couldn’t have guessed why. Min-ji had a young, sweet innocence about her that always drew more men. Andie had a tendency to look blatantly at people in a way that, she had been told, they found challenging. That wasn’t usually her intent, but she knew she had her flaws, including a leaning toward obstinacy that not everybody adored.
As the group continued along the trail, Mace chose to walk at her side. Andie thought he might have a question to ask, but he did not speak, at least not for the first half hour that they strode along. He did not seem to mind that he occasionally had to step over logs and divert around trees to stay near her, since the path wasn’t roomy. If they hadn’t passed branches that had been cut away and the occasional piles of horse poop, Andie would have assumed it was more of an animal trail than anything designed for human use.
After a time, the group stretched out into a line again, with the younger women straggling behind. Talk of blisters occasionally drifted to Andie’s ears. She was glad she had good broken-in boots and that she was used to long marches. So far, her feet were fine, even if she was missing her underwear.
“Are you a soldier?” Mace asked, the question coming out of nowhere. Well, not quite nowhere. He had been watching her out of the corner of his eye, maybe trying to guess about her past. Or maybe he had simply been waiting for the moment where they could have an unmonitored conversation. Mostly unmonitored. The man walking behind Andie was not that far back. Bedene was farther ahead and shouldn’t hear them.
Andie considering lying or not answering at all, but Mace had seen her fighting. He already knew what skills she could claim.
“I’m a student now,” she said, “but I was in the Air Force for almost ten years. I’m still in the Reserve.”
“Air Force.” Mace glanced skyward. “Flying?”
Andie nodded. “I was a fighter pilot.”
His brows rose so high, they nearly disappeared under his shaggy black hair.
“You can fly airplanes,” he said slowly, as if he wanted to make sure he hadn’t misunderstood.
Did they even have airplanes here anymore? If not, that could account for his unfamiliarity with the notion. Andie struggled to imagine a world where technology—everything—had regressed instead of advancing. Logically, she knew it was possible—hadn’t there been periods in human history when that had happened among certain populations?—but it was still difficult to fathom. A part of her expected that they would come down out of the mountains and that the gleaming skyscrapers of Seattle would be there, just as they had always been for her, with the usual bumper-to-bumper traffic inching along I-90. Just because she hadn’t heard an engine yet, either on the ground or in the sky overhead, didn’t mean anything. But that juniper tree popped into her mind, shattering her illusions that nothing had changed. It wasn’t the only one she had seen this morning.
“Fighter jets specifically,” Andie said. “I picked that because... hm, it’s a long story.” One she didn’t want to share with some strange man she had only known for a few hours, even if the strange man did have a nice chest, and even if she did find herself wondering what he would look like after a haircut and a shave.
“She wants to be a pilot for NASA,” Min-ji said, looking back at them.
Andie frowned, both because she hadn’t thought Min-ji, who had been trudging along with her head down, had been listening and because she didn’t know why her friend would share personal information with a stranger. Unless she, too, had been impressed by his chest. That shouldn’t be the case. When Min-ji took the time to notice men at all, she gravitated toward other Asians, usually of lean build.
“NASA,” Mace said. “That was the space program, right? The government-funded one?”
“Yes,” Andie said. “There are very few slots available, especially now that NASA
As the group continued along the trail, Mace chose to walk at her side. Andie thought he might have a question to ask, but he did not speak, at least not for the first half hour that they strode along. He did not seem to mind that he occasionally had to step over logs and divert around trees to stay near her, since the path wasn’t roomy. If they hadn’t passed branches that had been cut away and the occasional piles of horse poop, Andie would have assumed it was more of an animal trail than anything designed for human use.
After a time, the group stretched out into a line again, with the younger women straggling behind. Talk of blisters occasionally drifted to Andie’s ears. She was glad she had good broken-in boots and that she was used to long marches. So far, her feet were fine, even if she was missing her underwear.
“Are you a soldier?” Mace asked, the question coming out of nowhere. Well, not quite nowhere. He had been watching her out of the corner of his eye, maybe trying to guess about her past. Or maybe he had simply been waiting for the moment where they could have an unmonitored conversation. Mostly unmonitored. The man walking behind Andie was not that far back. Bedene was farther ahead and shouldn’t hear them.
Andie considering lying or not answering at all, but Mace had seen her fighting. He already knew what skills she could claim.
“I’m a student now,” she said, “but I was in the Air Force for almost ten years. I’m still in the Reserve.”
“Air Force.” Mace glanced skyward. “Flying?”
Andie nodded. “I was a fighter pilot.”
His brows rose so high, they nearly disappeared under his shaggy black hair.
“You can fly airplanes,” he said slowly, as if he wanted to make sure he hadn’t misunderstood.
Did they even have airplanes here anymore? If not, that could account for his unfamiliarity with the notion. Andie struggled to imagine a world where technology—everything—had regressed instead of advancing. Logically, she knew it was possible—hadn’t there been periods in human history when that had happened among certain populations?—but it was still difficult to fathom. A part of her expected that they would come down out of the mountains and that the gleaming skyscrapers of Seattle would be there, just as they had always been for her, with the usual bumper-to-bumper traffic inching along I-90. Just because she hadn’t heard an engine yet, either on the ground or in the sky overhead, didn’t mean anything. But that juniper tree popped into her mind, shattering her illusions that nothing had changed. It wasn’t the only one she had seen this morning.
“Fighter jets specifically,” Andie said. “I picked that because... hm, it’s a long story.” One she didn’t want to share with some strange man she had only known for a few hours, even if the strange man did have a nice chest, and even if she did find herself wondering what he would look like after a haircut and a shave.
“She wants to be a pilot for NASA,” Min-ji said, looking back at them.
Andie frowned, both because she hadn’t thought Min-ji, who had been trudging along with her head down, had been listening and because she didn’t know why her friend would share personal information with a stranger. Unless she, too, had been impressed by his chest. That shouldn’t be the case. When Min-ji took the time to notice men at all, she gravitated toward other Asians, usually of lean build.
“NASA,” Mace said. “That was the space program, right? The government-funded one?”
“Yes,” Andie said. “There are very few slots available, especially now that NASA
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