"You're limping like there's something wrong with your hip," he gestured at Nell's gait.
She was puzzled by his words, and then she realized that her leg hurt. "Oh," she said, stunned.
"I think it happened when they tackled me," she said, but she was pretty sure that she was lying about that. She would have noticed in the car on their way to the woods. No, this injury was new enough to just be starting, new enough for her to ignore it. It had probably happened when Derek had pushed her. "I think it's just bruised. I... I didn't even notice that it hurt."
"Don't let it slow you down," he said. "Miles to go still. You walk slowly enough as it is."
"You walk fast," she remarked, trying to make it seem like she wasn't whining about it.
"My stride is the same speed as yours. I just cover more ground."
"Because you're a giant."
"Because you're a minuscule person." By his voice, Nell thought he was smiling. "You weigh, like, eighty pounds."
"I--" the girl began indignantly.
In the distance, they heard car engines. The Afterdark growled, "Quiet." He extended his shadow to cover Nell, something that she found immensely terrifying. The darkness itself was not the problem, it was what came with it. Lack of incoming light meant less warmth, and she couldn't see things in her immediate area. She couldn't even see things out of her immediate area--the shadow was like a cloth that made everything blurry and eliminated contrast. She found herself relying on sound more than sight, but was relieved when she looked to her side and saw The Afterdark's faint outline in the blackness.
She was puzzled by his words, and then she realized that her leg hurt. "Oh," she said, stunned.
"I think it happened when they tackled me," she said, but she was pretty sure that she was lying about that. She would have noticed in the car on their way to the woods. No, this injury was new enough to just be starting, new enough for her to ignore it. It had probably happened when Derek had pushed her. "I think it's just bruised. I... I didn't even notice that it hurt."
"Don't let it slow you down," he said. "Miles to go still. You walk slowly enough as it is."
"You walk fast," she remarked, trying to make it seem like she wasn't whining about it.
"My stride is the same speed as yours. I just cover more ground."
"Because you're a giant."
"Because you're a minuscule person." By his voice, Nell thought he was smiling. "You weigh, like, eighty pounds."
"I--" the girl began indignantly.
In the distance, they heard car engines. The Afterdark growled, "Quiet." He extended his shadow to cover Nell, something that she found immensely terrifying. The darkness itself was not the problem, it was what came with it. Lack of incoming light meant less warmth, and she couldn't see things in her immediate area. She couldn't even see things out of her immediate area--the shadow was like a cloth that made everything blurry and eliminated contrast. She found herself relying on sound more than sight, but was relieved when she looked to her side and saw The Afterdark's faint outline in the blackness.
