I don’t have much time,Finn/Nora thought.
Her mind was a weak radio signal.
One moment she was there and the next…
… static.
A pickup slowed beside her.
Out of gas?a man said.
He pointed to something in her hand. It was red, plastic, with a long nozzle.
What’s your name?
What’s my name?
She couldn’t remember.
Another bolt of pain. A gasp.
Ma’am? Are you okay?
It’s getting worse,she thought.
She didn’t have much time.
THIRTEENPSYCHIC KARAOKE
(PART 2)
The one hundred and fifty miles between the Constellation Campground and the Arizona-Utah border were as varied as they were long. As the girls wound their way north, the red cliffs were replaced with snowy peaks trimmed with fragrant pine forests. Farther north still and closer to sea level were vast badlands, striated hills in hues of orange and lavender that reminded Finn of the sand art she made as a kid. Beyond the hills, copper desert stretched for miles in every direction, high winds whipping sand like snow across the highway. Too low on gas to wait out the dust storm, Zadie had to wear a bandanna over her nose and mouth to fill up her tank. After they crossed into Utah, they began seeing green again—farms and trees and grassy lawns—only to be plunged into harsh desert an hour later.
Just looking at the miles of sand through the window made Finn’s mouth feel parched. She could still feel the sun beating down on her—Nora’sneck; sweat collecting on her forehead, her chest, between her legs; her inner thighs raw and goose-pimpled.It’s getting worse. I don’t have much time.
Time.Finn turned to her sister in the driver’s seat. “You know how when people claim they were abducted by aliens, they say it felt like they lost time?”
Zadie squinted. “Uhhh… where are you going with this?”
“You know… like they wake up in a field and don’t know how they got there?”
“Yes, I’ve seen movies, Finn. If you tell me you think Mom was abducted by aliens—”
“No! I mean… I don’tthinkso.”
“Ha!”
“What I’m trying to say is that whatever was going on with Mom, whether it was a sixth sense or something else… she was losing time. There were gaps.”
“Okay, Mulder,” Zadie said dryly.
“Who’s Mulder?”
“Doesn’t matter.”
“What kind of sense would make you lose your car and forget your own name?” Finn wondered out loud.
“A shitty one.”