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--donation bonus (day #16, post 2/5)--
When the news wasn’t talking about the military budget or international tension between Rendon and Kahm, it was talking about the most wanted criminal in the country gallivanting around Klein without being caught. Colt wondered if all those bullet holes had been the police trying to bring him down.

Of course, the news didn’t seem to care much about all the other criminals that had turned up in jail cells; but perhaps the police were happy enough to take the credit there.

Colt was impressed that Hector had managed to avoid leading his pursuers back here, but regardless, he figured that wouldn’t last much longer. Or he hoped so, because the warehouse didn’t have running water or even a bathtub. Instead, he’d managed to rig up a crude shower, of sorts, consisting of an old hand pump, a broad hose, and several jugs of water from the nearby gas station. It worked, but a single pumping motion equated to a single burst of water. He had never experienced a more annoying method of wash.

He could hear Hector stomping around in the sandlot out back. Every now and then, the ground would shake, making him wonder what the hell the kid was doing. But he stayed put. He wasn’t feeling his best at the moment, and Stephanie needed to finish eating, anyway.

The day’s meditation had left Colt with aching pains in his head and hands both. He wasn’t the type to complain and so kept it to himself, but as the evening drew on, he began to find it increasingly bothersome.

Then a sudden tremor spiked through his fingertips. The spoon in his hand snapped in two. He looked at the pieces, confused.

Bohwanox was quick to take notice. ‘Colt, put Stephanie down.’

“Why?”

Stephanie’s arm began to bleed where Colt was holding her, and she started crying.

‘Put her down now!’ said Bohwanox.

He set her next to Thomas and stepped away.

‘I believe your ability has manifested,’ the reaper said.