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A.J. ran back to the hotel, he had to tell the guys what he overheard this morning, what Lisa just said and his own conclusions. When he arrived back at the hotel Shelby and Walter were waiting for him on the front porch. His heart dropped out of his chest as they stood and walked towards him. “Your friends are out working in fields.” Walter said then turned and walked around back. A.J. was left with a glaring Shelby.

“She liked you when none of the other girls would go near your with that filth all over your body.” She indicated his tattoos and hair color. “Your friends have been so wonderfully compliant, but you’ve been trouble the whole time. Well there is nothing you can do about it is there.” She hissed. “John will take care of you in good time.” With that she pushed her way through the doors of the hotel leaving A.J. standing wondering what exactly was going on in this town.

He strode across the way to the meeting hall where, by listening through the door he could tell he would not be welcome in the room. He heard a crying Lisa telling her woes to the one person A.J. wanted to avoid, John. He turned and started to walk towards Allison’s farm, he needed to ask her to finish what she started telling him. He needed to know.

He only got as far as the mechanic’s before deciding to see exactly how much damage had been done to the bus now. He looked at the engine, the hood conveniently left open. He sighed at himself for never letting his grandfather teach him more about engines. He moved away from the engine, only able to see a few tubes not connected to parts and towards the doors to get on the bus. He stepped on and immediately found his bunk and crawled inside. It was almost like a second home to him, this bunk. He closed his eyes and breathed deep.

He wanted to stay lying there all day, but he knew he had to tell the others about what everyone had been revealing to him. He needed to talk to Allison though, he needed to get more information from her before he brought the topic up with the others. He swung his legs off his bunk, jumping when his eyes caught sight of John boarding the bus. Quickly he got back on the bunk and closed the curtain. He steadied his breathing and hoped John would not find him, Shelby’s statement about John taking care of him did not sit to well with him.

He heard John move around the bus, like he was looking for something. But the footsteps never stopped by the bunks. Whatever it was John was looking for, he did not believe it would be in the bunks so John must not have been looking for him after all.

“I’ll find it Allison, believe me I’ll find it.” John muttered to himself and then strode towards the front of the bus. A.J. heard him descend the stairs but he waited until a good amount of time had passed before he carefully pulled back the curtain and glanced around to make sure no one else was there. Vacating the bus quickly, A.J. ran all the way to the Thompson farm. None of the others were there, but he needed Allison first.

A.J. pounded on the door trying to get a response, she had to be home he needed to talk to her. What was she hiding from John, what had she been trying to tell him. “Allison, I need you to finish telling me what you started telling me this morning.”

No answer came. Frustrated he kicked the door, it creaked open. A.J. pushed the door. “Hello?” He called out. “Allison?” No one answered so he walked carefully around the room looking at the pictures of Allison and her husband smiling broadly on their wedding day. Allison and her parents when she was a child. There was even a picture in the meeting hall where her mother sat stone faced at the table that Allison herself had been gracing for the past few evenings.

A hand stitched pillow caught A.J.’s eye on the sofa. “Salvation lies through the son.” He read it again twice and shook his head. Of course, religious thoughts are not uncommon stitched into pillows. He continued to look around the room, then something caught his eye. It was a picture of Allison and her family, obviously on a road trip. They stood outside the car for the picture, the camera had probably been set on timer. They must have been at a rest stop or something since there was another man in the picture, further back standing around. It wasn’t really that the picture was odd, it just reminded A.J. of something he had not seen around the town. They have a mechanic, but he had yet to see anyone from the town drive a car. Even those that lived the furthest from the town had ridden horses or walked. What was the point of having a garage to work on cars if nobody drove cars?

With this new question brewing in his mind. A.J. set off to find the rest of the group. He turned from the picture and stood face to face with John.