Sunrise., [ Open ]

[Peter McVries]

A big grin spread across his face at the invitation and Peter found himself scrambling quickly into the truck, eager to get out of the open air where he could still easily be shot if the halftrack decided to amble up out of nowhere. He scooted into the middle of the seat, reveling in the feeling of a CUSHION UNDER HIS ASS(!!!) and being OFF OF HIS FEET(!!!).

Turning his head, he looked to Baker, motioning for him to get in. "Hurry! Get in! What if the soldiers show up and see us getting in here, man?"

He looked back at the road ahead of them, thankful and relieved that this guy had stopped. Peter turned to the driver, still beaming happily. "I'm Peter."

[Art Baker]

"And I'm Art," he added after Peter's introduction as he climbed into the truck. "Thanks for the ride."

He was quiet for a moment while his tired brain tried to make some sense of the situation. Nothing added up. Where were the others? Why had this vehichle been allowed on the highway? They should have shot him for that, yet here he was. And the soldiers. Why were the soldiers suddenly gone?

And suddenly it all added up. He'd lost it. Just like Olson. He was lost inside himself, inside the depths of his mind.

But maybe it's not such a bad thing, he thought. And when the time comes I'll just drift away into nothingness. Like falling asleep.

But Art knew it had not been that way with Olson. He went out in a blaze of bullets and pain with his insides exposed to God and everyone. Suddenly feeling very sick, Art leaned his head against the window of the Ryder truck and closed his eyes.

[Steve Ames]

"Steve. Good to meet you," he said, scrambling to move the map out of the way so the boys would have a place to sit.

Now that they were in the cab of the truck, he could see just how exhausted and worn they were. There were a lot of reasons a teenage boy could be that ragged, each of them as bad as the next.

"Hope you don't mind me asking, but what the hell happened to you guys?"

[Peter McVries]

"Thing called the Long Walk?" Peter figured the guy knew what he was talking about. Everyone knew about the Long Walk, right?

"We were walking, just like all the other guys and then I dozed off and this one--" He jabbed a thumb at Art. "--did as well. Next thing we knew, we both woke up and were wandering along an empty road into this place." The jabbed thumb turned into a hand wave towards the road in front of them.

Peter was going to ask Steve if he had noticed anything funny about the WELCOME TO CASTLE ROCK sign, but he figured he shouldn't. It was probably just a delusional type thing left over from their experience on the walk. It had to be.