Chapter 1: Ra;n<br > Noon--but the depth of swirling cloud blanked out any<br >suggestion of the sun and made the air chill. She stood<br >forlornly on the approach to the Interstate highway，<br >knowing the chances were fifty-fifty that any car that<br >stopped for her would mean trouble for a lone young<br >woman. But trouble or no， she had to get a ride; time was<br >running out.<br > She saw the small bus as the first fat drops of rain<br >slanted down. The vehicle was moving slowly around the<br >loop of the approach， feeling its way. There was no reason<br >to assume it was slowing for her.<br > She forced her eyes off it， watching the rain smash into<br >the dr5， dirt embankment beyond the road. The huge drops<br >actually excavated little craters. Meteorologically， she<br >knew， this was known as rain-drop blast， and it could be a<br > substantial if tittle-known source of erosion. The construe-<br >