In Chap­ter 12, we find our­selves amidst a har­row­ing sce­nario where fear and unpre­dictabil­i­ty reign. The char­ac­ters, pri­mar­i­ly Sadie, Lizzie, Mor­ris, and Buck, are flee­ing to a town pur­port­ed to be in Iowa. Their trep­i­da­tion is pal­pa­ble as they nav­i­gate through an envi­ron­ment brim­ming with ani­mos­i­ty due to an ongo­ing war that seems to direct­ly involve them.

Upon their arrival, they encounter the local sher­iff, who greets them with sus­pi­cion, ques­tion­ing their sta­tus. His query, “Run­aways?” is met with acknowl­edg­ment from James, who speaks on behalf of the group. This inter­ac­tion under­scores their pre­car­i­ous posi­tion in a com­mu­ni­ty that is vis­i­bly dis­trust­ful of out­siders, par­tic­u­lar­ly those of their descrip­tion.

As the sher­iff inquires fur­ther, seek­ing the name “Nig­ger Jim,” the group responds with their identities—Sadie, Lizzie, Mor­ris, and Buck—all while James remains some­what enig­mat­ic, sim­ply intro­duc­ing him­self as “James.” His refusal to pro­vide a last name high­lights not just a moment of defi­ance but also sig­ni­fies their strug­gle for iden­ti­ty amidst the chaos they are entan­gled in.

This chap­ter res­onates with themes of sur­vival and the com­plex­i­ties of iden­ti­ty with­in the con­fines of soci­etal prej­u­dices. The char­ac­ters are not only bat­tling exter­nal threats but are also grap­pling with the impli­ca­tions of who they are in a world that seems intent on label­ing them. Their jour­ney is fraught with uncer­tain­ty, and as they con­tin­ue to nav­i­gate these chal­lenges, the stakes grow high­er for each of them. The ten­sion of the encounter with the sher­iff remains a poignant reminder of the dan­gers that lie ahead, as they aim to sur­vive in a land­scape that is hos­tile to their exis­tence. The chap­ter cap­tures the essence of their plight, both as indi­vid­u­als and as a group, forc­ing them to con­front the harsh real­i­ties they face in their quest for free­dom.