The Orca Comes Closer

A boy around eleven or twelve jumped down from somewhere high, took a straw out of his mouth, and moved through the crowd to the jeep, yelling, "I'll do it."

Tegnell nodded and threw him a small bag of money, "You got it, Muros. Just hop in."

The boy who got the bag of money opened it while his friends watched. He had a big smile on his face. He gave the bag to his little sister, pointed at a rundown shack, saying, "Run back, give this to mom. Tell her I won't be back tonight."

The little girl held the bag of money tight and ran barefoot in the mud.

The boy quickly got into the back of the jeep.

"We brought him because we need to get something from underwater."

Birdie, who was driving, told Kestrel, "Don't worry, these kids have been to the Polluted Zone more times than you. After they got psychic powers, they've been going into the Polluted Zone. Sometimes they're lucky and find something valuable, enough to help their families for a year or more."