Free Freefall by Anna Levine Page B

of dirt on my arm. Stubborn. I scratch harder. It’s a tick. I wrench it off and flick it away.
    The commander studies her clipboard. I’m hoping to be paired up with Pigtails. We worked well together on the last exercise. Besides, she has a flashlight. Someone with a flashlight surely knows how to navigate.
    â€œNumber Eighteen.”
    I step forward.
    â€œNumber Twelve.”
    Lily steps out from the end of the line.
    The commander looks at us both and hands me a map and Lily the highlighter. “You will begin here.” I follow her finger as it snakes its way along the map.
    â€œLily—the highlighter.” I snatch it from her and start tracing the route.
    â€œAny questions?”
    I make room for Lily to go over it as well. She is picking at her thumb. “I think I’ve got a hangnail.”
    â€œI’ll give you ten minutes to memorize it,” says the commander.
    I focus on the route. “Lily, are you looking?”
    â€œI think it might be infected.”
    I want to tell her she’ll have more to deal with than just a hangnail if she doesn’t look at the map. Since I’m short, about two of my steps are a meter. According to the map, we go a hundred meters west—about two hundred of my steps—turn one kilometer north, turn west again for fifty meters, and then go straight the last bit—straight into the showers.
    â€œFold it up and put it away.”
    I take one last look and then fold it. The commander seals the map with tape and tucks it into my breast pocket.
    â€œLet’s hope it stays there.”
    â€œ Ken , Commander.”
    The scab on Lily’s thumb is bleeding. She raises her thumb to her mouth, thinks better of it, and wipes her hand down her pants.
    â€œFill up your water canteens. Drink one full one now and then refill it for later.”
    We head to the water tank while the other girls get their routes. Lily strolls over like we’re going for a hike in the country with a stop first at the snack bar. When her canteen is full, she gives it a shake to show that she’s following the rules and knows to make sure no water is sloshing around, and then hops on the jeep.
    The jeep drops us off somewhere between where we were and where we’re supposed to get to. The driver spins the tires, spewing up dust and sand in case we weren’t covered enough to begin with. The sun beats on us from above.
    â€œSouth,” I say. Sun’s almost overhead. I double check the compass. “We start here.”
    â€œYou think so?”
    â€œYes, I do, because I was looking at the map.”
    Lily takes off her army shirt. She’s wearing only a tank top underneath. Rolls of flesh spill out from every side. “It’s so hot.” She fans herself.
    â€œTwo hundred meters this way.” I start walking. “One, two, three …”
    Lily follows. “That driver was yummy.”
    â€œOne hundred and twelve—”
    â€œDid you see the way he smiled at me?”
    â€œOne hundred and sixty-three, sixty-four—”
    â€œI should have asked him his name again.”
    â€œOne hundred and seventy—Lily, will you shut up? You’re confusing me.”
    We reach two hundred.
    â€œNow we go one kilometer north.”
    â€œI think he said his name was Ariel or maybe Daniel? Did you get his name?”
    â€œLily, I’m trying to concentrate!”
    I’m not sure I’ve counted right. Maybe my steps were bigger than usual because Lily kept scraping at my heels. But no, there was a hill on the map. Yes. This must be right. We walk in silence for the next few meters. I focus, trying to feel how far a kilometer is. Now we go …
    â€œEast or west?”
    â€œEast or west what?” asks Lily.
    â€œI’m blanking out. Do we turn east now or west? I don’t remember. I know it’s fifty meters, but I don’t remember which way.” I spin around and can’t