The official Giganticorp bus was bright green with “Giganticorp” written on the side in large orange script. Below the company name the words “Running California” were painted on it in purple. The whole scene would have been impossible for Drake to miss, even if Melody hadn’t been standing beside the bus waving frantically at him. He limped over to her.

She looked at him, not trying to hide her dismay. “Where were you? I rang your room, but you didn’t answer.”

“Good morning to you, too. My first problem is going to be getting up these steps.”

The initial step, especially. He’d had enough trouble negotiating a few much lower steps. Drake tried to lift one foot, but the pain in his back stopped him well before it reached the level of the step. If the bus had been able to pull up to the curb in front of the hotel, he might have had more success. The extra nine or ten inches of height from street level was a killer. He did no better with the other foot. His run of the California coast might end right now.

“Could we have a boost here?” Melody called to Peaches who was sitting in the driver’s seat.

Peaches got up and stomped down the steps. Without saying a word, he positioned himself behind Drake, grabbed his elbows, and lifted him up to the first step with about the same effort that it would take most people to lift half a dozen hardcover books from a table. It hurt to be lifted, but Drake squelched a groan. The other steps were lower, and Drake managed to escape further humiliation; he pulled himself up by grabbing the handrails and putting most of his weight on his arms.