I
hesitated
climbing
into
the
truck,
and
I
stared
at
the
ranch
for a
long
time.
My
horse
walked
to
the
fence
and
bobbed
his
head
a
few
times,
as
if
waving.
I
sucked
in
a
breath
of
air.
The
scent
of
soil,
hay,
and
manure
lingered
in
my
nostrils
for
a
while.
I
couldn
’t
wait
until I could
stay
forever.
As
we
traveled
down
the
highway,
I tried
not
to
let
anything dampen
my
spirits.
The
scene
of
the
sun
bathing
the
valley
muted
the
horrors
of
Wilks’
death,
although
it
was
still
in my
mind.
Even
the
zombie
hordes
that
splattered
on
the
road
couldn
’t
break
my
spirit.
I
looked
over
at
Quinn.
Leaning
my
head
back
on
my
seat, I
took
in
the
curve
of
his
jawbone,
his
lips,
his dark
eyes,
and
the
lobe
of
his
ear.
A
smile
crept
onto
his
face,
and
I sighed
with
content.
“You
all
right
over
there?”
“I’m
getting
there.”
I
turned
to
face
front.
The
trench
that
would
eventually
hold
the
stone
wall dominated
my
field
of
vision.
Dust
clouded
the
sky
and
was
mixed
with
the
inky
black
smoke
from
the
funeral
pyre.
We
approached
the
gate and then
stopped.
The
guard
glanced
at
us
briefly
before
we
climbed
out
of
the
cab
and
headed
toward
the
inspection
area.
I
shuddered.
“I
can’t
wait
until
this
place
is
gone.”
“You
and
me
both,
darl
in’.”
“Same
here,”
said
Bill.
“No
argument
from me,”
Kyle
agreed.
We
reported
to
our
respective
lines
and
waited
to
be
hosed
down.
We
met
up
later
on
the
stairs
to
the
courthouse.
I
hesitated.
I
stared
at
the
building,
wishing
I
never
had
to
see it
again. Just
a
few
more
weeks,
I told
myself.
Until
then,
I
had
to
tough
it out.
Quinn
touched
my
arm.
“We
can
leave.
Right
now. Take
a
truck
and
never
come
back.”
For a
brief
second,
I
was
tempted.
“No.
Too
many
people
need
us.”
We
proceeded
up
the
stairs
into
Liet’s
office.
As usual,
he
sat
behind
his
desk,
going through paperwork.
He barely
looked
up
as
the
four
of
us
entered
the
room.
“Two
more
trucks?”
Liet
looked
at
us.
“No.
We’re
fine
on
supplies
for
a
while
, but
I
’ll
need
you
to
take
the
truck
to
Florida.”
“I
thought
you
were
going
to
find
someone
else
to
do
that?”
He
sighed
with
exasperation.
“I
don
’t
have
any
men
to
spare
right
now.
You
’r
e
always
willing
to
go
to
the
West
. Wha
t’s
wrong
with
Florida?
Is
it
because
Quinn
isn
’t
there?”
I held
my
hands
up in
defense.
“All
right.
I
can
be
ready
to
go
in
the
morning.”
“Tha
t’s
what
I
thought.”
He
tamped
the
pages
of
his
file
together,
then
turned
back
to
his
work.
The
four
of
us
went
up
to
the
apartment,
and
I
made
dinner.
After
we
finished,
we
sat
in
the
living
room
and
talked
about
the
next
places
we
’d
go
for
supplies.
We
’d
been
there
for
an
hour
when
Liet came
into
the
room. He
grabbed
a
plate
of
dinner
before sitting
on
the
couch
between
Quinn
and
me.
We
all
stared
at
him,
waiting.
He
shoveled
a
bite
of
chicken
and
beans
into
his
mouth.
“What
are
you
talking
about?”
“We
’r
e
figuring
out
what
other
towns
in
Eastern
Wyoming
we
can
pillage
for
supplies
before
we
have
to
move
to
the
central
part
of
the
state,”
Quinn
said.
Liet
nodded.
“Sounds
like
a
good
plan.
What
did
you
come
up
with?”
“We
’r
e
still
figuring
that
out,”
Bill
explained.
Liet
looked
at
the
map
on
the
coffee
table.
“Are
you
planning
on
marking
them
on
here?”
Quinn
cleared
his
throat.
“We
weren
’t
going
to,
but
we
can
if
you
want
us to.”
“Why
don
’t
you
do
that?
That
way,
if
anyone
else
needs
to
go
out
there,
they
’l
l
know
where
they
need
to
go.”
Exasperation
flooded
through
me.
“What
are
you
talking
about?
You
said
earlier
that
we
have
all
the
supplies
we
need.”
Liet
stared
at
me.
“Tha
t’s
true
for
now,
but
eventually
we
’l
l
need
to
go
back
out.”