“Stunned” and “confused” would have both sufficed. “Tell me all about on the way,” I said. “For now, we’ve got to move.”

Still smiling but looking slightly spent from whatever it was she had done to get the engine running, she grabbed a bag of tools and climbed up into the cab. When I joined her, I noticed that she was shaking, or rather vibrating. And generating warmth, apparently.

“I’d been meaning to tell you about… that, whole thing, for some time,” she explained. “I hope you’re not angry.”

“Angry?” I laughed, looking straight ahead at the barn door and hoping we’d the oomph to crash though it. I turned and leaned towards her, trying to be as reassuring as possible with such a lack of grip on what she was talking about. “I’m just glad it worked. Now let’s beat it before the patrol arrives.”

She and I both knew that taking so long to get up and running had cost precious time. It was worth it to be mobile, however. Speed would not be as important as the ability to just keep moving.