I wake up from my sleep to a screaming Allison. I lift her off of my chest, where she is rolling around. Her diaper stinks and she hasn't had a bottle in I don't know how long. I'm going to have to figure out how I am going to get her formula. I decide that I only have one option. Wake up Walker. Allison will definitely not stop crying until she has a full belly and a clean diaper. I am really doing a terrible job with her, and I have only had her less than a day. I smooth the wrinkles out of our sleeping blanket and fold it over it's self a few times to increase the cushioning. I then gently place Allison down on the blanket. Now, I just have to go wake Walker up and tell him that I need baby supplies. I'm sure he will love me for that.

When I walk in to Walker's space, I notice his gun is placed right next to him while he sleeps. Great. I just hope he doesn't shoot me for waking him up. If I was him, I would probably shoot me. I squat down next to him. I gently nudge his shoulder. He immediately wakes up, appearing instantaneously alert.

"What?" He grumbles. Clearly not in the best of moods.

"We need to get baby supplies. I have no formula for Allison, and she hasn't had anything since last night. That's a really long time for a baby her age to go without food. And I don't have any fresh diapers for her." That last sentence sure got him up fast. I guess he doesn't like stinky babies either. Plus, I don't want her to get diaper rash. I just hope that I do a better job parenting in the weeks and years to come.

"Well," He said, "we need to get to a grocery store or something. Obviously, I am not going to starve a baby. Plus," He continued, "we need to get something to eat and drink as well."

"Thank you. For doing this, but I have to ask. Why are you helping us?"

He took a long, deep breath. I thought for sure he was going to tell me that it was none of my business, but he didn't.

He said, "It was always my plan to start dessert, once I saw how things were going. I know that sounds dishonorable, but if you had been there. If you saw what I saw you would not think that. Then, suddenly, the whole military was abuzz the story of the young teenage girl who was putting them all to shame. The girl who escaped from them twice. I guess it's three times, now. Anyway, I have never really been one to follow orders, but I joined the military because I wanted to serve the great country I live in. Everything was going okay, up until a few months ago. I guess it was the beginning of January when everything started to change. It seemed to me that they were preparing for war. I just never thought that the war would be here, on the country that I loved."

"But how did that make you want to help me, twice?"

"I didn't like the path our country was going down. The first time I helped you, I just couldn't believe they were torturing a fifteen year old girl. I only gave you some food and water. It wasn't like I helped you escaped. You did that all on your own. How did you manage that anyway? Never-mind. We need a plan."

"Yes, we do." I agreed.

"Alright. Go get the baby. We need to leave."

"Should we wipe the cabin down? If we don't they will find our finger prints.

"It's alright, that is all they will find. We are going to go into hiding. I bought a remote cabin somewhere in Maine with all cash. Nobody knows about it. We can stay there until this all blows over."

"I'm not going into hiding. I don't care if you do, but I won't. I promised my family that I would fight this with all I have, and I will. Plus, how would we even get there?"

"I don't know." He answered truthfully. "Let's just work on getting the baby's stuff first."

"Okay." I agreed. I went into the room Allison was in and I picked her up, fruitlessly attempting to soothe her. With her in one hand, I helped Walker fold the blankets back up. We placed them back where they were. The whole time Allison was crying. We took one last look, to make sure everything was exactly how it was when we got there.

This time, we walked through the woods, giving Walker a chance to figure out where we are. After walking for about twenty minutes, Walker abruptly stopped. He walked over to a particularly massive maple tree. He pulled a flashlight out of his backpack. He turns it on, shining it into a crevice in the tree. He pulls out a small brown bag. He opens the brown bag and pulls out a plastic bag. The bag is filled with hundred dollar bills. He turns to me.

"Now we can go get the stuff we need." I don't ask how much money that is, but it must be at least ten thousand dollars. Maybe even more.

He starts walking, with a destination clear in his pace. I am just grateful he knows where we are. I don't know what to do about Allison. She, clearly, will not stop crying for more than ten minutes at a time.

We walk for about another hour before Walker leads us out onto a main road. It is not quite a highway, but it is still pretty busy. It is easier walking along the road than in the woods. We walk for another ten minutes or so. We have made it to a shopping center.

"Melanie, we need to split up. I'm going to give you one thousand dollars. Get what you and your baby need, but do it quickly. The longer we are out in public, the more risk we are at for being noticed. If you can, buy some hair dye for yourself. We will meet back here in one and a half hours."

"Okay. See you then." I say. I started out at a brisk pace towards the Target. First stop formula and diapers. Before I walked into the store, I tied my hair back in a tight bun and pulled the hood of the sweatshirt Walker let me borrow up. I adjust Allison on my hip and walk with confidence into the store.

Once I am in the store, I grab a cart. First, I make my way to the baby aisle and picked up a pack of thirty-two Pampers newborn diapers and a package of baby wipes. I also put in a tub of newborn formula, since Allison is only a few weeks old. Next, I make my way to the bottle aisle and throw in a pack of three bottles and a bottle brush. I also locate a baby carrier similar to the one I had before. It is incredibly hard to push a cart at the same time you are holding a baby. Just as I am about to leave the aisle, I notice an unbelievably cute bib and toss it into the cart, as well. I decide it would be best to just purchase this stuff first. Then, once I have fed and changed Allison, I will finish the shopping trip. I have to hurry, though.

Since I only have a few items, I can use the express checkout. There is only one person ahead of me in aisle eight. I put one of the little spacers up and start to place my items up. Allison, who has remained quiet this whole time, starts to cry. I place the last item on the belt and start to calm her down. I quietly start singing to her. She, apparently, loves when I sing to her and immediately quiets down.

At this point, I realize that the girl at the cash register is smiling at me, waiting for me to pay. I come up to her and hand her one one-hundred dollar bill. I hope that that is enough, I didn't really pay any attention to the prices on any of that stuff. It is. I even get nineteen dollars back. I tell the cashier thank you and head to the bathrooms. I go in and chose the large stall with the baby changing table. I decide to change her diaper first, then once she is clean, I will mix up her formula and feed her.

Once her diaper is changed, I lift Allison off of the changing table and move over to my bags. I pull out the package of bottles and the formula. Following the instructions on the side of the formula, I measure it out into one of the bottles. I lean up against the wall in the bathroom stall and position myself. I lift the bottle to her mouth, and she eagerly latches on. Once she has finished the bottle, I burp her. I watch her tiny eyelids drooping.

With a now content baby, I put all of my stuff back into the bags. I put on the baby carrier, and adjust it so that it fits me better. I lift Allison off of the changing table and get her into the carrier. She almost immediately falls asleep against my chest. I place my bags under the cart, keeping them separate from where I will put the other stuff. I head back to the baby aisle. I find a few cute dresses, pairs of sox, and shoes. I decide to buy a pack of two pacifiers. Who knows, she might like them. Next, I find a new diaper bag. I'm not sure if I will need it, but I put a car seat/carrier in for her too. I also grab a changing pad and a bottle of hand sanitizer, which was (conveniently) located right next to the changing pads. I also buy a large diaper bag to keep all of her stuff in. If I have to leave quickly, I cannot be searching for the bottles and everything else.

With all of the baby stuff taken care of, the shopping trip goes by a lot faster. I buy all of the cosmetics and hygiene products I need. Next, I go in search of hair dye. I decide on a dark brown color, opposed to my natural blonde color. I go over to the women's clothing section and throw in a few pairs of dark jeans and tees. I keep the colors dark, because it makes me less likely to be spotted at night. I also put a pair of black boots in as well, in case these get wet. I make my way towards the underwear section. I throw an eight pack of underwear and a clean bra in.

My last stop is the food department. I buy boxes of energy bars, two packs of bottled water, and beef jerky. I also threw in a few cans of tuna and a can opener. Now, I need to check-out, before Walker starts to get worried.

This time I don't use the express checkout, since, obviously, I have more than eleven items. While I wait for the lady ahead of me in the line to get rung up, I gently brush Allison's hair down with my hand. When there is enough room on the belt, I start to load my stuff up onto the belt. The cashier is now completely finished with the woman who was in front of me. I push the cart up to the front. The lady starts to ring me out, neatly placing the items in the signature Target bags. I place the bags into the cart, one-by-one. When I am finished, I look up at the total. It is just under four hundred dollars. I hand her four one hundred dollar bills. I guess all of that baby stuff really added up. I just hope Walker handled all of our food needs, since I didn't really buy that much food. The cashier hands me a few ones and some change back. I thank her and leave the store, pushing the cart into the parking lot.

When I reach our agreed meeting place, the window rolls down in the car that is currently parked there. Walker's head pops out the drivers side window. He smiles broadly. I smile back. I was wondering how we were going to get this stuff out of the parking lot. Now I am glad that I bought a car seat for Allison. Walker gets out of the car and opens the trunk of the old Nissan Altima. He helps me load all of the stuff into the trunk, on top of his boxes and cans of food. Once we finish loading all of the stuff into the trunk, we move on to hooking the car seat into the car. I reming Walker to turn it around backwards. He continues working on securing the car seat. It must have taken him forty-five minutes.

I take Allison out of the carrier she is currently in. I place he into the car seat and clip the five-point harness together. I take the baby carrier of of myself and climb into the back of the car with Allison.

"Where to next?" I ask.

Walker just laughs and shakes his head. I guess he doesn't know either. We drove in silence for hours. The only sound was when I reached into one of the bags to get an energy bar. After driving for about four hours, I asked Walker to find a place we could stop and use the restrooms. I also wanted to get Allison's diaper bag set up. After searching for about ten minutes, we pulled into a McDonalds parking lot. I found the diaper bag. I quickly put in all of the stuff we would need if we had to run. I put in the following: diapers, formula, some water bottles (for the formula), a changing pad, hand sanitizer, energy bars, and clean clothes for Allison. I slung the bag over my shoulder, then I went around the car to get Allison out. I unclipped the car seat and picked it up by the handle, lifting it out of the car.

"Don't take too long. And please try to not be seen on camera."

"I won't take too long, but I do have to change her," I said gesturing down at Allison.

"Alright. Be careful."

"Always," I said with a smirk. I took Allison into the girls' bathroom. I flipped down the baby changing table. I set the carrier on the ground, getting my business over as quickly as possible. I unhooked her five-point harness, then I remembered that I needed to set out the changing pad. I pulled it out of the diaper bag quickly. I set it on the changing table. I pulled a diaper out of the bag, changing Allison faster this time than last. I must be getting better at it. I picked Allison up and put her back in the carrier. Next, I put her changing pad back in the bag. I pull out the squirt bottle of hand sanitizer, and give myself a squirt. After it is all rubbed in, I pull out her bottles, the formula, and a water bottle. I am just going to mix it up in here. I will feed her in the car, I decide. I mix it together. I put all of the stuff back into the diaper bag.

Before we leave the stall, I clip Allison in. I will take her out in the car, when I feed her. I sling the diaper bag over my shoulder. I gently pick up the baby's carrier and we leave the dingy fast-food restaurant's bathroom. I walk back to the car at a reasonable pace. There is no reason to draw suspicion to myself by running through a busy parking lot.

I get back into the car. Walker is already there, waiting for me. I bet if I took much longer, he would have taken off. He had that annoyed "what took so long?" look about him. I bet the guy had never changed a diaper in his life, not that there is any reason to think he should have.

"Do you have any idea where we are going, now?" I asked. It's not like we can keep driving around, with no destination in mind. If we do, someone is going to notice us. It's inevitable.

"We are going to my father's." He said with sounded tile deep resentment.

"Okay." At least he had a plan now. It is better than this morning. I just hope we can really trust his father, whoever he is. After we pulled out of the parking lot, I pulled the bottle out of the diaper bag. Holding it tightly with my knees, I used my free hands to get Allison out of the car seat. I lifted her out, bringing her close to my chest in a comfortable position. I put the bottle to her mouth. She latched on, but less urgently this time. Good, she isn't starving, I think. Walker turned on the radio, insisting we needed to know what was going on in the world, even if we were on the run. I reluctantly agreed. I was just afraid to hear any more bad news. I am placing the baby back in her car seat, when Walker finally gets a channel to come in. This is what it said:

This is a transmission from the United States of America. It is imperative that you listen to every word that is being said. 1. No cars, except approved United States military vehicles are permitted to be in use. 2. Any exchange of news by any type of media media is prohibited, except by Government t.v. or radio stations. 3. Any use of power between 7pm and 7am is prohibited. 4. Nobody, except government officials, are allowed out of their homes for any circumstances at all between 5pm and 8am. 5. Ownership of any weaponry, especially firearms, is prohibited, except by military personnel. If any firearms are in your possession take them to your local recycling facility. If they are brought there by eight pm tonight, you will not be punished. Any of these violations will result in immediate execution. You will receive no trial. This message is sent to you from the President.

It kept playing the same message on a loop. We have to get off of the road. I didn't say this to Walker, but I'm sure he was thinking the exact same thing. We need to find a way to get to his father, as quickly as possible. I wonder if the trains are still running, or if the President outlawed those too. Wouldn't that be odd? For the first time since trains were invented, they were forced, by some outside force, to stop. And for one moment, I thought what if they have executed my family. Will they execute me when they catch me. If, i remind myself. If. Walker will protect me, but I cant rely on him. Would they execute Allison for my actions? God, I hope not. They will never catch us, not ever.

"Shit. Shit. Shit! We are going to have to walk. We cannot risk it. Not after all that we have both done."

"Alright. How far is it?"

"From here, two hundred miles."

"Why can't we start the rebellion here?"

"We are not starting anything. We are going into hiding."

"No, I'm not letting them get away with this. How can you possibly consider that?"

"Think about the baby! How can you think about putting her through a war! You don't know what it is like! You haven't seen what I have seen. War can, and does, break full grown men! You are just a child, parenting a child. As if that isn't hard enough, in all of your free time, you want to start a civil war?"

"I am thinking about the baby, and all of her babies. Do you just want me to sit back and watch as our country implodes on itself?"

"Yes. That is exactly what I want. I want you to live!"

"But in a world like this, what would be the point of living?" I hadn't realized it, but he must have pulled over. I guess Walker wanted to focus on the argument, not the road.

"Fine. Start a war, but I want no part of it."

"Fine." I say. I get out of the car and go around to the baby's side. I get the carrier that attaches to my body out, along with her diaper bag. I unhook Allison from the car seat, lifting her into the tiny body carrier. She is crying, apparently she didn't like it when we were fighting. I didn't either.

"Open the trunk!" I command. The latch unlocks. I lift the trunk open. I empty a large bag that previously held Walker's clothing. I put the mostly full package of diapers, more water bottles, and a few boxes of energy bars in the bag.

I walk away from the car. I can see that the road is only going to get rougher from here, but I don't care. The right path is never the easy one. Walker never bothers to call after me. I guess he knows my mind is already made up, and he is too much of a coward to stand with me and fight. I'm not. I have the