Cerulean Cape rené and georgette magritte with their dog after the war

She nodded at his question, too tired to elaborate. But if she wanted to answer his next inquiry, she would need to put more effort into it. Bat sucked in a loud breath in an effort to focus.

"At home," Bat said. "She took some others with her and left to go to—I forget the name." And she was much too exhausted to think of it. "I'm going to catch up with her."

Somehow, the fear that nomi's party would impossibly outpace her now coupled with the concern that this well-meaning stranger might somehow hold her back hit Bat's bloodstream with a pure shot of adrenaline. Her eyes flew wide, pupils huge.

Wordlessly, she sprang to her feet and dashed away. She would pay for it later—when the adrenaline burned away and she inevitably collapsed in a heap somewhere—but, for the moment, Bat ran faster than she'd ever run in her life, soon disappearing down the coastline.