After walking miles, Brayker and Zee came across a sign saying, 'Welcome to Wormwood, New Mexico.' On the other side of the street is a cafe. The two looked behind them before jogging across the street. Thunder roared above them.
Brayker and Zee ducked down as they approached the two cars parked outside the cafe to not get spotted by anyone. Brayker and Zee decided to pick the dark-colored vehicle before checking the driver-side door was unlocked. Unfortunately for the two, it was. And so was the rear passenger door. Brayker quickly took out his knife before picking the lock on the driver's door.
Zee acted as a lookout but didn't have to do it for long as a young boy appeared around the car's front end. The woman knew the young boy's name was Danny. Zee taps Brayker's shoulder, causing him to stop and look at the boy.
"Are you stealing my daddy's car?" Danny asked Brayker and Zee.
"Stealing? No, I was testing the lock. Seems to be working just fine," Brayker told the boy before he and Zee stood up. Brayker takes a quarter out of his pocket and shows it to the boy, "Hey, kid. You want a quarter? How about a shiny new quarter? You want one? Come on."
"Dad, there's people outside stealing your car! Hey, Dad, hurry up! Get out here!" Danny shouted.
Brayker and Zee quickly ran away from the cafe just as the boy's parents and a man rushed out. But Brayker and Zee were long gone.
Brayker and Zee continued running for a while before stopping for shelter and rest. Brayker leaned over a crate to catch his breath. Unlike her friend, Zee didn't need to catch her breath and stood with her back against a couple of stacked boxes beside Brayker.
Zee rubbed her friend's back in comfort. She knew he had been at it a long time, but Brayker knew Zee had been at it longer than him. Brayker wondered if Zee ever got tired from it, but kept going out of necessity. Suddenly, a thunder boomed in the night sky.
"Boy, listen to that thunder," An old man spoke, holding a bottle filled with alcohol, appearing from behind a couple of stacked crates across from Zee and Brayker. While Zee had seen the man appear from his hiding spot, Brayker was caught off guard. He turned around and pulled out his switchblade but didn't hurt the stranger. Just as Zee knew the boy's name was Danny, she knew the man standing before her and Brayker was Willy.
"God's doing some serious thinking tonight," Willy continued. He sat on a crate. "I'll bet he's saying: On second thought, maybe I should have given it all to the monkeys."
"Maybe it's not too late," Zee told him, "There's always the chance of redemption."
"I always hate drinking alone. You want a taste?" The man offered.
"Sure," Brayker took the bottle and sat on a crate while Zee stood. Brayker sniffed the contents before making a toast, "To the monkeys."
Brayker took a couple of sips before he removed the bottle from his lips and felt the alcohol burn his throat as it made its way down.
"It ain't very subtle, but it does the trick," Willy said.
Brayker gave the bottle to Zee for her to drink its contents.
"Thanks," Zee said before taking the bottle and drinking it. Willy stared at Zee in amazement as she drank what remained in the bottle. And it was half-full.
"You sure can drink, little lady," Willy commented.
"I have a fast metabolism," Zee responded, "Can't get drunk, even if I wanted to."
"You wouldn't happen to know of a place where my friend and I could bed down, would you?" Brayker asked Willy.
"Well, it just so happens, I do," He responded.
Meanwhile, two law enforcement officers, Sheriff Tupper and Deputy Bob, were at the fiery crash site. The deputy examines the small but still on fire cars while the sheriff is on the radio at the police car.
"That's two cars, Sheriff?" A woman's voice on the radio asked.
"That's right, Mavis," Sheriff Tupper confirmed, "One of 'em's got Maryland plates, and the other ones from New Jersey. Ten-four."
"Ten-four."
"You were right, Sheriff," Deputy Bob said as he walked over to the police car, "Them sons of bitches must have been doing well over a hundred."
"Well, Bob, it's too late to give them a ticket. But, if it'll make you feel any better, you can shoot their ashes," The Sheriff told his deputy. Suddenly, the sheriff noticed something appearing from behind and walking around the crash, "What the..."
It was a man if you could call him that. He was wearing a cowboy hat and tan coat. The same hat and jacket as the man or thing in the car chasing Brayker and Zee.
"Holy shit! Hey, mister, get away from there," Deputy Bob told the man as he and Tupper rushed toward him.
"Where the hell you come from?" Sheriff Tupper questioned.
"This is my car. Was my car. Did you see him? Walking into town, the guy I was chasing?" The man asked with a southern twang. The sheriff and deputy looked at the man funny, wondering how he survived the crash.
"Airbags gotta love 'em," The man said before asking, "Did you see him?"
"We didn't see anybody," Deputy Bob answered.
"Now wait a minute. Are you telling me that guy over there walked out of here, too?" Sheriff Tupper asked, not noticing the man walking away.
"Where you goin'? You got a few questions to answer," Deputy Bob said.
The man stopped before turning to the sheriff and deputy, "Look, Officers, the man I'm chasing is dangerous. He has a hostage, a woman. I have reason to believe he brainwashed her. If he's in your town, you got a problem. We stand here arguing about a traffic accident..." The man holds his hand up as Bob's flashlight blinds him, "Do you mind?" Deputy Bob lowered his flashlight, and the man continued saying, "Something awful's about to go down... over there."