The sled stopped halfway up its track. Caleb held the handles while the forty-pound load pulled against his right shoulder. Dot's new rig kept the plate where she had fitted it, but the muscle beneath it still shook.
A click came from the shunt near his collar. The battery display dropped four points. He lowered the sled onto its stop before the tremor carried into his elbow.
He sat on the bench and opened his notebook. The last page held the photograph's date and a question about the woman on the gantry. He turned to a clean page and wrote down the load beside the battery drop.
His stomach cramped while he held the pen. The food he had eaten before the rail ride had carried him this far. It had done little for the pull under his ribs once he started working the shoulder.
Caleb put the notebook away and moved the resistance pin to sixty pounds. He took the handles, felt the dressing tighten against his neck, and checked the meter before pushing.
