Humanity Gone: Facade of Order by Derek Deremer Page B

innocent.
                  I lifted her to her feet and push her towards the man. My mouth couldn't find the words as I backed farther away from them. I sheathed the knife in my belt and grabbed my bare left arm with my right hand. I looked at the ground - embarrassed for the first time in years. Hurting that woman made me feel... awful.
                  Maybe I wasn't completely an animal yet.
                  “I'm... I'm looking for my twin sister. They took her. She probably is looking for me, too. If you know anything else...”
                  The man finally joined in.
                  “You think we would tell you anything after-” the woman grabbed his hand and looked at me. Her eyes shook with pity. I must have looked pathetic.
                  “There's a worker examination point up that way about a two days walk. They bring the workers there every year or so to inspect and redistribute. Sometimes prisoners are taken through the city to the station. They might have some answers there. They keep files on most workers. Do you have a map?”
                  The women walked towards me with confidence as I reached into my right cargo pocket and pull out the creased map. She pointed to a spot on my map and I barely mark it with my dying marker. I had been to that place before a few years back. It must have grown since then.
                  “Thank you.” I managed to mutter between my lips.
                  “Good luck. I know what it is like to lose someone you love.” She turns to the man and they leave. He constantly turned to look at me until they slipped into the distance.
                  I still question the motives of that woman. Why would she help me? I cut her.
                  I hurt her.
                  That was two days ago.
                  Her advice brought me to this worker examination station. It is an old medical care center along the side of the highway. It is surrounded by a hill along the right side and behind the building looks like acres of dense forest. The remaining side of the center points towards a collapsed town and a concrete bridge a quarter of a mile down the highway. Several guards are posted all over the building. I watch for several minutes and study their movements carefully. I need to do this right.
                  This all seems too familiar. It looks eerily like the fast food restaurant. Where Walt died. I'm gonna do this right this time.
                  It was over a week ago that he died. Maybe longer. I am already having trouble remembering the way he looked as he quickly slips to the farthest corners of my mind. Sometimes, I think that this pursuit of mine is going to get me killed too, but dying really doesn't scare me anyway. Anyway, this time I will be more careful. I will be alone.
                  Alone is better anyway.
                  The building is two levels with an overhang in the front once used for cars to drop off patients. Windows line the sides of the white brick building, but the glass is tinted and I can’t see inside. Four guards stand in the front of the center. Some seem to be walking in and out on routine patrols of the area. Waiting till dark will be my best hope to get inside. I move silently to the top of the nearby hill and lie down among the tall grass. I can see the roof and the entire area around it as the guards move about.
                  After an hour of watching, a school bus pulls up to the front of the center. Soldiers with guns come out first and escort nearly twenty men, women, girls, and boys off of the bus. I study each face as they step off the bus and line up to walk into the center.
                  Sara is not among them.
                  They look exhausted and tired with perspiration on their faces. A