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Description
Scene from the upcoming sequel to my novel "The Outsider"

The pair of fossil hunters stood quietly for a few minutes. They watched a couple of vultures circle overhead, the only movement in an otherwise motionless world of featureless beige scrub and harsh blue sky. Ruthie continued:

"We kept seeing each other... maybe twice a month. Sometimes three times, if we were lucky and could coordinate. But then, I didn't hear from her. I was getting frustrated, but didn't really start stressing until after a month went by, and then two, and still nothing. Finally I tried texting her, but I could tell her account wasn't active and it never got delivered. I thought: 'Fuck. She ghosted me. But why? What'd I do?' I was upset, but figured I'd better check things out before jumping to any conclusions. A couple of times I went by where she worked, but didn't see her car, and I knew she always drove. That's when I realized, something was wrong. Then, I took a Mega-Lift to her neighborhood and walked by her house. Her car wasn't there, either. And... I dunno, the place looked... different. I can't explain it, but it didn't look right. I could tell she wasn't there anymore. So, I checked the Internet and found her obituary. It sucked, 'cause until I saw it, I had no idea she was dead."

Ruthie sat down on the rough ground. She put her head between her hands and just remained sitting, staring at the broken pieces of shale at her feet and saying nothing more. Jacob grew uneasy with the silence and finally interrupted it with a question.

"So, I take it... you really miss her?"

"Yeah. I miss her a lot. And what's hard is I can't talk to anyone about it. And I never got a chance to say goodbye. I mean, even had I known, I would've had to stay away. It's not like I could've gone to the hospital when they had her on life-support, nor her funeral. No one in her family knew who I was. And, really... neither of us would've have wanted 'em to know. Obviously, it wasn't something I would've wanted Mike, or Vicky, to know about either. So, I dunno. Maybe that part was for the best, that I didn't find out what was going on, until it was all over."

Description
Scene from the upcoming sequel to my novel "The Outsider"

The pair of fossil hunters stood quietly for a few minutes. They watched a couple of vultures circle overhead, the only movement in an otherwise motionless world of featureless beige scrub and harsh blue sky. Ruthie continued:

"We kept seeing each other... maybe twice a month. Sometimes three times, if we were lucky and could coordinate. But then, I didn't hear from her. I was getting frustrated, but didn't really start stressing until after a month went by, and then two, and still nothing. Finally I tried texting her, but I could tell her account wasn't active and it never got delivered. I thought: 'Fuck. She ghosted me. But why? What'd I do?' I was upset, but figured I'd better check things out before jumping to any conclusions. A couple of times I went by where she worked, but didn't see her car, and I knew she always drove. That's when I realized, something was wrong. Then, I took a Mega-Lift to her neighborhood and walked by her house. Her car wasn't there, either. And... I dunno, the place looked... different. I can't explain it, but it didn't look right. I could tell she wasn't there anymore. So, I checked the Internet and found her obituary. It sucked, 'cause until I saw it, I had no idea she was dead."

Ruthie sat down on the rough ground. She put her head between her hands and just remained sitting, staring at the broken pieces of shale at her feet and saying nothing more. Jacob grew uneasy with the silence and finally interrupted it with a question.

"So, I take it... you really miss her?"

"Yeah. I miss her a lot. And what's hard is I can't talk to anyone about it. And I never got a chance to say goodbye. I mean, even had I known, I would've had to stay away. It's not like I could've gone to the hospital when they had her on life-support, nor her funeral. No one in her family knew who I was. And, really... neither of us would've have wanted 'em to know. Obviously, it wasn't something I would've wanted Mike, or Vicky, to know about either. So, I dunno. Maybe that part was for the best, that I didn't find out what was going on, until it was all over."