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Part Ten: Sunset

Marie and Alex Jonsen caught the first train out of Seattle heading south. The Ninja was stashed in the luggage car. Train tickets were cheaper than gas; not that money was an issue right now, but the train would also allow them to rest.

Max sat at the window of the train, staring out at the sunset. She envied the people who could just see the beautiful reds. To her it looked like a wound, draining the day that was dying into night. The day was done for, fading like an anemic body exhausting the last drops of blood and light.

So was her time in Seattle, with Logan. Days of Chess and fine dinners and pre-pulse Nuits-St. George and pretending to be just a regular girl, were over. Night was coming, and all that would be left to her of the days in the sun were memories. She didn't even have a picture of Logan.

The telephone poles dashing past the window reminded Max of sheep jumping a fence. Racing yet going nowhere. Expending energy, nevertheless accomplishing nothing. She knew why people counted sheep to go to sleep. She had spent her entire life running, and yet she was still here. The mere thought was exhausting. That wasn't what she wanted for her child, but how could she make it better? At least her child wouldn't be alone, she thought. She rested her head back against the pillow not wanting to move, now or ever again.

She shut her eyes, and drifted off to sleep, trusting the man next to her to keep her, and her child, safe from harm. "The telephone poles … like sheep," she murmured softly as she drifted off to sleep.

"Yeah, they are," replied Ben. Funny, he had been thinking the exact same thing. The telephone poles reminded him of the sheep puttering about all around them. Human sheep; they looked like they were moving, but in reality they were going nowhere and accomplishing nothing. Just milling about in their pathetic little lives, completely oblivious to the predators among them or danger they were in.

Ben smiled down at Max, sleeping peacefully. He contemplated brushing her hair out of her face, but decided it was too soon. They were together. They were the same. Both of them were wolves in sheep's costumes; dangerous predators among easy prey.

Max slept until another dangerous predator approached.

To Be Continued …