Chapter 63 As If Things Couldn't Get Worse

• We run for hours, barely stopping, when I finally collapse from exhaustion. Rita reluctantly slows, then stops, and backtracks to where I’m seated on the ground, my arms pretzeled over my head to open up my chest so my lungs can take in more oxygen.
• Rita folds her arms over her chest and cocks her hip to one side. “This is why you needed to stay behind. We can’t afford to stop.”
• And I can’t afford the breath to argue with her. I lift my head and close my eyes, willing my body to stop hurting.