"Give me a break, huh? That hurt."
Norwyn glanced back at the bike. "You said you'd save me, that you'd get me back to civilization, or at least somewhere with people. All it looks like now is that we're both gonna starve out here. I should never have come with you."
"Calm down. If you can walk, you'll be okay. Just keep following the road."
"Walk?" He was livid. "If I could walk that far, do you think I'd still be scrounging for scraps in a ghost town?"
"Well, we're not riding any further, that's for damn sure. I'll need to limp that thing back to my gear in order to patch it up. You saw what happened. It won't hold pressure. And in my condition, I'm not going to be pushing any pedals for a while."
He stood over her, breathing heavily. The sun had nearly set, he hadn't eaten since breakfast, the meds had long since flushed from his system, and he was rapidly developing a splitting migraine. He fixed her with an icy glare. "The hell with you then."
"What are you going to do?" she asked as he turned and walked back to her bike.
"Following your advice. But I'm not walking."
"Good," she said. "Help me up. You pedal, I'll ride."
"I don't think you understand. I'm leaving. I'm taking your bike and going to whatever town I find down that road. Alone."
She studied him briefly. "You might not like what you find, Mr. Rosset."
"Oh," he said, righting the bike. "And why might that be?"
"Because things have changed. While you were sucking the carcass of that town back there, a new way of living sprouted. And it's all wrapped up in those LA Angels I showed you. The new economy is based on doing things for others, on building value for the common good. That's what backs the new money. And if you can't understand a simple thing like returning a favor, I don't think you're going to last very long in that new world."
"I'll take my chances."
Rosset righted the bike, and dislodged the steam engine from its mounting with a sharp blow from his heel. He sneered at Ellie briefly, and then took off. Several minutes later, after coasting down the other side of the hill, he reached behind him and dug around in the saddlebag to see what else was there.
He pulled out a small bag of dried fruit, and stuffed one in his mouth -- anything to keep his stomach happy. The song he'd been struggling with earlier finally returned to him, and he pedaled on, humming the theme from an old movie.
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