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40. NORTH TO ENTEMANNH GARIBE: Home.

We go southwest to the outer loop. The lead escort turns left, east. The second turns right, west. Our lead turns right. I follow. I put on my sunglasses against the rising Sunstar. Traffic is light until we come to incoming routes at regular intervals. Morning rush hour? Even then it's just a matter of getting past the intersections. They don't underpass or overpass, or traffic circle, roundabout. Thin Man directs me to count six vehicles passing left and right in front of me. When that many have passed it is our turn to go. Traffic turning left or right are in the count. It's too weird to keep track of. He does it for me. At one stop I look back. There's only one escort truck behind the one we brought with us. I assume one went east. Something tactical. Thin Man doesn't comment.

We're passing the west bridge we came in on, rolling on! Soon we make the left turn, north....toward...home. The White Road seems endless. I see the place where we stopped for the soldiers to rinse the mud from our wheels. The road is clean. On, and on until I see two trucks parked on the highway ahead. There are soldiers out on the road. Nearing I see it's the guerrilla camp. The escort truck pulls right up to them, stops, our lead truck behind them. Thin Man's comfortable with whatever's happening, so I stop, relax.

The soldiers jump out of the escort truck and run up the highway with their weapons bags and small duffel bags to the truck parked on the highway. Other soldiers have come out of the woods! They go to the trucks, come out with ammo boxes, one in each hand, and walk up to the second of the two new trucks. I see now, and quickly count, a sixteen soldiers up by the lead truck. The sixteen from the second truck, the one that stayed with us, are going to the second new truck. The other soldiers from the woods are coming back, get in the trucks, come out with ammo boxes, hand them to the escort soldiers. Soon a soldier up in the truck closes the back doors, gets behind the wheel and turns into the woods. New trucks? Same soldiers? The new trucks pull forward, up to the top of the rise ahead.

Soldiers come out of the woods with gray-paper packages, hand them in to their second truck and our truck ahead. They must have resupplied the one that went east and got here earlier. They pass us to the trucks behind. Someone opens our back doors. There is conversation, Soda, and them, I glean it's food, for the road. I hear them say Eenunh's full name, express appreciation for her and her husband. Eenunh is quietly gracious. Tinunh thanks them.

Our two lead trucks pull up to one ahead. I pull up behind. Our three following trucks pull up behind me. The new truck transfer operation takes place behind me. New trucks, same soldiers.

"How far will they go with us?" I ask Thin Man.

"These soldiers, to a man," he says, "offered to go to Casah Sagribe Garibe. They are seasoned troops, accustomed to working together, obedient to their chain of command, able to think and act on their own, down to a man. Their commanders didn't ask. It was something the soldiers spoke among themselves about, and decided to ask for...the honor...of supporting your family. This is...this is not...a military mission. This is an Emoilihn mission, a mission of The People. If we are soldiers it is because we are Emoilihn and The People are soldiers, of necessity. But...I've...never seen...such a show of unity. The Emoilihn think of themselves as family. We are one people, a family of people. And family shall prevail against the elements, and against any...power...that should arise to mislead us against each other."

I'm stunned! Sixty-four men and women...total strangers to me...perhaps admirers of Eenunh and her late husband...but...basically...just people, willing to take these risks, the risks of traveling, the risks of dissenting factions, lone nuts, opposition political factions, other soldiers with other allegiances...I'm...stunned!

We're rolling!

We're picking up speed. We're at a good pace.

The Sunstar is flashing through the trees on my left, a flickering red glare. It's a bit annoying. I fish out my sunglasses, put them on again. They're only effective when the road curves to the right, east, against the rising Sunstar. When I'm running due north I have to cover the side of my glasses with my hand against the flickering red. The road climbs as does the hilly terrain. Soon the Sunstar is behind the hills. I'm comfortable with the sunglasses, even though there's no more flashing through the trees. The Sunstar's above the overcast. We roll. I maintain an assured clear distance. Soon I see the other vehicles ahead drop back a bit, away from each other. The pace, with the distance, seems leisurely. I relax.

Pine trees! I'm seeing more pines among the deciduous forests on both sides of the road. There are pine cones on the road. I think my ears popped a while back. The rise in the road is subtle but there. We've gone gradually up in elevation, some hills steeper than others. I must not have been driving this part on the way south. We stop for a rest break, a pee break. I feel the cold, a bit more intense.

The Sunstar is high, overhead, a bright spot in the gray. Noon? Later? I can't tell. We're rolling. Homeward bound.

The desert! We've come down hills, up smaller hills, down again and again. The road curves left and right , along the line of the pine tree forest. There's snow in the forest floors to the left, patches out on the desert. Pine trees dominate now, many seeming bent over, some still laden with snow, some bent, snowless. The road is clear. Perhaps there's been sunlight here, despite the cold, to melt the snow.

I spoke too soon! We slow, to negotiate snow on the road. It crunches, icy, frozen. Where the road rises up I don't see any tracks ahead of our lead vehicles.

I smell food. There's a hand at my mouth. I let her put whatever is in her hand in. It's the rice, vegetable, meat dish I like! I smell her scent, honey sweet. Another bite. I feel...at home.

It's many hours later when the lead vehicles slow, and turn off The White Road...into the desert! Are we there? I think we are! Yes! I'm sure of it. There's the place where the girls and I went into the woods, camped, ate squirrel, skinny-dipped. We're so close! I begin to worry. When you get close to home the danger can be greater than when you were far away. An enemy knows where to find you. The trucks are stopping ahead.

"I'll drive us in," Thin Man says. I gladly leave the wheel, go out the back where the others have gone. Find a place for another urination. Come back. I go in, rearrange the bench into a cot. The mirrors have made it this far. I hope the one in the other truck has too. The girls come in. Thin Man takes the wheel, Soda the passenger seat. Eenunh spreads her blankets, pushes me in. I lay, stretch, moan. Thin Man laughs. I moan again, several times, settle and feel like I'm sleeping. Eenunh is in beside me, tucks the blanket over us. Tinunh must be sitting. I can't open my eyes to see. Yes; now...this...is actual sleep.