Bob: Chapters 15–20

Diedre scans the paper. "You okay with walking the northeast quadrant of the bush behind Callen’s Place?”

Malcolm presses a little paper bag into Gran’s hand and another one into mine. "The restaurant’s telephone number is in there in case you have something to tell us, and some snacks and water. It’s hot. Don’t forget to hydrate.”

Some of the grass in the front yard is scorched. They must have had a small fire.

The white car is very dirty. White is not a sensible color in hot, dusty environments.

The fields of Sarah’s house are in even worse condition than Gran’s. Most of the ground is bare, with only a few wilted sunflowers here and there.

"Livy, to this day I have no earthly idea how you got wet, and believe me when I say I’ve put serious thought into it. I thought, maybe the pig trough? But no, that gate was latched, way up high. I checked. The whole episode scared the heck out of me, actually. After that I started waking myself up at four a.m. to watch the doors.”

"Livy, to this day I have no earthly idea how you got wet, and believe me when I say I’ve put serious thought into it. I thought, maybe the pig trough? But no, that gate was latched, way up high. I checked. The whole episode scared the heck out of me, actually. After that I started waking myself up at four a.m. to watch the doors.”

The woman with them swatted them on the heads and said not to tell tales.
It was epic.

I pause as she reaches out to pat me on the head, a gesture I choose to interpret as an apology.

She frowns. "No one is sure where Danny is right now. I should have told you that right away. That’s why Gran took me. There’s a big search on for him.”
That would explain all the commotion and the policeman!

My heart thumps with anticipation.

The well seems to smother my words.

I step up to the well wall and peer into the murky darkness.

I skim: Well dwellers possess a secret and powerful magic. They can make things grow. They live all over the world in secret—

Bob staggers toward the well, first one foot, then the other.

She grabs Bob so that he’s resting in the crook of one arm.

Danny and I have been walking back along the creek bed for less than a minute when two long whistles pierce the sound of the downpour.

My home is smelly, wet, and dark. It is also cozy and warm and perfect, and now that I’m back, I remember all the parts of my story.

We well dwellers don’t live inside the actual wells, more like in between them, in long tunnels and caves with nooks and crannies for playing or resting or thinking.

We well dwellers don’t live inside the actual wells, more like in between them, in long tunnels and caves with nooks and crannies for playing or resting or thinking.

Without rain, the land soon dries out, the crops don’t grow, the animals don’t have anything to graze on, the reservoirs don’t get filled, and farmers like Gran and her neighbors can’t pay their bills anymore.

So I wait until the middle of the night. I draw my family a picture showing them that I will return soon so they won’t worry. Then I put my chicken suit on and hoist a bucketful of water onto my shoulder.

It takes supreme willpower to walk by the half-eaten chocolate deliciousness as I pass by it.

I turn toward Livy now, sleeping soundly with Rufus in her arms.

I hope it will be many years before Mom realizes my deception.