Something's wrong.
Baker glances around at the Walkers that are left. Nine, counting himself. He sees a few familiar faces – Garraty, McVries, Stebbins… Abraham. It's Abraham that's missing. He thinks back to the night before, tries to remember what happened, who died.
He can't remember Abe dying. But he must have, or maybe all of the others died and Abraham won, but somehow he doubts that. The ones he thought could win are here.
Now he's sure none of them will win.
Except perhaps Garraty. He needs to ask Garraty for his lead-lined coffin. And maybe about Abraham.
"Garraty?"
Garraty looks startled, like he didn't know that Baker's still alive. "What?"
"Are we in?"
Garraty doesn't understand, it's evident, but suddenly it's very important that he does. "In, are we in? Garraty, please."
"Yeah. We're in. We're in, Art."
"I'm going to die now, Garraty." He doesn't know how he suddenly knows this, but now the others are appearing on the road, too, a little transparent but there. Abraham's beside him and he's like he was when the Walk started, tall and lanky and healthy but not grinning, he looks worried now. For some reason.
"All right."
"C'mon, Art, you'll be fine," Abraham says, grabbing onto his hand. Baker shakes him off and redirects his attention to Garraty.
"If you win, will you do something for me? I'm scared to ask anyone else." He gestures toward all of the others, to Barkovitch and Parker and Olson and Abraham.
"Anything."
Baker feels himself slipping away and he reaches out, he manages to catch Garraty's shoulder and Garraty starts to cry.
"Lead-lined."
"Walk a little bit longer. Walk a little longer, Art."
The rest of the time before he dies is all a blur. There's blood and tears and then he's shot but he hasn't left the road, he's just not tired anymore. He walks with Abraham and neither of them talk, just walk and watch as the others join then, one by one.
He wonders briefly if they'll always be on this road, forever walking, but then he thinks that it might not be so bad.
After all, he'd wanted to die, hadn't he?