Thorne passed the makeshift cane to his opposite side so he
could hold Cress's elbow as they stepped out onto the sand.
She kept her head down, carefully choosing reach step but
also afraid that if she looked up into the sky, her legs
would freeze beneath her and she would never be able to
make them move again.
When they'd gone a safe distance from satellite, Cress
tentatively lifted her gaze.
Ahead of her was the same eternal landscape, the sky
growing darker.
She glanced back toward the satellite, and gasped.
Thorne's hand squeezed her elbow.
"There are mountains," she said, gaping at the jagged
peaks along the horizon.
He squinted.
"Mountains, or glorified hills?"
She considered the question, comparing the site before
her with the photos of mountain ranges she'd seen on
the screens.
Dozens of peaks of varying heights disappeared into the
blackness of night.
"I think ... real mountains," she said.
"But it's getting dark, and I can't see any white on top.
Do mountains always have snow?"
"Not always.
How far are they?"
"Um..." they seemed close, but the foothills and sand
dunes between them could have been deceiving, and
she'd never been asked to judge distances before.
"Never mind." Thorne tapped the cane against the ground.
It stirred something in Cress's gut when he didn't let go
of her arm, though perhaps he appreciated the tethering
sensation as much as she did.
"What direction are they in?"
She took his hand and pointed.
Her heart was fluttering erratically and she felt herself trap-
ped between elation and terror.
Even from this distance, she could tell that the mountains
were enormous—hulking, ancient beasts lined up like an
impenetrable wall dividing this wasteland.
But at least they were something, a physical, visual marker
to break up the monotony of the desert.
They somehow calmed her, even while making her feel as
insignificant as ever.
"So that must be ... south, right?"
He pointed in another direction.
YOU ARE READING
Cress
Teen FictionTheir best hope lies with Cress, a girl trapped on a satellite since childhood who's only ever had her netscreens as company. All that screen time has made Cress an excellent hacker. Unfortunately, she's being force to work for Queen Levana, and she...
