Breaking Their Hold

Mel let out a soft hiss of pain as her ankle slowly twisted in a gopher hole she stepped in as she and Pierre slowly walked through a cornfield in the middle of nowhere, North Dakota. She had no idea where at in the state they were. All she knew was that they were having to be even more cautious than they'd had to be before, simply because they were in North Dakota. It was a very harsh land; a very open land, with nowhere to hide, no places to go if they needed shelter, and a hell of a lot of Government supporters.

She had no idea how the people here could even begin to support Schlagger through everything he'd done. He was a very evil man; a man who'd hurt so many people; taken so many lives. How could the people here think that that was okay? Was it that they didn't know the extent of the Dictator's reach and the extent of his hurtful reign?

"C'mon," Pierre's soft voice pulled her out of her thoughts as he turned to give her a small smile, knowing that she was hurt. He couldn't allow her to stop, however; neither of them could stop because they knew that the faster they got out of North Dakota and into Minnesota, the safer they'd be.

Minnesota would be the last state they went through before reaching Canada. From what Pierre had told her during the days when they slept in abandoned barns and such, they would be meeting up with a friend from his in Canada, another one of the Canadian spies, that would get them a boat to go across one of the Great Lakes and into Canada.

It was something she was hoping would happen sooner rather than later. She was tired of walking, tired of being afraid. She was mostly tired of missing Jimmy. She just wanted to see his face again; make sure that he was okay. Surely, he had to be in Canada already with Matt, right? He had to be safe because if he wasn't, Mel didn't know if she could get through this whole thing alive. She didn't know how she could make it through to the end if Jimmy wasn't there with her.

"I'm coming," Mel called back to Jimmy before she pushed through the pain, ignoring it as it seared up her leg. She couldn't stop right now, and she knew that. It seemed like she was getting tougher with each day they passed through North Dakota, though she knew she was still weak.

She still had nightmares about Schlagger; still had horrible nightmares about Haverly Hospital and everything that had ever happened to her when she'd been there. She had no idea what had happened to her brother, Zack, or Johnny or anyone else that she'd left behind. She just prayed like Hell to whatever God might exist that they were still alive. If they had died because of her, she had no idea how she'd find it in herself to make it through.

Pierre gave her a sympathetic look as they started walking again. He knew that she was in a lot of pain right now, both mentally in physically, though she wasn't allowing herself to show it. He could also see, however, that a change was beginning to occur in Melissa; a change that Zack would be proud of and Jimmy would be thankful for.

She was starting to develop a strength about her; not just an outer strength, but an inner one as well. She was starting to become more determined to make it to Canada; more sure that they could get there without fucking everything up. She was starting to become angrier for the situation Schlagger had put them all in, rather than feeling sad, depressed, and like she couldn't do anything to fix it.

That was something that Pierre was happy had started happening as well. He knew that she needed the change; that she needed to see for herself that being weak wasn't something that would help her get to Canada. He could lead her and attempt to keep her safe, and he had done so up to this point.

But he also knew that to an extent, this was just as much on her as it was on himself. She needed a hell of a lot of strength because even when they did reach Canada and they were out of Schlagger's reach, she'd need the strength to stand up and tell everyone in the world exactly what he'd done to her; what he'd done to all of the people in America, and then she'd need to stand up and be strong and tell the world she wanted him dead.

"Pierre, I have a question," Mel said from behind him before she looked up, giving him a half-hearted smile as she picked up her place a little so that she was standing closer to him. "Now that we're so much closer to Canada, how can we know that we can trust the people here? You heard Louise. People here are different."

"You're right," Pierre nodded. "I was going to wait until tonight to tell you so that you could sleep over it, but I'll tell you now, Mel. From here on in, we're going off the grid. There won't be any more villages that we stop in, and we're not going to be checking in with others like us simply because we can't trust that they are one of us. We need to make sure we get you to Canada safely, and the only way we can do that is if you're not in contact with anyone around here."

Mel nodded. It made sense, she thought to herself. She knew that Louise wouldn't have warned them if it wasn't something important, and that was why she'd asked Pierre. Of course, he had a hell of a lot more experience doing this than she did. But she had still wanted to ask him; to make sure she knew exactly what was going to happen and what plan they were using.

"I also have something else you need to know, Mel," Pierre muttered quietly under his breath.

Mel's breath hitched in her throat, and for a few moments, she was worried that he was going to tell her that something had happened to Matt and Jimmy; that they'd gotten caught and were hurt or already dead. She didn't think she could bear it if he told her that, even if she had become so much stronger than she had been previously.

"Relax," Pierre told her when he saw the worry flash through her green eyes. "It's nothing about Jimmy or Matt, Mel."

She breathed out in relief and then bit her bottom lip in pain as her ankle shot more pain throughout her body. She pushed through it, willing herself to ignore it as Pierre started to speak again.

"There's now a warrant out for my arrest as well," he told her, his expression dead serious as he looked down at the dirt while they walked. "They know that I've played both sides of the fence for awhile now. In some respects, I'm even more wanted than Matt and Jimmy are. I've smuggled hundreds of people out of the country and gotten them to safety and they know that now. If they find me, there's no doubt about the fact that I'll be subjected to execution."

Mel stopped in her place, feeling her heart break a little. Why hadn't Pierre told her before that he had been caught? They would have been a little more cautious; stayed even more under the radar than they already were. She couldn't understand why he hadn't let her know.

"Pierre, why didn't you--"

"Because it's not something you'll be able to deal with well if I do get caught, and I know that. I'm only telling you now because I don't want to lie to you about it," he muttered under his breath before he swiped his hand over his face.

Mel's face dropped as she realized that he was right before she bit her bottom lip. Things were changing so rapidly. She had no idea what the coming days would bring to them. Now that she knew that Pierre's life was in danger as well, she knew that they really couldn't trust anyone. She wouldn't let him put his life on the line like that; not when he'd already been risking his life for her for so long already. She could only hope that they made it to Minnesota without trouble. She didn't know if she could make it there on her own if Pierre was taken away from her.