Chapters 9 and 10 Summary

There is a ninety-minute period with no deaths, then several at once. Olson is in bad shape, no longer talking, eating or even drinking. His tongue lolls out from between parched lips and he doesn't answer when spoken to. Scramm is obviously ill, but cheerful, saying that he can continue to walk for as long as it takes. When he speaks, it's obvious that the cold is taking its toll. At an intersection some forty-five miles from the turnpike, Percy's mom is being forcibly held back as she screams for her boy.

They encounter an Italian on the side of the road offering free watermelon to the walkers. Several run toward him, despite warnings, but troopers interfere. In the scuffle, the Italian throws slices into the walkers and almost all get a piece. Garraty notes that Stebbins doesn't, but admits that...