun beats hotter than ever and Wanderer ‘wanders’ through the desert, hopelessly. As night falls, Melanie instructs Wanderer to sleep on the ground, away from the prickly cholla. The next morning, Wanderer finds that half her water supply is gone. Melanie scolds her, but there is nothing else left to do but continue to trek to find Jeb’s hideaway.
As the day goes on, Wanderer notices what appears to be a shack. Melanie is wary, but Wanderer is absolutely positive that it’s abandoned because souls “live for society”. If anything, it’s inhabitants will be human. Wanderer makes her way to the shack and is pleased to find that it is abandoned and seems to have been so for quite some time. As Wanderer searches through the place, she comes across some old newspapers from “human times”. She and Melanie exchange some words about the souls’ invasion, particularly about how the souls thought they could help improve earth.
Melanie: If you wanted to cleanse the planet, you could have blown it up.
Wanderer: Despite what your science fiction writers dream, we simply don’t have the technology.
Their squabbling is soon halted, however, as Wanderer stumbles upon a jackpot of food. With some help from Melanie, she’s also able to find a hidden stash of water. After Wanderer “feasts”, she loads her bag with the leftover provisions and continues on her way.
