Turn 149 of 226

The authorities are still chasing us. We kill them eventually.

The dogs come first. The dogs are the things the bodies hear at noon — the baying that carries across the flat ground, the baying that is the thing the bodies know from the hunts. The dogs are the things that track the scent. The scent is the thing the creek did not fully cover. The creek is the thing the bodies left three hours ago. The leaving is the thing that exposed the trail again.

Lena's hand is the thing that tightens on Diane's wrist. The tightening is the thing that says run. The running is the thing the bodies do through the drainage network — the network that is the thing of concrete channels and rusted pipes and the junctions that the bodies choose by instinct. The instinct is the thing the wish built. The instinct is the thing the animal has. The animal is the thing that knows the drainage better than the men with the dogs.

The first dog is the thing that finds them at the junction. The dog is the thing that rounds the corner and the dog is the thing that lunges. Lena's hand is the thing that catches the throat. The catching is the thing that is the grip — the grip that is the thing the bull's neck taught. The squeeze is the thing that ends the dog in four seconds. The four seconds are the thing the second dog uses to arrive. Diane's hands are the things that find the second dog's spine. The finding is the thing that is the twist. The twist is the thing that ends the second dog. The ending is the thing that leaves silence in the junction.

The men are the things that come after the dogs. The men are the four that the bodies hear at the next junction — the boots on the concrete, the radios that are the things that crackle, the voices that are the things that say cleared and moving south. The south is the thing the bodies are not. The bodies are the things that doubled back. The doubling is the thing the hunts taught — the doubling that is the thing the prey does, the thing the predator does not expect. The men do not expect the bodies behind them.

The first man is the thing Lena takes from behind. The taking is the thing that is the arm around the throat — the throat that is the thing the choke finds, the choke that is the thing the ground game built. The man is the thing that goes limp in three seconds. The limp is the thing that drops the body. The dropping is the thing that makes the sound. The sound is the thing the second man turns toward. The turning is the thing that gives Diane the opening. The opening is the thing Diane's fist finds — the fist that is the thing that catches the jaw. The jaw is the thing that breaks. The breaking is the thing that drops the second man. The dropping is the thing the third man sees. The seeing is the thing the third man uses to reach for the weapon. The weapon is the thing Lena's hand finds first. The finding is the thing that is the disarm — the disarm that is the thing the tournament fighter does not need but the thing the animal uses. The fourth man runs. The running is the thing Lena does not allow. The not allowing is the thing that is the sprint — the sprint that is the thing 1,250 pounds of muscle and fat moving at twenty-eight miles per hour. The man is the thing Lena catches in eight steps. The catching is the thing that is the end.

The silence is the thing that follows. The silence is the thing the bodies stand in. The standing is the thing that is the blood on the hands and the blood on the concrete and the four men on the ground. The blood is the thing the bodies do not clean off. The not cleaning is the thing the animal does. The animal is the thing that does not clean. The animal is the thing that moves. The moving is the thing Lena pulls Diane into. The pulling is the thing that is the direction — the direction that is the thing away from the drainage, the direction that is the thing deeper into the industrial outskirts. The outskirts are the thing the bodies need. The need is the thing that is the territory. The territory is the thing the bodies must find. The finding is the thing the bodies do together. The together is the thing the bodies are. The bodies are the things that are alive. The alive is the thing the men are not. The men are the thing the bodies leave behind. The behind is the thing the bodies do not look back at.