Gin felt like she'd somehow been set free.  Free from Viper and her unshakeable obsession with him, free from Preston who she was beginning to see was nothing more than enabler to keep her emotionally attached to someone she'd never have.  Now she had her own man...strong and smart and crazy about her, as a friend and a lover.  She simply couldn't get enough of him.

"What say we take a little walk, away from all these people...find somewhere a little more private?" 

"I thought you'd never ask," Pete said, taking her hand and leading her away from the celebration.  With their arms wrapped around each other's waists they began to walk away from the well-lit area to the perimeter buildings where only dim lights flickered through the low-lying fog. They walked down the road until it ended at an alley against a backdrop of brush and trees.  To the right they saw more buildings and woods and further than that disappeared in the fog.  To the left was one large building, the corner brightly lit.  But as Gin and Pete stood looking at the light it fast became a blaze, flames licking out from the downstairs windows and before they could even move or comprehend what was before them a sound like an explosion trembled the building and smoke began rolling out behind the flames.

At the same time they both began screaming "Fire! Fire!!" and turned to run back down the road they'd come from.  Gin stumbled once and Pete stopped only long enough to grab the top of her arm and swing her back up; then they both ran with unbelievable speed to the friendly lights and sounds far ahead of them.  Gin kept saying "Oh God, Oh God," over and over again and Pete soon ran further ahead of Gin shouting "Fire!" and waving his arms.  And the people heard his screams and saw his anguish and stopped still and unmoving until the horror of what was happening overcame them and they too began to run.

*********************

Behind Palomino's was a small deck where occasionally live bands would set up.  There was no band this night though and the deck was almost empty, everyone instead inside listening to the jukebox and shooting pool.  Tallulah and Heather had gone inside only long enough to buy two Rolling Rocks, be leered at inappropriately, and use the bathroom.  Then they took their beers outside where they could continue their conversation.

"So, please, tell me what you're doing out so late tonight, alone," Heather asked her new friend.

Tallulah offered a cigarette to Heather who declined, lit one for herself and began.  "Well, I've been on the road for almost a week...kind of a vacation I guess you could say.  When you stopped I was trying to make up my mind whether to go home or keep going."  Tallulah's dark hair was pulled back in a low ponytail on her neck but the wind from the convertible had pulled most of it out and it hung down in wavy tendrils all around her face.  She had a pretty figure, rather voluptuous, and big dark expressive features that reminded Heather of Jazz.

"Where is home?"

"Here."

"Here?  In Cherokee?" Heather asked, surprised.

"Mmm-hmm.  Born and raised, right down the road.  Exactly where y'all are staying."

"No!  On...the reservation?"

And over the next hour or so Tallulah told Heather her story, what it was like growing up on an Indian reservation, knowing early on that she would leave, just like her brother had, just like her parents eventually did.  Only her grandparents were still there.  And though Tallulah moved off the reservation she stayed close by.  She had a small apartment in one of several complexes that had sprung up on the outskirts of Cherokee.  She'd lived in other places...had in fact moved around quite a bit.  But she always ended up back in Cherokee.

"It's home, what can I say?" Tallulah offered.  "There's not enough here to keep me happy forever but there's something at the very core that never really lets me leave."

Heather nodded, completely understanding.  Alabama was her home and though it had it's share of problems and shame she would never leave it either.

"Wow.  So, do you know Nadu?  She's been traveling with us.  In fact, she's the reason we're here now."

Tallulah shook her head.  "Can't say I recognize the name.  But like I said, I don't really keep up with them much anymore.  I don't keep up with anyone it seems...haven't seen my brother in years.  Nor my parents in...I can't even remember."  Sometimes when Tallulah realized just how long it had been since she'd had any contact with her family it made her sad.  But she had learned that their differences caused a chasm between them that would never be bridged and any effort to try to had always failed.

Glancing at her watch, Heather noticed that it was very very late.  She hadn't told anyone she was leaving and didn't want to worry her sisters so she disappointedly told Tallulah she needed to leave.  "I've really enjoyed this evening...I'm so glad I met you.  I don't think I really realized how lonely I've been on this trip.  After Luna left I thought that Merritt and I would become close but then she took off.  I thought I could help Snow then...and he could help me...but now he's gone too.  It's meant a lot to me to just...vent, you know?  Thank you."  Heather smiled sincerely and with genuine feeling.

"I feel the same way Heather," Tallulah said.  "I'm pretty much of a loner myself but sometimes it's good to just kind of...I don't know, purge yourself."  She stopped and the two were silent for a moment.  Then, "It's like there's still more we need to talk about though, isn't it?"

Heather looked at Tallulah's open face and nodded.

"Well then, maybe this would be a good time for me to go see my grandparents."

"Really?" Heather asked.  "Now?"  She was suddenly very excited.  When she left earlier she'd been despondent and uncertain.   Now, just a few hours later she felt elated and optimistic about what might happen...what could still happen.

Tallulah's eyes were very dark, unreadable.  But she spoke clearly and with confidence.  "Yeah, why not?"  But just like when they stood out front, when no words passed between them, only the delicate touch of fingertips stating the obvious, neither woman moved.  Only their eyes spoke to one another and there was absolutely no misunderstanding on either's part.

**********************************

"What's wrong baby?" Jeremy asked Merritt when she returned to the patio."You look upset."

"No, I'm fine.  That was a friend, Snow...actually the guy I was riding with on the bike trip.  He just found out his mother had a stroke and he had to leave to head back to Fairhope."

"Oh no," Jeremy said.  "Wow.  What does that mean for you then?"

"Well, I don't know.  Obviously it's not gonna do me any good to rent the car tomorrow and take off to North Carolina if I'm not going to have a riding buddy when I get there."  She stopped, thinking, then said out loud.  "Of course, I could probably ride with someone else...in fact, Heather's friend had to bail on her and she might like the company..." Her voice drifted off as she considered that possibility.

Shorty spoke.  "These are your friends who are in Cherokee?"

Merritt nodded.  "Yeah.  I'm not sure how long they'll be staying there though.  My plans were to rent a car and drive there...or wherever I can catch up with them, and then ride with the group again."

"Well if that's your only problem, like I said...that's where I'm headin'.  Don't have an itinerary, don't have a schedule, I'm just driftin' with the wind."  He smiled at Merritt.  "Forget the car.  Ride with me.  Once we get there if you can't hook up with a friend, hell, I'll just join y'all for awhile and we'll pair up."  Then he looked at Jeremy and asked "Depending on what you think of that of course, Jeremy." 

And because Jeremy was Jeremy, naturally that was fine with him if it was what Merritt wanted.  "Well sure, that sounds like a plan.  What do you think babe?"

"Really?  Your plans are just...well, open?"

"Yep, that's me.  Free as a bird."

Merritt looked at Jeremy, wanting him to say more.  But he didn't appear the least ruffled by Shorty's invitation or her consideration of it.  Instead he looked right at Merritt and said "How's that for timing?  I'm telling you, things always work out when you live your life right."  Then he smiled his big easy smile that Merritt had come to love, raised his beer and said "To good friends."

So Merritt and Shorty clinked the top of their bottles to Jeremy's, looked at one another, and assumed that a plan had been hatched.  Shorty couldn't believe his good luck.  Jeremy was pleased that he'd been the link that would make his friends happy.  And Merritt...Merritt was hurt.  Hurt that Jeremy could so easily turn her over to another man, even if that man was a friend of his.  Hurt that he didn't suggest that since her plans had changed she stay with him...if only for awhile.  Hurt that all the emotions and feelings she had inside for this young man she'd just met were evidently not returned to her in the same way.  It was so seldom that Merritt felt close to a man - close in any other way than sexual - that Jeremy's behavior was like a slap in the face.  She looked deeply into his eyes, searching for something that didn't match the words he was saying, but found nothing.

When he was only ten years old Arnold's house had caught on fire while he and his parents were at home.  They were fortunately able to get out safely but they lost everything, all the meager possessions they had.  Arnold would never forget watching their house flaming against the night sky, the expressions of agony on his parents' faces, the smell in the air that would live in him forever. 

And now Arnold had evolved into Arlene but the nightmare was the same.  It wasn't her home...no.  But she knew deep in her heart what those poor Indians were feeling and that realization was so intense that she became physically sick.  She kept asking Rowena "You did that?  You did, didn't you?“

Rowena was not happy with Arlene's behavior.  She acted like she might flip completely out at any minute.  "Hell no, I told you, I was trying to find that damned money when I heard everybody screaming and carrying on!  What's wrong with you anyhow?  Calm down.  Listen, you stay here, I'll be back."

And without another word Rowena left Arlene there, deep in the woods covered up in darkness, alone and afraid.

During the hours when the fires were spreading and the firemen and trucks and hoses and water were everywhere and the smoke was rich and fragrant, every different direction lit up with flames, Rowena wandered, always on the perimeter, standing in one place mesmerized for minutes, drinking in the beauty, a look on her face of awe and fulfillment.  And as the fires burned she watched too the looks on the faces of everyone, the horror, the tears, and she savored every piece of it.  Rowena moved from place to place, seeing each frame she could from a different perspective, a different angle, sometimes so overcome with what was before her she cried, great huge tears running down her dark face, mixing with the sweat, pouring off her like waves from the ocean.  Her heart was racing so that at one point she had to squat down, leaning forward on her arms for support, but never did her eyes leave the fires.

In the woods Arlene thought she would go mad, listening to the roar of the fire and the screams and the fury.  She kept seeing Rowena's face, crazy and frightening and knew she'd been looking into pure evil.  And Arlene was as certain as Rowena's sainted mother had been that her daughter was the devil incarnate and she could hardly breathe from fear.

Hours later when Rowena returned to the spot where she'd left Arlene, she found her curled up in a ball next to a tree.  Her eyes were shut and she assumed she was sleeping.  In the daylight she could see that all the makeup was now gone from Arlene's thin face and she looked gaunt and masculine. 

It was lucky she'd run into Arlene, but her usefulness was now over and she suspected from her earlier behavior that she was not mentally stable.  She couldn't trust her, that's for sure.  Arlene didn't hold up well under pressure.

And she thought too of the fire engines that were leaving to be replaced with cars filled with arson inspectors and police.  No, this was no longer the place to be.  The beauty and life of the previous night was over and Rowena needed to be moving on.

****************************

She didn't know how long she'd slept.  Arlene could remember little that happened from the time that Rowena left her in the woods to this moment.  One second she'd been crying and shivering and sick and then there was nothing.  She pushed herself up from the ground and listened.  She knew there was no more fire now, only the awful aftermath.

Her shoes were gone.  Arlene looked around and saw nothing more, no belongings, no Rowena.  Barefooted she began down the trail toward the muted, stunned sounds in the distance.  The air was so heavy and thick she could barely breathe.

Soon the trail opened up to a small cluster of builldings that had mysteriously not fallen to the inferno and Arlene looked down the narrow alleyway to where the fire had been stopped.  Dazed and breathing heavily she made her way past the buildings and what she saw before her made her gasp and stop dead in her tracks.  Her head began to spin and again she felt like she was suffocating.  Slowly she let her eyes travel around the devastation that was indescribable, incomprehensible. 

When Arlene was able to get her breath she began walking again, trudging toward the two police cars, tears blinding and burning her eyes.