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If Luis and Elroy had gotten straight on Highway 64, they ht’ve had a chance, but no--they were supposed to fil up the van with gas, so they parked a block away at the puet in the world

Back at the unfire

How it happened: Luis went into the Exxon store for a six-pack of cherry Coke and so jel y beans,kid," Elroy told hirinned "You want theet his sweets while Elroy worked the puas tank, so Elroy had ti by overhead There were hil s in Omaha Tal pine trees Parks with lakes Elroy never would’ve figured that in Nebraska

He watched a big ht about CC

He h-guy act, his stupid Italian suit andpistols CC had been a tis upbeat He’d believed they would make it to freedo in Alberta, screwing some Canadian chicks Now, CC was six hundred miles south, under a foot of red earth, food for Oklahoma worms

Night before last, in a Kansas trailer park, Luis and Elroy had held a kind of o, they had lit a barbecue fire and got drunker than hel , cooking up brisket and talking about CC

Elroy took Luis down to the creek, where they shot the bow-and-arrow set Elroy stole in Oklahoma City

Then they realized they’d have to find the arrows, so they tromped around in the dark and col ected a few until they heard a rattlesnake and ran like shit back to the picnic table They laughed about it afterward, their hearts pounding, and Elroy felt good for the first time since CC died

But they couldn’t keep up their spirits The Guide was always close by, always giving orders He looked at thees he didn’t real y want to deliver--the sa to death in front of that sporting goods store

Nobody leaves the group

Walking to Target, Luis had told Elroy, "We can make it the rest of the way, ese"

"You mean without him?"

"Fuck him," Luis said "We steal a car, head north our own damn selves What do you say?"

Elroy understood why Luis hated the Guide The Guide was a flesh sler, same as Stirman Probably kil ed more Mexicans in his life than he’d kil ed flies Be like asking Elroy to trust a Klansman

But Elroy was doubtful He wanted a new identity, s the Guide had promised He didn’t trust the Guide or Stiret to Canada--for CC’s sake, as wel as his own

Here at the Exxon station, this was the moment to decide As soon as the tank was ful , as soon as Luis cao up the block to the hway

Elroy wanted to find a good woman to marry He wanted to buy a decent house, join an old-fashioned gospel church

Not that he believed his soul could be saved He knew better than that Since the day he drove his fist through that racist foreman’s nose out in the oil fields of West Texas, Elroy had accepted the fact his teet a job, have soht, that would count for so He could have his own van with Cheerios and juice boxes in the back He could take his kids into woods, somewhere up north where the wilderness went on forever, and teach them to shoot a bow

They’d buy an endless supply of arrows, so they’d never have to go looking for them, just shoot them into the sky and watch the up behind him until the doors opened

A cop’s voice on the bul horn: "Driver of the Sienna van Put both hands slowly on top of your head Do it now"

Elroy turned

The policeman yel ed, "Do not turn around Put your hands on your head Do it now!"

There were two of theuns drawn and pointed at hiun tucked in his jeans, under his shirt

He started to raise his hands, but he kept hold of the pu Gasoline sprayed up the side of the van, toward the cops

That bought hi it

Elroy dropped the nozzle and ducked around the front of the van He hoped the cops knew better than to shoot at high-octane fuel One of them fired anyway The shot sparked off the fuel door Elroy crouched against the front buhed the odds of running, and didn’t like them much He saw Luis co under one ar, Luis let loose a ful clip at the police car

Then Luis jerked back The glass behind hi, then another--cherry Coke and jel y beans dribbling down his shirt

Elroy thought about his iht about Floresvil e State, the death sentence that aiting for him

Maybe Luis had nailed at least one of the cops Maybe there would only be one left

He raised his gun and charged around the side of the van, straight into crossfire from the second and third police cars, which had just pul ed up

Elroy didn’t have ti to flame, and the world erupted like a ful blast of Texas summer sun

The Guide pul ed out of the motel in a stolen Honda Accord He could see the black snet was already going up, but he eased past the scene at the gas station long enough to get the idea what had happened The cops stopped him His Nebraska driver’s license was valid They didn’t bother checking his registration He didn’t look like anyone they wanted

He got on the highway and headed in no particular direction--just away

Eventual y, the police would check et an ID on Elroy and Luis and wonder about the third man who’d checked in with them--who didn’t quitewhere Stirone

"We’re even," the Guide told Wil over the phone "I’onna disappear for a while"

"You promisedon the line but the huhway