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im just a visitor .
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the warped one snickered .
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visitor , he says .
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dont we all wish ?
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so youre anomalous .
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why do folks keep saying that ?
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mistakes happen , said the asian .
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souls sometimes arrive here a little messed up .
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we should have known better .
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color doesnt always mean anything .
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dont worry kid .
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youre in good company , said the warped one .
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youre not alone .
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somehow , i found that remark deeply comforting .
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the asian gazed out across the dunes .
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oh shit .
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theyre on the move again .
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coming after us .
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hashers got a longbow .
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without a word or even a glance , the pair again took off running , scales clinking with each stride .
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i followed off after them without a second thought , trusting my fate would be better off with them than with the wranglers managing that mob .
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and somehow , even though we were being pursued by an armed gang , my desire to leave this place became a tad less urgent .
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the deeps didnt seem quite so intimidating now that i had some companions .
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chapter 31 : lady an we hurtled though the dunes , my mind a storm of confusion .
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in quick succession i had been honored , worshiped and feared by a mob of souls .
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they had cast me out and now a detachment of their overseers were trying to hunt me down .
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all because of the color of my skin .
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this probably put a fork in my search for karla .
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how was i supposed to find her if i couldnt go near any crowds ?
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and the fact was , i had long lost heart .
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i was a coward and a weakling .
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i didnt deserve to find her .
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she deserved better .
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though , now that was a moot point .
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so i was relegated to tagging along with this odd couple of warrior infidels in tinkling armor .
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i had no idea where we were going .
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they spoke very little to me or even to each other .
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they just hummed and mumbled brief snatches of song that sounded like prayers .
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they had a casual , disinterested air about them that i found oddly comforting .
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i could tell that i interested them , but they were not invested in me following them or not , which made me want to follow them all the more .
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i was like one of those stray dogs that attaches its loyalty to random strangers .
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they gave up their names only after considerable prodding .
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taro , the asian , hailed from manila .
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brian had grown up and passed away in a suburb of san francisco .
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both were clearly veterans of the deeps , though neither could say how long they had roamed these wastes .
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years meant nothing to them now .
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neither were suicides , so they had no knowledge of root apart from what they had heard from other souls .
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taro , surprisingly , had the rougher life .
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he had entered the deeps directly , after a criminal and violent existence cut short by an accidental overdose of heroin and alcohol .
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brians path to the deeps was a bit more circuitous .
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he was more reticent about his lives and deaths .
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that he had been a pizza chef was about all he would say about his first life .
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his first death was accidental and had involved a fall from a ladder .
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before death number two , he had spent time on an island swaddled in fog , a place called lethe , apparently another kind of threshold world like root .
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his time there had ended abruptly .
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after an injury had left him immobile , a man with a scythe had come and cut him in two .
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there was obviously more to his story , but that was all he would say .
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we passed up the rumpled flank of the valley , which was basically a ramp of dunes piled on dunes .
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we wound our way through a sinuous maze of sand , following their creases , trying to keep our heads out of sight of anyone who might be tracking us .
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we kept finding footprints which i could swear were our own .
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i was certain we were walking in loops , yet brian and taro never faltered , fully confident in their navigation .
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we finally emerged from the dunes onto to a wind-scoured plateau .
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there were no boulders or canyons , no place to hide , but at least we could spot any pursuers from afar .
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we headed for the largest in a group of broad , gentle hills that looked like shields laid flat .
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the curve of its domed summit was interrupted by lines and indentations where the natural contours had been modified by human hands .
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it seemed to be some sort of settlement .
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we paused when we reached its base , not because we needed to rest , but because the guys were nervous about a swirl of dust on the plateau that was obscuring the view back to the dunes .
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that them behind that ?
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said brian .
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they using a screen ?
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wouldnt doubt it , said taro .
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doesnt look natural .
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better get trucking .
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there !
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said taro , pointing to a dot and another curl of dust on a nearby hill .
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a runner , said brian .
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cmon .
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lets get our ass home .
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we slogged up a long , smooth incline .
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about halfway up , we passed between two igloo-like structures of stone , with exits in the back and slotted windows arcing around their outer walls .
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taro sang a brief , lilting phrase .
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the melody was returned by someone in the nearest igloo , and then echoed and propagated down a series of other igloos stretching around the curve of the hill .
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the igloos were bunkers and the song was apparently some sort of a pass code .
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were inside the perimeter , said taro .
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were safer now .
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relatively .
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though , if theres trouble coming , wed better get up and under cover .
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got a tip for you , said brian .
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get yourself on lady ans good side early , volunteer for picket duty .
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lady who ?
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an , said taro .
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she heads the quorum .
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the old souls that look after us infidels .
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seriously , said brian .
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take the watch soon as you can .
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its the best way to convince the quorum to let you stay .
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show them youre a good fit .
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yeah , well .
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im not actually planning on sticking around .
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oh ?
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