Montag walked through the woods, enjoying the serenity of nature. "How could they have turned so violent?" Montag wondered aloud. He pondered the question for awhile with no success. Finally, his feet grew tired and he sat on a rotting log to rest while two squirrels played tag on the branches above his head. Montag watched the playful squirrels prance across the delicate branches. Then, one unlucky squirrel missed the branch and tumbled down through the air.
An old man collapsed into the dirt while three men in uniforms circled him viciously. "Uncle!" the girl cried. Trying to respond to the girl's call the old man raised his head. Noticing that their prey was alive, two of the uniformed men took out guns and began to shoot the defenseless body. The third man turned to face a stunned girl. She stared at her uncle and started to bawl. "Why…" she sobbed. Then the men turned and pointed their guns at her. Realizing the danger she was in, the girl hurriedly stumbled backwards. They waited, as if unwilling to end the girl's pathetic attempts to run away. Then, the man in the middle stepped forwards and pulled the trigger. Screaming at the pain in her thigh, she fell on the ground. However, the approaching figures of the uniformed men caused her to scramble back onto her feet and hobble away as fast as she could. Displaying the first hint of emotion, one of the men began to chuckle at the pitiful sight. Quickly, the chuckle turned into a guffaw shared by all three while the injured girl limped away.
Montag snapped back into reality. Disoriented and scared he grabbed his bag and blindly took off running. Twigs and foliage slapped his face as he frantically ran passed. Finally, a newly fallen log got in his way and he collapsed in a heap on the ground. Gathering his bearings, Montag took a moment to think about what he had seen. 'Who were those men, and why where they hurting that poor girl and her uncle? And why did the girl seem so familiar?' Many questions flew through Montag's mind. Exhausted and unable to think he curled into a ball and closed his eyes.