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"Stay," Rodny told him He pushed one of the desks out of the way andfrom Frankie to the Crohose chair shivered in tis on the wall, the stories and songs, you ry"

"You should be," she screeched "You damn well should be!"

Mission un Allie knelt and held the old woled at their feet

"They kill and they kill," the Crow said "And this will go the way it always has Wipe it all clean Bury and burn the dead And these desks--" Her arer aied "These desks will be full again"

"No," Rodny said He shook his head "No more It ends here You won’t terrify us any?" Mission asked He stepped close to the Crow, a hand on her chair "You’re the one with the gun, Rodny You’re the one scaring us"

Rodny turned toward Mission "She o hand in hand What she sells is no different than the priests, only she gets to us first This talk of a better world It just makes us hate this one"

"No--" Mission hated his friend for uttering such a thing

"Yes," Rodny said "Why do you think we hate our fathers? It’s because her stories are true But this won’t make it better" He waved his hand "Not that it matters What I knew yesterday had ives un came up Mission couldn’t believe it His friend pointed the barrel at the Old Crow

"Wait--" Mission raised a hand

"Stand back," Rodny said "I have to do this"

"No!"

His friend’s arm stiffened The barrel was leveled at a defenseless woman in athem to sleep in their cribs and on theirdays and beyond

Frankie shoved a desk aside and lurched toward Rodny Allie screas coiled with the power of a thousand cliun roared and flashed There was a punch to his stoun thundered a second ti to the side as her hand spasmed

Mission clutched his sto on his back, he saw the Crow sluain, the gun roared Needlessly Her body twitched as it was struck Frankie flew into Rodny, and the twoBoots stormed into the roo She kept her hands on Mission’s sto so hard, and looked back at the Crow She wailed for them both

Mission tasted blood in his mouth It reminded hi They’d only ever been playing Costu to be their fathers

There were boots everywhere Shiny and black boots on soht before and those just learning

Frankie screamed Boots shuffled And then Rodny appeared above Mission, his eyes orry He told hi in there Mission wanted to say he’d try, but the pain in his belly was too great He couldn’t speak They told him to stay awake, but all he’d ever wanted was to sleep To not be To not be a burden to anyone

"Damn you!" Allie screamed, and it was at him, at Mission, not at Rodny She blubbered that she loved him, and Mission tried to say he knew He wanted to tell her that she was right all along He iined for a moment the kids they would have, the plot of soil if they co uninterrupted rows of corn like lives that stretched out for generations Generations of people staying close to ho being a burden to one another

He wanted to say all these things and led to form the words, all that came out, a whisper amid the din of boots and shouts, was that today was his birthday