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Gray eased himself down onto the chair. "Thanks."

Stan went to the fire and hefted the pot of homemade coffee; there was half a pot left. "Care for a cup of coffee?"

Gray shrugged. "Sure."

Stan poured him a cup and handed it to him. He watched as Gray took a cautious sip. Their eyes met. Gray slowly lowered the cup.

"Not bad."

"Thanks." Stan sat on an overturned plastic crate and picked up a stick with which he stirred the fire. Sparks leapt. He spoke without looking up from the flames. "So… Gray… How'd you manage on the outside…?"

Gray stared down into his cup, swirled the dark coffee slowly. He seemed reluctant to speak. He shrugged. Then he cleared his throat. "Just… managed, that's all."

"By yourself?"

Gray's eyes lifted, locked onto Stan. "This an interrogation?"

"Just curious. Not a whole lot of people capable of survivin' out there on their own."

Gray nodded thoughtfully. "You're right about that."

Stan waited for him to continue. He didn't. "So… How'd you manage?"

Gray bent and placed the cup on the ground. He glanced around, at the forest. With a sigh, he leaned forward, elbows on his knees, and regarded Stan evenly.

"You really wanna know?"

"He walked around most of the night," George said.

Tom was shadowboxing. "Walked around where?"

"All over. He looked like he was checkin' out everybody's site."

Tom stopped shadowboxing. "Like he was takin' notes or somethin'?"

George shrugged. "Coulda been."

Tom's eyes narrowed. "Where's he at right now?"

"At Stan's."

Gray eyed Stan intently. "Are you a righteous man, Stan?"

"Do you mean religious?"

Gray shrugged. "Yeah. Whatever."

Stan shook his head. "No."

"But you've got your limits…"

"How do you mean?"

"Well, most people… most people… they set limits for themselves."

"Limits…?"

"You know: how far would you go to stay alive- those kind of limits."

Stan felt uneasy now. "Yeah," he said slowly: "I guess so…"

"But you never really know, you know…?"

Awareness began to dawn in Stan's eyes. Gray looked away. When he resumed speaking, his voice was lower, haunted. "Nobody really knows, not until they've been there…"

Stan felt a sudden sorrow for this man, this loner who had had to survive out there. He lowered his head, idly worried the fire.

Gray looked down at the cup of coffee at his feet. "If survival is what matters most, then you do what you have to do to survive."

Stan closed his eyes.

Gray finished: "I ate the bodies."

They emerged from the trail to find Gray standing across from Stan. Tom assumed a wide-legged stance, arms crossed over his chest. Beside him, Big George watched Gray. On his other side, Matt unsheathed his bayonet. Gray looked at the blade, up into Matt's hardened gaze.

Tom addressed Gray: "Hear you were out spyin' on everybody last night."

Gray glanced at Stan, who rose to stare at Tom, then look back at him.

Stan frowned. "You were out last night, walkin' around?"

"Yeah. I didn't know it was a crime…"

"It's a crime around here," Matt said. He turned the bayonet slowly in his hands.

Gray lifted an eyebrow. "You gonna gut me like a fish, boy?" He smiled, the smile a gash that spread slowly across his face. "Gonna fix me good, huh?"

Matt returned the smile. "You got it, old timer."

"A regular fuckin' fillet, huh?"

Tom felt a chill. He tried to ignore Matt's bayonet. "Look, mister, we got rules around here. We tell you to stay on your site, you stay on your site. It's simple."

Gray's eyes locked on Tom. "Simple? Ain't no such thing as simple, soldier. Not any more." He stared into his own past. "No more black and white. Just… gray…"

Matt frowned. "What the fuck're you talkin' about?"

"Nothin'," Stan interjected. Tom gave him a suspicious look. Stan looked at Gray. "You're welcome to stay, if you want to."

Gray looked at the Guardsmen. "I don't think so," he said: "I think maybe I should move on. There's a place I was lookin' at, downriver. Think I'll settle down there for a while."

Stan felt a twinge of regret. "Sure. I understand."

Gray gestured. "About a mile, that way. If you ever need anything, you know where I'll be."

Stan nodded. "Good enough. And good luck… Gray."

Gray nodded once and walked away, toward the gate, and didn't look back.