harmless, right? Who are you here with?"
"Just me at the moment."
"Really?" Selena didn’t believe me, nodding toward the child’s footprints nearby.
"There’s a boy with me, but he wandered off somewhere."
"A child shouldn’t be left alone in such a desolate place," she said, resting her chin on her knee.
"Don’t worry about him—he’s a local to the bone. I’m more likely to get lost or into trouble here than that kid."
"Case in point: stumbling upon a weird hippie girl who probably keeps a knife hidden in her sock."
"Still, if you want to come to my place, stranger, you’ll have to find your companion first."
"And what were you doing out here?"
"Playing hide-and-seek," Selena replied calmly.
"With who?" I tensed, half-expecting an armed gang to come charging out.
"Depends on the day," she said airily. "Today… you found me."
"Think I stepped on a snake," came Oscar’s voice as he approached.
The kid emerged from behind the rocks and glared at the girl:
"Selena."
"Heya, Ozzy!" she beamed. "Long time no see! How’s life? How’s your grandad?"
"Just peachy," he replied sarcastically, gesturing to his dirt-covered knees.
"Three set out at sunset toward the flaming mountains. They carried a map, a flask, and an age-old dream!" Selena laughed.
"Okay, now that’s just too much," I muttered, heading toward the motorcycle, eager to put distance between myself and this odd hippie girl. Dealing with the kid was hard enough as it was. "Let’s go, Oz," I said, handing him the helmet. He stared at it, alarmed.
"What a pity," Selena sighed. "I thought we’d spend some time together."
"We need to head back—it’ll be dark soon," I replied, trying to start the bike.
The engine sputtered pathetically, but the machine refused to budge.
"Perfect. Just perfect!" I dismounted from the lifeless hunk of metal and kicked it in frustration.
"Don’t tell me Kurt sold us junk," I said to the kid, who’d already taken off his helmet, clearly pleased by the breakdown.
"How should I know?" Oscar shrugged. "I don’t know squat about bikes."
"Or people," I grumbled. "You’re the one who told me to trust him."
"I said I didn’t want to walk back. The rest was your call."
I glared at Oscar, who was clearly mocking me—just like everything else in this godforsaken place—and let out a groan of exasperation.