Nobody on the Shelf slept late.
There was too much to do, and only one day to do it in. By the time the sun was fully up, the whole camp was moving.
Kayla had finally let Almond stand. She had not been happy about it.
"If you fight anyone else before tomorrow," she said, "I will put you back on the ground myself."
"I believe you," Almond said.
"Good."
Kael was sitting on a rock nearby with fresh bandages around his ribs. He raised a hand without getting up.
"I'd like it noted that I'm being a very good patient," he said.
"You can't stand up," Kayla said. "That's not the same thing."
Theo and Paloma found Almond a little before noon.
They had been awake all night, sending word back and forth across the layer. Theo had a list in his hand and dark rings under his eyes.
"The other eight are coming," he said. "All of the ten. Nobody wants to go first, and nobody wants to go last, so they've agreed to cross over the next few days. One after another."
"And us?"
