CHAPTER 9

Bruce headed toward the US border using any means of transportation he could find. He rode in the backs of trucks with migrant workers; climbed through hilly, rugged terrain; and hitchhiked whenever he could. When he couldn’t find a ride, he grabbed some sleep—mostly outdoors or in the doorways of locked stores in small towns. He slept badly, plagued by nightmares of what had happened in the factory, but at least he was under the radar. In this way, he stayed one step ahead of Thunderbolt Ross… and he also stayed away from people as much as he could, fearing that the monster would get out again.

He’d started thinking of it as the Hulk. It was a separate thing from him, or at least he wanted it to be. If he gave it a name, that helped him keep it apart from the real Bruce Banner in his mind.

It took a long time for Bruce to travel through Central America and Mexico, but he finally reached the border of Texas. He crossed at night with a family of immigrants, helping the kids cross the rocky desert.

Then he made his way toward the East Coast, keeping to the smaller highways.