Hector stepped wearily out of the trees, Dog trailing faithfully behind. He was standing at the edge of a paved road- a rare phenomenon out here in the wilds of the Sierra Madres. Up until now, every town he had passed through had gravel roads. This was a first, and Hector did not begrudge it. Walking on asphalt would be a relief for his worn-out shoes and aching feet. To his left, the road curved forwards and out of sight. To his right, it curved back in the direction he had come from.

“Left it is, Dog.” Hector had developed a habit of saying his thoughts out loud to the animal when it was present. He did it without thinking. It was good to hear the sound of a human voice, even if it was his own, and it gave him a feeling of comfort and companionship that he had missed before the arrival of Dog. Before the party, Hector rarely ventured out of his house, and he was somewhat used to being alone- yet the total absence of friendship had weighed down on him during his journey across the mountains. “Thanks for coming along with me,” he added as he glanced down at Dog. Dog looked up at him with a stupidly happy stare.

Hector took in his surroundings as he walked. It was noon, but the sun was blotted out by heavy clouds, just waiting to let loose a barrage of raindrops. Nothing more than a gray light, lacking warmth, made its way from the sun to the earth below. Hector turned his attention from the overcast sky to the forest on either side of the road. It was the exact same collection of sparse and arid pines, firs, and oaks that he had hiked through every day since his departure from the mountain compound. In different circumstances, Hector would have thought the forest “pretty” or “scenic,” yet after a week of nothing but the same environment, he couldn’t have cared less.

After about an hour of walking down the road, the clouds held back no longer. Rain began to fall in a thick curtain of wetness. At first, Hector enjoyed the rain- it hadn’t rained for days, and the cool drops felt refreshing. However, the downpour showed no sign of stopping- it only increased as time went by. Soon, Hector started to jog, hoping that he was going towards a town of some sort.

A rumble in the distance alerted him of something approaching. At first it sounded like thunder, but Hector soon realized it was a vehicle coming down the road behind him. He scrambled to the side of the road just as a four-door pickup truck zoomed into view. Hector waited for it to pass, but instead, the truck slowed to a halt and Hector got a good look at it. Drops of water clung to the truck’s bright red paint, and Hector correctly identified it as a Ford F-150.

The driver’s-side door of the truck opened with a clunk and a man stepped out. He was tall- much taller than Hector- and several times wider than Hector, as well. His head was rectangular, as if someone had put a square through a hydraulic piston compressor. His eyes were beady, black, gimlet spheres set most of the way up his blocky face. Despite his size, there wasn’t an ounce of fat on him, and Hector thought the well-muscled man could have easily beat him up if he wanted to. He tensed uneasily.

The bulky man studied Hector like a teacher studying a disobedient child. A minute of silence went by, and Hector started to fidget. The rain was pouring in sheets now, soaking everything not below adequate cover.

“You wanna ride?” asked the man gruffly. “You’re walkin’ the way I’m goin’ from the look of it. If you wanna get in the truck you can.”

Hector considered this for a moment. “I appreciate the offer. Can my dog come too?”

The man looked at Dog as if seeing him for the first time. He grunted and scratched his chin, deep in thought.

“Sure. It goes in the back.” Hector led Dog around to the bed of the truck, and Dog willingly hopped in. It looked at Hector as if to ask, “Where to?”

The man murmured assent and then straightened to his full height. He extended his hand slowly and cautiously, as if Hector might try to attack him. I wouldn’t dare, thought Hector as he shook the man’s hand. The deep bass of the man’s voice was hard to make out amidst the pattering rain.

“My name’s Eduardo Sanchez. I’m going north like you. Wouldn’t make someone stay outside in this weather.” He glared at the sky for a moment, then returned his heavy gaze to Hector. “Who are you?”

Hector paused, considering. Should I tell him my real name? What if he’s an undercover policeman or something? A detective?

“I’m- I’m… David. David Ramos. I’m, uh, hiking the Sierra Madres with, um, with my dog, and I- we- got caught in the rain. I was trying to find a town somewhere nearby to stock up on supplies.” Hector inwardly patted himself on the back. It was a convincing story, and Sanchez seemed to believe it. The large man eyed the backpack Hector wore and then turned his gaze to the dog in the truck bed. He grunted in acceptance.

“Okay. Get in the truck. I’m going to the next town over. It’ll be about 40 minutes till we get there. Then I’ll leave you be, unless you want to keep going to the border.”

Hector’s ears perked up. “The border?” He tried to sound casual and unconcerned, hoping his eagerness didn’t show through- yet his interest had peaked. “Whatever for?”

Eduardo looked at him strangely as they clambered into the truck. “Private business,” he muttered. Crap, thought Hector. Now I’ve gone and made him suspicious. “Sorry. I get it,” he apologized. Okay, let’s move on. Hector racked his mind for a way to change the topic. “What… What do you do for a living?” It was a basic question and naive, Hector knew, but it was better than an awkward silence.

“I work for a private security firm,” Sanchez replied in a tone that revealed his disgruntlement. He set his shoulders and glared fiercely at the road. Hector grimaced. The man’s tone and attitude were none too friendly. For the time being, Hector was left alone with his thoughts in a dangerous silence. He covertly looked around, glancing into the backseat when Sanchez wasn’t paying attention.

A navy-blue jacket and a bulletproof vest lay draped in the backseat. Hector caught his breath- emblazoned proudly upon each was a silver seven-pointed star and the words “Policia Federal.”

He returned his gaze to the road, trying to quiet his pounding heart. Suddenly, he was very glad he had not told Sanchez his real name or business. Sweat started to bead on his forehead, even in the car’s cool, air-conditioned atmosphere. Act like nothing’s happened. Sanchez glanced at him with a look of surprise. His gimlet eyes probed Hector with curiosity.

“You too hot in here? The AC’s on,” he rumbled.

Hector shook his head. “I’m okay. Thanks.” He wasn’t sure what else to say. Should I bring up the police uniform? No, that would make things worse, he thought. He’s already mad enough as it is.

“How much further?” he finally asked. “Surely we’re pretty close by now.” Sanchez nodded noncommittally. “Ten more minutes, maybe,” he said in his whaleish voice. Hector gazed back out the passenger-side window. The terrain was exactly the same as it had been where he had started- a sparse forest, composed mostly of pine and fir, thinly spread over mountains of mud and rock. The rain still came down, though it had lessened significantly, and the heavy, moisture-laden clouds had dissipated, leaving a misty, sheetlike drapery of water vapor still floating in the sky. The sun shone through it like a lightbulb might shine through a blanket, right before setting it on fire and burning the whole house down. Except the sun did not burn the water vapor, because water vapor cannot burn.

The one thing, apart from the weather, that had changed revealed itself as the truck rounded a bend in the mountain road. A town sprawled ahead, stretching the very limits of the definition of “town”- Hector counted sixteen still-standing buildings as the vehicle approached, and most of them looked from this distance to be long abandoned. There were numerous heaps of junk that might have been buildings once upon a time, but they had evidently retired- or died- long ago. The entire place looked as if its constructors had been told to make it as run-down as possible without actually being dangerous. It also looked as if they had been told that 100 years ago, right before a tornado and a bombing run, and they hadn’t bothered with the safety inspections. A faded billboard proudly displayed the town’s name in all-capitals Papyrus lettering. Hector shuddered. It read “WELC ME TO L PIEDAD.”

Sanchez’ deep voice brought Hector out of his thoughts. “La Piedad. Smallest town west of Mexico City. Population 30. You wanna stop here? Otherwise it’ll be another three hours north. To the border.”

Hector thought about this for a while. Should I take the offer? On one hand, it would allow him to get there more quickly and cheaply than he had previously thought possible- on the other hand, he didn’t exactly love the idea of being stuck in a car with an undercover policeman for three hours. That could prove… unwise.

Sanchez was looking at him still, waiting for an answer in a way that showed he didn’t expect one very soon. Come on, come on, make up your mind… Hector took a deep breath.

“Sorry. I… I’ll go with you, if that’s okay. I can pay you once we get there.”

Eduardo nodded in acceptance. “Sure, that’ll be fine. What about your dog back there? How’s it doing?”

Hector had forgotten entirely about Dog. Slightly ashamed, he turned his head and peered into the bed of the truck. The gray canine was staring blankly into space with a look of pure joy on its face. Well, at least he’s doing fine. “It’s doing good.”

Three hours passed without incident. The crimson F-150 cruised down the mountain road, right through the town of La Piedad, and passed much farther north than Hector could have reached in three days. When he opened his eyes, Hector hadn’t even realized he had gone to sleep- but Sanchez was shaking him awake.

“We’re here. The border.”