Degrees of Wrong Read Online Free

was able to stand, I’d found the giants had passed me by altogether. I’d sprinted to the children, already knowing there was nothing I could do. Their deaths were instant, but that fact had not brought me relief then and did not console me now.
    Not in a thousand lifetimes.
    Hot, wet streams snaked down both sides of my face, and I shook my head to relieve it of the images in the field. I was back in the cold white room again. Propping elbows on knees, I buried my face in my hands. They were frigid and soothing to my hot cheeks.
    Ralph opened the door then, startling me from my misery. I sat up. My emotions were still a long way from reconciled, but I would have to finish sorting them later, in private. Ralph’s smile faded to alarm when he saw the assault of tears on my face. Furious, he fired an accusative glare at his guard, who returned a slight shrug. Ralph turned back to me with what looked like satisfaction resulting from the inaudible conversation. Curious, I tried to imagine how it went:
    What did you do to her?
    Nothing.
    Why is she crying?
    I don’t know. She stared at the wall and spaced out. Then she started to cry.
    Women. Let’s get a beer after this, okay?
    Okay.
    I was irritable, I admitted.
    “How about something to eat?” Ralph asked. He either didn’t want to address my current state, or was trying to pull me out of it.
    “That’s what I was hoping you’d say.”
    “It’s just standard rations, but they’re filling, if nothing else. I’ve also made arrangements for you to have a shower.”
    I glanced down, inspecting my appearance for the first time today. I could feel the film of filth on my face except where my tear tracks streaked it. All four blood types splattered my clothing, and sand weighed down my shoes. And my hair—thankfully, I couldn’t see that at all. I grimaced, realizing Blue Eyes had asked me on a date in this condition. What a good sport.
     
     
    Waking up in a jostling, open-topped utility vehicle didn’t bother me. Sure, the wind whipped my hair into a mess that only shaving it would solve. And yes, my neck hurt from my head bobbing like a buoy in a hurricane. And of course I should have been grateful that they allowed me to sleep in, exhausted as I was.
    But waking up in a jostling, open-topped utility vehicle wearing a black uniform and boots—instead of the mismatched pajamas I fell asleep in—irritated me almost beyond sense. Especially since the uniform fit perfectly. How much of the last twenty-four hours had been executed as planned? And which of these drones dressed me?
    Sitting directly across from me, Geoffrey didn’t look away when I locked eyes with him. “You drugged me,” I informed him. “I knew the dehydrated peas tasted funny last night, but I just attributed it to the fact that they were dehydrated peas.”
    “I wanted you to get some rest.”
    “How thoughtful.” Before he could utter an insincere apology, I held up my hand, cutting him off. He took the gesture as I intended it: Don’t even.
    To keep from attacking him, I shielded my eyes with my hand and took in our surroundings. This wasn’t my island, and the amount of time I’d spent unconscious made it impossible to calculate a probable radius of travel. Our camouflaged taxi sped us through an open grassy field somewhere in the United States or Italy or China—I couldn’t be sure which. On the horizon, man-made structures materialized, and beyond that, an expansive body of water. I knew it was the ocean—calling it by name was an entirely different matter.
    In my stomach, the knot of the unknown awakened, uncoiling the fear I’d managed to restrain last night. But now the dehydrated peas were wearing off, leaving room for terror. I glanced at Ralph. His mouth was pressed into the straight line. It made me more nervous, if that were possible.
    The vehicle began to slow, and then creep, the closer we got to shore. The structures in the distance turned into old wooden buildings,