The siren stopped beyond the wall.
For a few seconds Eli heard only Tessa speaking to Nara and the small, uneven movement of air through Nara’s mouth. Then Sera called from the upper turn. A section of the service lane had fallen against the ramp entrance. The driver had followed her markers until there was no longer a road beneath them.
“Fresh?” Tessa asked.
“Dust still moving. They’re on the other side.”
“Send the walking team. Carry gear first.”
Sera disappeared again. Eli felt Nara’s coat shift beneath his wrist. He looked down, afraid his pressure had moved, but she had tried to turn toward the voice.
“Don’t try to get up,” Tessa said. “They’re coming on foot.”
Nara’s eyes rested on the map. The dam lay under a crease that Eli had flattened with the corner of the medical pouch. He wanted to tell her he would go there. He wanted her to know that her words had reached somebody who understood more than a stranger could. Instead he watched Tessa check the dressing and waited for an instruction he could obey.
