The Long Walk

ahead, a couple of the point Walkers were losing ground.
    Garraty concentrated on picking them up and putting them down. He still felt good. He felt strong.

Chapter 2
    “Now you have the money, Ellen, and that’s yours to keep. Unless, of course, you’d like to trade it for what’s behind the curtain.”
    —Monty Hall Let’s Make a Deal
     
     
     
     
    “I’m Harkness. Number 49. You’re Garraty. Number 47. Right?”
    Garraty looked at Harkness, who wore glasses and had a crewcut. Harkness’s face was red and sweaty. “That’s right.”
    Harkness had a notebook. He wrote Garraty’s name and number in it. The script was strange and jerky, bumping up and down as he walked. He ran into a fellow named Collie Parker who told him to watch where the fuck he was going. Garraty suppressed a smile.
    “I’m taking down everyone’s name and number,” Harkness said. When he looked up, the mid-morning sun sparkled on the lenses of his glasses, and Garraty had to squint to see his face. It was 10:30, and they were 8 miles out of Limestone, and they had only 1.75 miles to go to beat the record of the farthest distance traveled by a complete Long Walk group.
    “I suppose you’re wondering why I’m writing down everyone’s name and number,” Harkness said.
    “You’re with the Squads,” Olson cracked over his shoulder.
    “No, I’m going to write a book,” Harkness said pleasantly. “When this is all over, I’m going to write a book.”
    Garraty grinned. “If you win you’re going to write a book, you mean.”
    Harkness shrugged. “Yes, I suppose. But look at this: a book about the Long Walk from an insider ’s point of view could make me a rich man.”
    McVries burst out laughing. “If you win, you won’t need a book to make you a rich man, will you?”
    Harkness frowned. “Well . . . I suppose not. But it would still make one heck of an interesting book, I think.”
    They walked on, and Harkness continued taking names and numbers. Most gave them willingly enough, joshing him about the great book.
    Now they had come six miles. The word came back that it looked good for breaking the record. Garraty speculated briefly on why they should want to break the record anyhow. The quicker the competition dropped out, the better the odds became for those remaining. He supposed it was a matter of pride. The word also came back that thunder showers were forecast for the afternoon—someone had a transistor radio, Garraty supposed. If it was true, it was bad news. Early May thunder-showers weren’t the warmest.
    They kept walking.
    McVries walked firmly, keeping his head up and swinging his arms slightly. He had tried the shoulder, but fighting the loose soil there had made him give it up. He hadn’t been warned, and if the knapsack was giving him any trouble or chafing, he showed no sign. His eyes were always searching the horizon. When they passed small clusters of people, he waved and smiled his thin-lipped smile. He showed no signs of tiring.
    Baker ambled along, moving in a kind of knee-bent shuffle that seemed to cover the ground when you weren’t looking. He swung his coat idly, smiled at the pointing people, and sometimes whistled a low snatch of some tune or other. Garraty thought he looked like he could go on forever.
    Olson wasn’t talking so much anymore, and every few moments he would bend one knee swiftly. Each time Garraty could hear the joint pop. Olson was stiffening up a little, Garraty thought, beginning to show six miles of walking. Garraty judged that one of his canteens must be almost empty. Olson would have to pee before too long.
    Barkovitch kept up the same jerky pace, now ahead of the main group as if to catch up with the vanguard Walkers, now dropping back toward Stebbins’s position on drag. He lost one of his three warnings and gained it back five minutes later. Garraty decided he must like it there on the edge of nothing.
    Stebbins just kept on walking off by himself. Garraty hadn’t seen him speak to anybody. He wondered if Stebbins was lonely or tired. He still thought Stebbins would fold up early—maybe first—although he didn’t know why he thought so. Stebbins had taken off the old green sweater, and he carried the last jelly sandwich in his hand. He looked at no one. His face was a mask.
    They walked on.
    The road was crossed by another, and policemen were holding up traffic as the Walkers passed. They saluted each Walker, and a couple of the boys, secure in their