Jesse rode the barge back to St. James, after telling Avery that Amos was helping another lost kid stuck with some ghouls. Avery had hung his head and wondered ruefully if Amos would ever stop being so philanthropic.

"What the hell does that mean?" Jesse asked, spitting.

Avery looked at him with disdain. "Don't swear. You should have stayed in school, Jesse," he said.

He shrugged. Ma complained enough about his eating habits when he was home, surely she didn't need him around more often than twice a week.

He delivered the medicine and waited around the barge, smoking and watching the distance. Amos had said it would be him, the two ghouls, and the girl. Jesse was interested to see how the girl was doing, because the last time he'd seen her she was passed out on the beach. He wondered how long she'd been hanging out with the ghouls, and why she was so beat-up looking. Some of the kids that Amos brought home were in worse shape, but the girls were undoubtedly the worst treated. Sometimes, their scars weren't easy to see.

It was some time before they arrived. He drew in a breath at the ghouls' appearances. Skies above, they looked like shit warmed over. The big one who'd choked him gave him such an awful stare that Jesse had to look away. He rubbed his eye, which was still sore and threw his cigarette into the water when he saw Amos bringing up the rear, the girl in front of him.

Not quite as ill as she had been. She glanced up at him, nervously, and then stopped short of the gangplank. Amos spoke to her in a low tone, his voice vibrating through the air. He was trying to convince her to board. After a few minutes of shaking her head and looking at the water with fear, the one-armed ghoul strode out and grabbed her by the arm.

Jesse didn't hear what he said, but it was enough to spur her to move. Jesse moved down the deck toward the group and took position behind Amos.

"A round of introductions is in order, I think," Amos said. "You all know my name. I'm Amos Royce. This is my brother, Jesse Royce. Jesse?"

"We work for ARC," Jesse added. "Usually we're mercenaries, occasionally a rescue team."

The big ghoul gave him another one of those looks, like he was a Brahmin steak. Jesse was starting to wonder if he might try to eat him, or if he'd just like to play with his intestines.

"This," Amos said, indicating the female ghoul, "is Lilian Swanton." The male ghoul made a disgusting noise and the girl looked at him, sharply.

"This is 'just Lionel'," Amos said, smiling widely. "And this is Celia Landis."

The barge set off and the girl immediately grabbed onto the railing, her knuckles white. "We'll be escorting them up to Gladstone, where we will work out an arrangement for them to pay me back for various things, including this trip."

"Shit, Amos, you paid?" Jesse was surprised. Amos usually argued for an hour before paying for anything.

"Don't swear, Jesse. Yes, I did. We have a working theory that Miss Landis might be related to our latest acquisition." Amos nodded at her. "And I invited her over for dinner."

"Seriously?" Jesse asked, eyeing the girl.

"Seriously," Lionel said, a severe tone in his voice. Jesse looked up and away.

The barge rocked in the current. Celia made a pained face. "Where is the―"

Amos grabbed her by the shoulder and pushed her toward Jesse. "Show her the head," he said. "I need to speak with these two, anyway."

"I guess," Jesse said. "C'mon, chick." He waved her onward, down the deck toward the lone cabin in the middle of the barge. Jesse always though the barges looked like houses without walls. He ran his hand along the posts, as they walked.

Before they reached the head, she leaned herself onto the railing and threw up into the water. Jesse stood beside her, waiting. "Motion sickness, huh!" he said.

It was a moment before she answered. "Yes."

"I don't get that anymore," he said, clucking his tongue.

"Lucky." She heaved. "I feel like I'm dying."

"Aw, it can't be that bad," he snorted.

"I took a saw to the back once," she moaned. "I'd rather that." She gagged.

"Huh!" He laughed a little. "That is pretty bad, chick. How'd you get a saw in the back?" He took out his cigarettes and offered her one. She shook her head and sank down onto the deck.

"No, thank you."

He didn't know what to say. She didn't seem to want to talk. He stood there in silence for a moment. Man, but it is boring on a trip, without conversation, he thought. After a minute or two, he crouched down beside her and asked, "You alright?"

"No," she said, her eyes jammed closed and head firmly wedged against the railing. "But I'll live."

He sat down and finished his cigarette before thinking of something to say. "What do you want to talk about?" he asked.

She shook her head slightly, and winced.

"Well, Amos will let us know when he's done, and just sitting here is boring."

"Some things are boring," she said, strained.

"Hell, I dunno. I can't think of anything." He stood and pitched the butt into the water.

She sighed. "Exothermic reactions."

"What!"

"You know," she said, a corner of her mouth tugging. "Explosions."

He laughed incredulously. "Most people start out with 'hello, what do you do, who's your family' or something."

"Hello," she murmured, and opened her eyes.

"I'll start," he said. "When I'm not working with Amos, I help my Ma down at the farm with the Delaines. Sometimes I go scavving."

"What is a Delaine?" she asked, watching him.

"Sheep," he said. "We sell the wool to the mill."

"Huh." She smiled a little. "I've never seen a sheep."

"Sheep are gross, chick. You ain't missing nothing." He looked down at her. "Anyway, there's like eighteen of us on the farm, but mostly it's Ma, Amos, and Avery who run it."

"Eighteen?" she asked.

"Amos picks em up 'round the wastes," he shrugged. "Your turn."

She sighed, and closed her eyes. "I worked on a farm, too, but I only had Brahmin."

Jesse waited for a moment. "That's it?" he asked.

"That's it."

"What about family?" he asked, leaning on the railing.

She paused. Then, "Lionel and Lilian."

Jesse drew a circle with his finger on the post and looked out over the water. The gray waves rippled and bobbed, rocking the barge gently. He looked down at her and poked her in the hip with his boot. "You getting beat by the ghoul?" he asked, lighting another cigarette.

"No," she answered, distantly.

Jesse sighed. "I won't tell, or nothing," he said. "Just curious."

"Curiosity will get you killed out in the wastes," she murmured, and pulled her knees up to her chest, keeping her eyes closed. He was really curious now, the relationship between the two.

Jesse flopped back down on the deck. "Well, right now we are on a barge in the middle of Lake Michigan. And if anyone is gonna kill us―well, kill me, anyway―it's gonna be that one-armed ghoul with the temper."

"What did you do?" she asked, quietly.

"I guess he don't like being followed," Jesse said, airily.

She chuckled dryly. "I won't let him kill you," she said. "Unless he has to."

"That's reassuring," Jesse said sarcastically, as Amos approached the two.

"We should be in the clear about what's going on," Amos said. "Whether or not anyone is happy with it."

"What is going on, Amos?" Jesse asked.

Amos looked at Celia. "When we get there, Celia will talk with the Landis man, see if our theory is correct. Jesse, you and Avery get to jot down to Grayling and deliver Lilian safely to her home. Lionel wants to send a message to Stockton, too."

"She's leaving?" Celia looked worried.

"So she says. I'll let you talk to them about that. Lionel's gonna be working off the debt at ARC, so you'd better behave, Jesse." Amos stuck his thumbs in his belt loops.

"What? Man, seriously, why you gotta get on me?" Jesse sighed. "Avery ain't gonna like this."

"We can afford it," Amos said. "I don't leave loose ends." He held an arm out to Celia, who took it and stood. She pitched forward and moaned dizzily. "Let's get you back to Lionel," Amos said. "Jesse, you'd better lose those cigarettes before I come back."

Jesse rolled his eyes, walked to the other end of the barge and smoked furiously.