Oh, shit.
"The girl comes," the man says. "That is what Edwin says. He wishes to speak to the girl."
I swear Wallace snorts softly. He's already realized that, given the choice, everyone prefers to speak to me instead of Dalton.
"All right," I say. "Let Eric take our guest and dog home to Rockton. I'll talk to Edwin."
Dalton mouths Fuck no, his jaw setting in a way I know well. But before he can speak, the man says, "Edwin will talk to the girl, but he says to bring Steve's boy. That was the order. Do not let him leave. If he tries"--he looks at Dalton--"shoot him."
46
We walk to the First Settlement. They were willing to let Wallace go, but he refused.
"I don't know my way back," he said.
"Just follow--" I begin.
"Somehow, it seems safer to stay with you two. I've heard quite enough about this forest."
As for Phil, he's gone. Fled without ever being spotted.
I try to talk to the settlers. Defuse this situation. But they have been warned not to speak to us, and they are already wary. So I fall to silence, walking beside Dalton, armed settlers in front and behind.
We're nearing the First Settlement when the men in front of us turn and point their guns.
"Hands behind your back," one says, taking out a length of rope.
"Fuck no," Dalton says.
The woman steps forward. "Get your hands behind your back, boy, or we'll put a bullet through your damned skull."
Dalton wheels on her. "Excuse me?"
"Enough." One of the men turns to Dalton. "We are not letting you walk into our village after what happened. You will be disarmed. You will have your hands bound. People are angry. If we bring you in like guests, there will be trouble."
Dalton grumbles, but puts his hands behind his back, and then lets them disarm us. Wallace silently follows our lead.
The woman glowers at Dalton's grumblings. "You're lucky we don't shoot you and drag your bodies through the settlement."
"What the hell?" Dalton says.
She steps up to him. "Albie. Nancy. Douglas."
"The people who died," I say. "Yes, we take full responsibility for letting their killer escape."
"Escape?"
"What do you expect?" one of the guys says. "They're going to blame this on someone else."
"No," I say carefully. "We acknowledge the killer was one of ours."
"So now you're blaming some innocent person from Rockton?" the woman says. "Was that your plan? Bring us a body and say 'There's your killer'?"
"Or is it him?" The man turns to Wallace. "Are you forcing this old man to take the fall?"
"What the hell are you talking about?" Dalton says.
The woman steps right in front of him and spits up in his face.