After Grace

28. Requiem For Peace

It wasn't long before the rest of the camp heard word of the fire and gathered beside me and Wilson to watch.

Seth broke from the crowd and limped along the blacktop, headed toward the flames. "Seth?" Wilson called as he passed us. He began to follow but I silently signaled for him to let me go instead. He did. I walked after Seth as he moved purposefully down the abandoned highway.

"Where are you going?" I asked.

"I can't come with you."

"They won't let us in without you. They'll think we killed you."

"Tell them I killed my self 'cause that's what I did when I drew you that map." I jogged to get beside him.

"You did the right thing. You're saving lives."

"Saving lives? Do you see that?" he pointed to the orange glow. "They're not letting you go. If you go to my camp, that's the end of it. They'll follow you-- they'll tear it apart."

"We can fight," I said. He scoffed and walked on. "Alright then," I began, "what's your plan?"

"When they catch me, I'll tell them you went another way."

"Then what?"

"Then I'm dinner I guess."

"Stop!" I yelled. He finally did. "I know you think hiding in the forest is the safest thing but, you're wrong. Think about the future, what happens when people get old and start dying off? There aren't enough of us to keep going. We can make your group stronger. And there's more people like us out there, people who are lost, who need help. You want to leave them to die just because your own family's safe? Is that the world you want your sister to grow up in?" He only stared ahead.

"What about them?" he said, looking to the fire. "Won't they always be around too?" he asked.

"The more we change the world for the better, the less we'll have to fear in it."

One of the small sedans tore out from behind us-- I pulled Seth to the shoulder as it cut past us. What the hell was that?!" I yelled to no one in particular. I turned to the scared crowd and saw Wilson jumping into his own car which came screaming toward us. He stopped in front of me. I leaned down to the passenger window.

"What happened?" I asked.

"Travis. He took Marcus, he's gonna try to make a deal with them."

I jumped inside, Seth opened the back door. "No," I told him. "Stay here with Annie, she'll be scared, keep her calm."

He hesitated, then closed the door. "I mean it," I told him. "Stay." He nodded. Wilson burned rubber as he slammed the accelerator. We chased the two little red dots in the distance, the engine let out a wild screech as Wilson drove faster than I had ever seen anyone go before.

"He's got the whole family with him," he said.

"In case he's not allowed back," I explained.

"He saw the map Seth drew. He knows where we're headed. If he tells them where the camp is, we'll have no chance of losing them. Ever."

"That and, you know, we should try and help the kid."

"That too."

I pulled the gun from my belt. "Get beside them," I told him and leaned my head out the window. I tried my best to keep my arm steady against the hundred-mile-an-hour wind pushing against me. I squeezed the trigger.

The first shot hit the trunk, the second just above the back tire. Travis began to slow down-- as we met side by side, he threw his car against ours. I quickly snatched my arm back inside as he came crashing into us. Our back window cracked and burst into a thousand tiny shards-- my door folded in as he tried to push us against the median, Wilson turned the wheel toward Travis' car, smoke rose thick white from the front tires-- we pressed against one another until his headlight shattered. Finally, Wilson pushed Travis onto the dirt shoulder.