. jules pressed lisa ." you didn't see this girl ? jaana ?"
lisa hesitated for a moment ," o "
' you're sure ?" jules asked .
"no. jules . nothing ."
jules made eye contact with the other four in the group .' you guys ?"
head shakes , shoulder shrugs .
theshirtless man said ." okay ."
jules's boyfriend , eric , paused from a long pull on a water bottle .
he made an effort not to sound dismissive as he said ." i'm sure she 's arund someplace . she has to be , i mean , where the hell would she go ?"
on a hot black night on the banks of the mighty colorado rivr , at thebottom of thedeepes gash on the continental surface of the planet , few people went wandering .
without a raft or a kayak or a riverboard and a lot of safety equipment , where the hell would someone go ? the only places to meander on foot are either up one of the trails that herringbone up one side of the canyon or the other , or down one of the convoluted footpaths that hug thee river or curve off into its estuaries or dead-end in the infinite variety of water -carved slot canyons . in the dark , olone , without the aid of a good flashlight , every one of those hikes is reserved for the reckless , depressed , or self-destructive . or drunk .
" she wasn't ...upset , was she ? eric added when no one responded to his earlier remark.
the shirtless man shook his head while he comported his face into a puzzle expression , as though he didn't really understand the question . he said ." no . she was pretty ....happy ." he smiled at some thought ," we had a good tme last night .i did ."
a woman who had been standing slightly away from the group , taking it all in , spoke up for the first time . line the seven of them up - the six friends and the shirtless stranger - and ninety- nine out of a hundred people wouldselect her as the youngest in the bunch .
lisa hesitated for a moment ," o "
' you're sure ?" jules asked .
"no. jules . nothing ."
jules made eye contact with the other four in the group .' you guys ?"
head shakes , shoulder shrugs .
theshirtless man said ." okay ."
jules's boyfriend , eric , paused from a long pull on a water bottle .
he made an effort not to sound dismissive as he said ." i'm sure she 's arund someplace . she has to be , i mean , where the hell would she go ?"
on a hot black night on the banks of the mighty colorado rivr , at thebottom of thedeepes gash on the continental surface of the planet , few people went wandering .
without a raft or a kayak or a riverboard and a lot of safety equipment , where the hell would someone go ? the only places to meander on foot are either up one of the trails that herringbone up one side of the canyon or the other , or down one of the convoluted footpaths that hug thee river or curve off into its estuaries or dead-end in the infinite variety of water -carved slot canyons . in the dark , olone , without the aid of a good flashlight , every one of those hikes is reserved for the reckless , depressed , or self-destructive . or drunk .
" she wasn't ...upset , was she ? eric added when no one responded to his earlier remark.
the shirtless man shook his head while he comported his face into a puzzle expression , as though he didn't really understand the question . he said ." no . she was pretty ....happy ." he smiled at some thought ," we had a good tme last night .i did ."
a woman who had been standing slightly away from the group , taking it all in , spoke up for the first time . line the seven of them up - the six friends and the shirtless stranger - and ninety- nine out of a hundred people wouldselect her as the youngest in the bunch .
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