Anthony DeCosmo - Disintegration

Dante Jones counted fast: "One-Mississippi…two Mississippi…"

Kristy ran the perfect buttonhook, exactly as diagramed in the dirt. Jon fired the ball just above the outstretched arm of Anita Nehru. Kristy bobbled it but held on.

Dustin McBride abandoned his coverage of Duda and lunged to tag the receiver. Tolbert, downfield by the end zone, engaged the larger Ross with a blocking move.

Kristy feinted to run but-as planned-flipped the ball to Benny Duda.

The unexpected move left Benny clear to race for the end zone…except Woody Ross threw Tolbert aside and blocked the kid's path.

The freckle-faced 12-year-old gasped. Ross, a first-round draft pick out of the University of Miami and one-time starting strong side linebacker for the Washington Redskins, stood between Duda and the winning touchdown.

Bear played it perfect. He stomped his feet, snarled, then let howl a cry of battle.

Duda yelled, "Ooo…shhhhhh… iiiiiii…ttttt…"

Ross reached to make the two-hand touch tag and…swatted air.

Duda spun away and pranced between the two bushes marking the endzone. The resulting celebration included knocking knees then spinning the ball on the ground and shooting it with pretend guns.

Woody "Bear" Ross stood alone in the field, the subject of intense scrutiny from the handful of people who played the role of the roaring crowd.

"God damn it, I won a national championship." He shook his head and smiled in an "awe shucks" sort of way. "Hey Bugle Boy!" Ross yelled with false fierceness. "Let’s play tackle!"

Benny's eyes grew wide and frightened as Ross ran at him like a charging bull. The kid raced off through the woods and down the slope to the parking lot behind the Methodist Church.

Trevor and Lori Brewer, standing amongst the dissipating crowd of spectators, laughed at the sight as they walked across the field. Jon joined them.

"Here comes Coach Lombardi," Stone, limping, joked.

"Chuck Knoll," the lifetime Steelers fan corrected.

Tyr and several other K9s trailed Trevor and the Brewers. The dogs did not understand football. They did not understand Thanksgiving either, and they certainly could not comprehend how a feast and a sport were so closely tied together. However, they did understand that hunting parties had been under special orders to catch wild turkeys.

Three days had past since Trevor’s return. During that time, Omar worked wonders with the power systems and K9 patrols indicated the surrounding area lacked any major threats. Add in the stories of victory brought home by the returning heroes and Trevor could understand why confidence once again soared.

Only one thing felt out of place.

Nina Forest barely saw or spoke to anyone, spending most of her time hidden away in her apartment above the A-Frame’s garage. She even changed her schedule so that she often ate in an empty dining hall.

As the trio left behind the football field, Trevor’s thoughts turned to the missing woman.

"She won’t see me," Lori explained. "I’ve tried, but she won’t talk to me. She won’t even talk to Shep. I think the only one she talks to is your dog, Odin. I see him following her around everywhere but that’s about it."

Trevor nodded and, as if trying to convince himself, said, "She’ll be at dinner tonight. She’ll be there."

Two hours after Benny Duda scored the winning touchdown on the gridiron, the community gathered for a Thanksgiving feast spread out among the rooms of the mansion. The only ones missing were the residents of the farms and Nina Forest.

They dined on slow-roasted wild turkey, instant mashed potatoes, stale "Stove Top" stuffing, as well as cranberries and vegetables from cans.

Everyone loved it.

They uncorked a dozen bottles of wine and enjoyed a Champagne toast.

For a couple of hours things felt… normal. Not even the approaching thunderstorms could ruin the evening.

Dinner did not so much end as fade away. Some stayed behind, such as Danny Washburn who desperately hit on Cassy Simms, and Evan Godfrey who cornered a few of the new arrivals to discuss ‘politics’.

Trevor, with Tyr by his side, left the church basement and walked alone in the darkness toward the mansion. A cold breeze ruffled his windbreaker. A flash of heavenly fireworks illuminated the churning waters of the lake.

Odin the Elkhound intercepted Trevor at the main gate and presented his Master with disturbing news.

Trevor listened and then turned north on the perimeter road as fast as his wounded legs would allow. The dogs followed at a discreet distance. The lightning flashed again over the lake; a rumble of thunder shook the night.

He followed the black top driveway on the grounds of the A-Frame house. He stopped outside of the garage where a solitary security light generated a circle of illumination around a Jeep Grand Cherokee, the one Trevor had hot-wired to evacuated Shepherd from the helicopter crash long ago.

Nina, dressed in her tactical outfit, descended the stairs from her apartment. She carried a duffel bag over her shoulder and held a camouflage jacket in her hands.

"What are you doing?"

She threw the bag and jacket in the rear seat of the Jeep.

"I’m leaving. I figured no one had used this Jeep in a while so I thought I’d take it."

"No you’re not."

She sighed and retrieved her bag and jacket from the rear seat.

"Okay then, I’ll walk."

"Why do you want to leave?"

Nina stopped.

She placed the bag on the ground with her jacket on top. Her eyes scanned everywhere but at him and she gently bit her lower lip.

A flash of lightning strobed the area. Thunder followed two seconds later.

"I don’t belong here."

"What? What the hell makes you say that?"

"I’m not like everyone else. I don’t fit in."

He told her, "We need you to stay. I want you to stay."

"After everything I did? I can’t believe you mean that."

He took a hesitant step forward. She finally glanced-briefly-at him.

More lightning. More grumbles of thunder. The wind whipped faster. The storm prepared to break.

"Damn it, Nina, what are you afraid of?"

"Afraid? I’m not afraid of anything."

"Then why the hell are you running? That’s what you’re doing, you know. Running away. You belong here more than anyone else does."

"I don’t deserve to be here! You…Lori…all of you… you all had lives before this. You all had…had something else. But you said it yourself; all I know is killing. And you said that this isn’t about just killing; it’s about saving. Since I’ve been here, I haven’t saved anyone. I’ve just killed. It’s all I know." The first rain drops tap-tap-tapped on the blacktop. "And those sons a bitches, they were able to use me because of that!"

He slipped in, "That wasn’t your fault."

"After what they did to you…and I stood there and let them do it…and before all that, to think that I thought that maybe we-maybe you and I-" she stumbled about, paused, then threw away the thought. "That’s why I have to go. I can go and kill on my own, without putting you or anyone else in danger."

Boom!

The lightning and thunder struck simultaneously.

"Nina…"

The rain fell in sheets.

She looked at him and shouted, "What is it you want from me? I’m sorry, damn it. There, I said it! I’m sorry I betrayed you. Now let me go! Just forget about me!"

Trevor yelled above the roar, "I can’t do that!"

The rain poured over them: a chilling rain. Her blond hair soaked and drooped. Sparkling droplets covered his windbreaker. Puddles formed across the black top.

"I can’t do that. I can’t forget about you, Nina. And I can’t let you run away."

"I have to…I don’t fit in…I don’t know anything but fighting and killing."