Chapter 114: Refit

I'm finally with them, done staying outside their plans. I have to act and sitting here pretending I'm in the way isn't doing Duet or Poppy any good.

We fill Ever and the others in on what we can, Socrates taking over in places, Vander in others when I stumble over memory. Beckett is oddly quiet, holding my hand, and Ande too. He's taken up my place with the puppies and I feel a moment of real sadness for him. He's lost his reason for being. His train.

He needs a new one. "Ande," I say suddenly. "Can you help Ever and the others with the refit of the truck? This is exactly your expertise."

Ande looks up like I've offered him a treat he can't refuse. Has he been worried we don't want him around without his train, because of his leader's betrayal?

"Of course," he says, with no trace of his usual stutter. "Just tell me what you need."