"Any more out there?"

I shook my head. "I don't think so."

"Why don't you think so?"

"Hunch. I get the feeling they're not built for going solo. I'm guessing there were more of them, but Ariabod disposed of them somehow. If there were others, they'd be here by now."

He scratched his stubbly check. "You got these things figured out pretty quick."

"Not that hard." I squatted and stared at the corpse. "You don't want me here do you, Wes?"

"What?" I could feel him staring at me. "Son, I will kick your ass from here to China if you say something like that again."

"It's okay. I get it. I'm putting everyone in danger."

"Is this about me going off before?"

I didn't answer.

"Look here, this is a hard life, Oz. I ain't always going to be... positive about this path we've chosen. I got weak. That's all." I heard him sniffle. "You're my family, you and the others. I'd just as soon lay down my own life than see you leave us again. And Miss Lou... She'd go stark raving mad. I can't have that."

I stood and turned. I saw a tear slide down his fat cheek.

He cleared his throat. "I need you, boy."

I smiled and we headed back to the store.

"Three took out after us," Tyrone said. "Ariabod and Jambo, the other gorilla, held them off for a while... and then Jambo... they got him, but he took one out. Broke that sucker's neck. We outran them, or at least we thought we did. They caught up to us a few miles back. Attacked us while we were sleeping. Ariabod done one in, and April and me took off. Ended up here."

"The other apes?" I asked.

Ariabod signed while Lou interpreted.

"He says they're out there. Waiting."

"Waiting for what?" Gordy asked.

Ariabod signed.

"War... something," Lou said.

The gorilla signed again.

Frustrated, she said, "Signing faster doesn't help. It's war... something. That's the best I can do."

"Unless the rest of it is *War ain't happening,' I don't want to hear it anyway," Gordy said.

"Where's Archie?" April asked. She was sipping away on an energy drink.

"Didn't make it," Gordy said.

I shot him a look. "We don't know that for sure." I tried to give April a reassuring smile.

"Those giant bad guys in black armor say different," Gordy said.

"Could be the Keeper died for all we know," I said. "Nothing more."

"I don't understand," April said, lip trembling, shoulders shaking.

"Whenever awarrior ...," Gordy started.

"Creyshaw," I said.

"Fine, Creyshaw. Whenever a Creyshaw fails and a Storyteller is captured by the Destroyers, a new race of Destroyers comes forward."

"From where?" April asked.

"From the North Pole, Never Never Land, Atlantis, who knows."

"Some of them also come forward if the Keeper dies," I said.

"Maybe," Gordy said.

"Bobby said..." I started.

"Bobby said. Bobby said. Bobby had half the sense of a brainless bat," Gordy responded.

"Y'all are doing a lot of yapping about stuff that don't matter a lick," Wes said. "We need to rest up and get ready to move out in the morning."

"It's near morning now," I said.

Wes looked out the window. "We still got a couple of hours."

"I can't sleep," Lou said.

"You're on watch then," Wes said. "Unless someone else wants to volunteer, I'll take watch with her."

"I..." Was all I was able to say before Wes cut me off.

"Not you. We need you raring to go." He scanned the others. No one volunteered. "Me it is then." He started for the counter and then stopped. "Get on to sleeping already." Everyone but Lou moved to the back of the store.

I caught a glimpse of Lou and felt a strange feeling come over me. I didn't recognize it at first. It was like something gnawing away at my nerve endings. Suddenly I realized I was worried about her. I got Ajax's attention and called him to a corner of the store where we could be alone.

I spoke slowly as if he were an idiot. "I need you to do me a favor."

He nodded.

"Watch Lou."

He turned his massive head and watched her for a brief period and then turned back to me.

"No," I said. "I mean protect her."

He nodded enthusiastically.

"Don't tell her about this."

He shook his head.

"Good."

He grinned comically.

I patted him on the shoulder and relaxed as that gnawing feeling slowly disappeared.

I woke up the next morning with Kimball licking my face. I pushed him away and sat up, wiping the slobber from my cheek. The others were gone. I yawned and stood on unstable feet. I was weak. Maybe the time spent under the shunter's "care" was finally getting to me. I reached up to open the door and noticed for the first time that the room was smaller. There were no windows. The door was slotted. It folded open and shut. It was a closet. I pushed the door open.

I was in my parents' bedroom. I turned to look back in the closet for any signs of the convenience store. The floor was covered with clothes. Kimball was nowhere to be found. I heard a clicking outside the door of my parents' bedroom. This was all very familiar.

I placed my hand on the bedroom door knob, breathed deeply, and then slowly pulled the door open. I stuck my head past the jamb and peered down the hallway. I was about to breathe a sigh of relief when a man appeared at the end of the hall. With his gnarled fingers thrust forward, he stumbled toward me. A purple blob covered his face.

"Archie!" I yelled.

"Oz," a voice replied.

"Archie."

"Oz!"

The voice was coming from behind me. I turned toward it, and was horrified to see Gordy's dead Skinner sister staring back at me. I screamed and tripped over my feet as I attempted to flee. I fell to the floor face first with a thud. Woozy, I slowly rolled on my back and saw Lou looking down at me.

"Oz," she said quizzically. "You okay?"

I jerked up. "What..." I was no longer in my parents' bedroom. I was back in the convenience store. I hesitated and searched for an explanation. "Dream," I said. "It was just a dream."

Lou helped me to my feet. "I guess that means you were able to sleep."

"I guess," I said wiping my eyes.

"That's good," she said, handing me a Reese's Peanut Butter Cup. "Found a secret stash of candy in a filing cabinet in the manager's office."

I examined the candy. "Probably should give this to April or Ty..."

"There was enough for everybody," she said. "Eat it."

Relieved, I tore open the wrapper. I was starving. I devoured the candy. I wanted to cry it tasted so good. "Where are the others?" I asked with peanut butter stuck to the roof of my mouth.

"Out front waiting for us."

"Why did you let me sleep?"

"Even Creyshaws need their sleep, Oz."

I nodded. "I guess." I started for the door, but she stopped me.

"Are you mad at me?" she asked.

"No, why?"

She shrugged. "Kind of feels like you've been avoiding me."

"Nope," I said. We locked in a momentary stare. I could feel my heart begin to pound against my chest. I breathed in and marveled at how good she smelled.

"What?" she said.

Perplexed, I said, "What do you mean *what'?"

"You're looking at me funny."

"I am?" I hadn't realized.

"Is there something you want to tell me?"

I shook my head. "Just that we should get moving."

She smiled and brushed past me. The touch of her gave me goose bumps. My one true love, I thought. That's crazy.

THREE.

We spent the first half of our morning rummaging through a Walmart for supplies and a change of clothes. We all washed up with baby wipes. At Wes's insistence, April and Lou went to one end of the store with Kimball and cleaned up, while the rest of us went to the other.

"Lou is like my daughter," Wes explained. "I don't need to see her business. That ain't right."

"Yeah, well if it's all the same to you," Gordy said, "I'd just as soon not see your business either."

We each chose a separate aisle, undressed, and wiped ourselves down with the wet wipes. When we met back up in the middle of the store, we had new clothes and a clean baby smell.