The Prince Who Fell From the Sky by John Claude Bemis Page A

from the city. Toward Sun’s Birth.”
    “Then that’s where we’ll go,” Casseomae said.
    Dumpster twitched his whiskers, but he didn’t argue.

CHAPTER TWELVE
    T he following afternoon they were passing through an area with a surprising number of relics when Dumpster gave an excited squeak and hurried ahead.
    “What do you smell?” Casseomae called, but the rat had already disappeared through the underbrush.
    As she and the child followed, Casseomae found that the vegetation gave way to smooth slabs of stone she’d seen before. Dig down in her meadow, and there was this sort of Skinless’s rock. It made the ancient paths that crisscrossed the Forest, trails that were now half-buried under dirt and leaves and vegetation.
    When she reached Dumpster, she saw they were standing on one of those paths, but one much bigger than any she’d seen before. Toward the setting sun, side-by-side trails of broken rock disappeared into theForest, each path as wide as a river. Surveying the other direction, Casseomae was amazed to see that the twin paths rose above the treetops.
    The rat scampered around the decaying relics, sniffing furiously as he climbed up the slope. Casseomae hesitated, having never been above the trees. When she caught up with the rat, he was at a place where the Skinless’s path had collapsed. The path resumed a short distance away across a gap. The child lay on his belly to peer down over the broken edge at the debris and giant slabs lying in the Forest below.
    “What is this thing?” Casseomae said.
    “This, my mossy-brained bear, is a highway,” Dumpster said.
    Casseomae snorted. “The name fits. It certainly is high.”
    The child cried out, his voice echoing across the landscape.
    Dumpster said, “This is the way to go. Stormdrain would want to follow a highway. A little piece of the city out here in the Forest, you see.”
    “Well, we can’t go over the edge,” Casseomae said.
    “Course not, mushroom brain. Get the pup.” He scampered back the way they’d come.
    At the bottom of the hill, they turned and traveled beside it until they’d passed the hole in the highway above. After a time, the path descended until it rejoinedthe Forest floor. In places it was consumed by vegetation and earth.
    All along the way there were rusted and vine-strangled relics. The child touched their frames curiously as he passed them. “What did the Skinless Ones use these relics for?” Casseomae asked.
    Dumpster twitched his whiskers importantly. “For moving around. Sort of like that passering starship the cub came down in, except these cars only went on the ground. That’s why they made highways.”
    Casseomae considered this. “Why? Couldn’t they walk?”
    The rat gave an amused squeak. “Well, of course they could walk. Look at that pup there. He walks. But he’s only got two feet. How do you expect him to move fast on two feet?”
    “I’ve seen him run pretty fast,” Casseomae said.
    “Cars helped them go even faster,” Dumpster said.
    “Why were they in such a hurry?” Casseomae asked.
    Dumpster scampered ahead. “Scratch if I know, old bear.”
    They followed the highway as long shadows stretched down their path. Once the sun had set, Dumpster skittered to Casseomae’s side. “Hey, Cass, I smell something.”
    “I smell it too,” she said. “Something follows us, but don’t—”
    Dumpster spun around. The damage done, Casseomae looked back as well. She saw a shadow shift as a creature disappeared behind a rusted-out relic far down the highway.
    “You see it?” Dumpster asked.
    “Yeah,” Casseomae grunted as she started walking again. “I saw it.”
    “Is it the cougar?”
    “No, it’s not the cougar.”
    Dumpster skittered in erratic leaps and scampers. “So what is it? Coyote?”
    “Too big,” Casseomae said. “Probably a wolf.”
    The child walked along, glancing curiously at a large sheet of metal that hung above the highway. Casseomae looked back over her