The winter before they drew the names was a busy time for The Major.

All of the other things he took care of during the year were given out to others while he spent the months holed up in a cabin in the mountains, reading over the entries. There were often no shortage of people to 'randomly' draw. Really, the boys who got the rejection letters were more random than the ones that got picked to Walk themselves. The Major carefully researched all of the boys, picked the ones that would make the best show.

This year… this year one of his would be in. Stebbins, if he remembered correctly. He would have to make sure that this boy Walked. Stebbins was sure to drive them further. Like the mechanical rabbit they used for greyhounds. By the first night the boys were enough like greyhounds for this to be a good comparison; of course, they did usually lose that spark near the end, but there were always a few surprises.

That was why human beings were the perfect entertainment. You could figure them out for the most part, but there were always surprises.

The Major always tried to pick twenty people who would create these surprises, eighty percent normals. Well, this year, it would technically be seventy-nine percent normal, once he factored his rabbit into the equation.

His surprises would be Gary Barkovitch, who seemed to answer each question extremely seriously but, upon research, turned out to be a fifteen year old kid who was almost always suspended for fighting – but it was 'never his fault', the boy claimed. Gary Barkovitch would be sixteen by May 1st. Hopefully he wouldn't back out. It was always a disappointment when his surprises dropped out.

Another surprise would be Collin Parker, who had written Collie on his sheet but crossed it out upon learning he had to use his actual name. He hailed from Joliet, Illinois and, like Mister Barkovitch, was almost always suspended for fighting. He also played many sports; The Major had acquired many newspaper clippings that praised his physical talent. Not only angry, but physically fit as well. That was the definition of an interesting Walker.

The next one was Arthur Baker, a former night rider from Louisiana. If he dropped out, The Major would have him Squaded. He'd gotten out, according to The Major's sources, and these sources also said that he seemed to be a 'sweet-tempered boy from a big, poor family', but he could still provide some entertainment.

The Major was also a fan of diversity in the Walk. This year there would be one black boy, Ewing, from Texas, and a boy who was, as well as being part Hopi, married! There was the jackpot right there; married boys rarely entered the Walk. This one seemed to be stupid, though very fit. Once the names of the kids that were to Walk were released he'd be the odds-on favorite in Vegas within the week.

There was also a pair of brothers, also Hopi. The Major originally had his misgivings on putting them in – after all, it was suspicious to put both of them in, but the show would be fantastic once one of them died…

He ended up putting them both in.

There was another one that he had his misgivings about but ended up not putting in. Peter McVries, from New Jersey. He seemed fit enough, and his answers gave an air of not caring about anything anymore. He'd been interesting enough to research further, and apparently he'd had an issue with his ex-girlfriend that explained the feeling behind his answers. The Major decided to make him a close back-up. Number twelve sounded good. There was still a chance he would Walk.

There were a few others that could go either way; normal or surprise. An Olson, who seemed far too cocky for his own good and an Abraham, who seemed like a smartass if his answer to the essay question was anything to go on. A Rank, who seemed to have a very short fuse. People like that.

The normals were the random ones, after he got at least one from each state. There needed to be at least one from Maine – this year the lucky guy was Raymond Davis Garraty, a boy who seemed almost completely average. His father had been squaded… was it eleven or six years ago? The Major couldn't quite remember. It wasn't that important, anyway. An Aaronson, a Davidson, another Baker… just people to fill the spots.

This Walk was going to be a good one.

the major is actually really fun to write