The Devil's Highway

By mid-morning the walkers are more confused and exhausted than ever. They are starting to get angry with Mendez, their situation, and the government…anyone they can blame for the pain they feel. They are stuck in the Growler Mountains. Every time they reach the top of a peak, there is another one waiting. Most of them are almost out of water. At noon, Mendez insists that they wait until nightfall before continuing.

That night it is 94 degrees when they begin moving again. Mendez makes another wrong turn that takes them four miles in the wrong direction. He may have genuinely thought he was going in the right direction, or his faculties might have been deteriorating along with everyone else’s.

Those without water grow desperate. Those who still have some don’t have enough to share. Soon they are walking without thought, only seeking a chance to go downhill and spend less effort on movement. The group disintegrates and they fan out in a long straggling line. Those at the back realize how lost they all are and want to quit. Santos, one of the Coyotes, tells Mendez that he wants to go back. Mendez says they’ll die if they leave, but Santos is able to convince between three and five of the walkers to go with him.