Harry had not felt the pain in his leg all this time, but now that they were on their way, the adrenaline had stopped coursing through his body and it itched. CJ had reapplied the bandages though it had stopped bleeding. He was unsure of what to do next. He was in the middle of God's country with a prostitute and buckshot in his leg. Conner was missing, there was a dead goon, Skinny would no doubt come calling soon and expect remuneration, it looked to snow any time soon, and maybe, just maybe, they had two days' supply of food left, at best.

CJ watched him pace back and forth, muttering to himself, scratching his head, and working out every conceivable plan of action. Then she said that if they had only gone down the road they used to get there and turned left, they could have come to a visitor's center, which was three miles further down.

"Spilt milk," he said. "What we have to do now is find safety, a town, a house, and other people, anything soon before the weather turns really bad. One thing is certain; we can't go back to the hotel. And if we stay with the car, we'll freeze and Skinny can just collect his debt in the spring."

He looked at CJ for a long time.

"I feel like you're undressing me, Harry, are you mad?"

"I am, I must be, and you look worried," he paused. "What are you thinking about?"

"Nothin', much." She avoided his eyes, fussing aimlessly with the ground, brushing dirt into little piles with her feet, and kicking snow onto the fire.

The sun came out and provided some warmth, melting the snow that clung to the trees. But, in the distance, the sky looked crimson under heavy clouds.

"Boy," she said rather slowly, and with that heavy southern accent, "it sure is gonna snow sometime soon. Look at that sky over there."

As she pointed east, the sun cowered and fell behind the upcoming clouds and he felt a chill run through his spine. His head began to spin. He stopped pacing and stood straight up breathing heavily through his nose and forcing the air out quickly through tightly pursed lips. Cold and purified fresh air filled his lungs and fed his brain.

"Why ya doin' that?"

"It helps calm me down and it warms the face." He looked around one last time making sure he had cleaned up all evidence of their presence. He hid whatever they were not taking with them in the bushes nearby. Then he straightened up the pit, arranging the stones, looking for bloody ones, and tried to make it look like a very old fire.

Then he turned his attention to the path ahead. At the opening of the path were two old and tired red tag markers nailed to the trees on either side. It had been marked some time ago judging by the rusted condition of the nails and the wear and tear on the plastic strips.

He hoisted his pack and started walking.

After ten feet, he noticed she was not with him, and he turned to see her standing with her pack at her feet, her eyes downcast and her arms limp at her side.

"You coming?" Harry asked a bit emphatically. He walked back to her, picked up her pack, and tried to place it in her hand. "We have to go. Now."

She shrugged her shoulders.

"I think I'm making a mistake." She looked up at Harry. Her face twisted with doubt. She bit the edge of her lip. "I haven't ever been away from Skinny before. It don't seem right somehow. Ya know?"

Harry felt the steam rise up inside his head, and he held it there a while rather than blowing it off at CJ. He could not blame her after all.

"I don't know why I even came along. Dumb ass move."

"You did, though," he said, his voice strained. It grew higher as he talked. "And now he wants to kill you."

He had to remain calm. Losing his temper would help no one and only harm things from here on out. Harry had to show authority and take charge. Of course, he didn't want her to do anything against her will, but she had gotten them into this mess and he was damn sure she was going to see it through. He calmed down, and in a quiet determined tone, he added, "And he'd like to see me dead, too, I don't doubt. I don't even want to think what happened to Conner. Now you want to go back to him. Well, I need you right now, and I know you need me. We're going on. Now, come on."

CJ stopped and looked behind. Harry thought she was still hesitating, but she was looking back at the fire pit and beyond. Suddenly, Harry saw it too. The body that they dragged across the ground and into the ravine had left a flattened path looking akin to crop circles.

"We gotta fluff that up a bit," she said, and started back, but Harry stopped her.

"We already did that. Let it go, the snow will cover it soon," he told her. "Besides, if Skinny comes back he'll find what he wants to. He has to know Mouse is not coming back anytime soon. Don't you think?"

Harry felt suddenly sick to his stomach. The shock of killing the fat man finally came home. He fell to all fours, shook violently, and vomited. He got up afterwards and went to the stream to wash up and drink.

When he had done that, he came back to the path and CJ and hoisted his backpack on his shoulders and started walking as if nothing had happened.

"Ready."