It took only a few hours, four or five at most, to travel from one end of Harken to the other. It was faster on the ground, but we knew it would be foolish to spend much time in the open down there. One never knew where a band of pirates might set up camp. So the Last Ones had made their homes in the forest canopy, under the swirling yellow sky.

Climbing was one of the few advantages we still had over the cripples. We did what we could.

“It won’t always be this way,” Bag Man had said. “You have spices! The pirates will loosen until there’s nothing left of them, but you – all of the Last Ones – you are the future. You’re not going anywhere. You’re going to save us all, Ginger.” I fell instantly in love with him.

Bag Man had worked as a trader, buying and selling food and Memories, but his most valuable commodity was courage. It seemed he was never without a smile. We didn’t know where he had come from, but it didn’t really matter. He had given us hope.

And he had given me a long, muddy tunnel to salvation.