an equal number filled the center . `` have you seen him today , tess ? short of that nothing can bind you . he bit harder , and my spine bowed with it . they had been on the road two days now since the first camp and they had met no one else on the road . he had gone back to mopping the floor and didnt seem to give her a second thought . `` in case you have n't noticed , you 're already in the middle of nowhere . `` i have some bad news about the picnic . '' 