Chaos Walking: The Complete Trilogy by Patrick Ness Page B

paragraphs that I really don’t have time for right now but at the bottom of the page Ben’s underlined a group of words together.
    I look at the girl, still rocking, and I turn my back to her. I put my finger under the first underlined word.
    Let’s see. Yow? You, it’s gotta be you . You . Okay, me what? M . Moo? Moose? Moosed? You moosed . You moosed? What the hell does that mean? Wuh . Wuh . Warr . Warren? Tuh . Tuhee? Tuheem . You moosed warren tuheem? No, wait, them . It’s them . Course it’s them, idiot.
    But You moosed warren them?
    Huh?
    ’Member when I said Ben tried to teach me to read? ’Member when I said I wasn’t too good at it? Well–
    Well, whatever.
    You moosed warren them.
    Idiot.
    I look at the book again, flip thru the pages. Dozens of them, dozens upon dozens, all with more words in every corner, all saying nothing to me at all, no answers of any kind.
    Stupid effing book.
    I shove the map back inside, slam the cover shut and throw the book on the ground.
    You idiot .
    “Stupid effing book!” I say, out loud this time, kicking it into some ferns. I turn back to the girl. She’s still just rocking back and forth, back and forth, and I know, I know, okay, I know, but it starts to piss me off. Cuz if this is a dead end, I got nothing more to offer and she ain’t offering nothing neither.
    My Noise starts to crackle.
    “I didn’t ask for this, you know,” I say. She don’t even look. “Hey! I’m talking to you!”
    But nothing. Nothing, nothing, nothing.
    “I DON’T KNOW WHAT TO DO!” I yell and stand and start stomping around, shouting till my voice scratches. “I DON’T KNOW WHAT TO DO! I DON’T KNOW WHAT TO DO!” I turn back to the girl. “I’m SORRY! I’m sorry this happened to you but I don’t know what to do about it AND STOP EFFING ROCKING!”
    “Yelling, Todd,” Manchee barks.
    “Awwghh!” I shout, putting my hands over my face. I take them away and nothing’s changed. That’s the thing I’m learning about being thrown out on yer own. Nobody does nothing for you. If you don’t change it, it don’t get changed.
    “We gotta keep going,” I say, picking up my rucksack all angry-like. “You ain’t caught it yet, so maybe just keep yer distance from me and you’ll be okay. I don’t know but that’s all there is so that’s what we gotta do.”
    Rock, rock, rock.
    “We can’t go back so we gotta go forward and that’s that.”
    Still rocking.
    “I KNOW you can HEAR me!”
    She don’t even flinch.
    And I’m suddenly tired all over again. “Fine,” I sigh. “Fine, whatever, you stay here and rock. Who cares? Who ruddy cares about anything?”
    I look at the book on the ground. Stupid thing. But it’s what I got so I reach down, pick it up, put it in the plastic bag, back in my rucksack, and put my rucksack back on.
    “C’mon, Manchee.”
    “Todd?!” he barks, looking twixt me and the girl. “Can’t leave, Todd!”
    “She can come if she wants,” I say, “but–”
    I don’t even really know what the but might be. But if she wants to stay here and die all alone? But if she wants to go back and get caught by Mr Prentiss Jr? But if she wants to risk catching the Noise from me and dying that way?
    What a stupid world.
    “Hey,” I say, trying to make my voice a little gentler but my Noise is so raging there’s really no point. “You know where we were heading, right? To the river twixt the mountains. Just follow it till you come to a settlement, okay?”
    Maybe she’s hearing me, maybe she ain’t.
    “I’ll keep an eye out for you,” I say. “I understand if you don’t wanna get too close but I’ll keep an eye out for you.”
    I stand there for another minute to see if it sinks in.
    “Well,” I finally say. “Nice knowing ya.”
    I start walking away. When I get to the big stack of shrubs, I turn back, giving her one more chance. But she ain’t changed, just rocking and rocking.
    So that’s that then. Off I go, Manchee reluctantly