Rewrite the ending for Of Mice and Men
The story starts right after page 98 and is the start of the next chapter.

Lennie slumped toward the rivers cool edge and knelt. He dipped his large paw low in the still water, quivering and failing to bring any drops to his awaiting mouth. Quickly he turned, to the bushes and then to the opposite side, checking every few minutes or so for anyone approaching in the distance. Satisfied, he lay down like a child by the river’s edge, with his legs drawn to his chest.
His head jerked up suddenly at the sound of a breaking branch and he slowly turned his head and inhaled sharply. When he saw George approaching, Lennie exhaled and crawled to his feet.
“George!” he exclaimed. Lennie tackled him in an enormous bear hug and they both fell to the ground as well as their bindles that George had been carrying. George looked at Lennie, but couldn’t return Lennie’s joyful smile and instead gave him a sad one of his own. Lennie’s face drooped and tears began forming in his eyes.
“George?”
Lennie looked at him. “Yeah?”
“I know what you’s is gonna say, George.” he said softly, his eyes sparkling. “I knows what you gonna say.”
George shifted on the bed of brush. “What am I gonna say?”
Lennie trembled- “You gonna say I made trouble again and that I can’t tend no rabbits. But I-I-I’m so sorry George, I didn’t mean it.” He began to quiver then, with his monstrous shoulders shaking back and forth in big unsteady motions. George scooted over and gently placed his arm on his back.
“It’s okay.” He patted his back. “Its okay, Lennie.”
Lennie bawled into his shirt, “I never meant to do no harm, George. I swear it, by God. It was her hair, and it was so soft and so pretty…” he howled louder, “and all I wanted to do was to touch it, George. I swear I didn’t mean to do no harm. I just wanted to feel it, that’s all. ” His face fell again and he cried harder.
Lennie continued sobbing and George sat there and let him sob on his shoulder. He stayed like this quietly for a moment, and then turned to face Lennie.
“Lennie?” He glanced down. “Lennie, you got to look up me, Lennie, and let me see if you’re okay.” He lightly pushed Lennie’s head away until he could see his tear stained face.
Lennie sniffled and looked at George. “Are you mad at me George?”
“Of course I ain’t mad at you.” He said with a small smile. “I ain’t never been mad at you. Never at all.” He looked around. “You remembered to come back.”
Lennie’s face brightened as he wiped his nose. “That’s right, by God. I did. Ain’t you proud of me George?” He grinned and absorbed his surroundings. “I did.” he whispered to himself.
“That’s right, you did.” George smiled. “That’s real good, Lennie. I’m really proud of you.”
Lennie beamed. “That’s a good thing, ain’t it, George?” He kept on his silly grin and laughed. “That’s good. I been good!” George paused for a moment then laughed along with him.
“Yeah, that’s right. You’ve been good,” he turned serious. “but we still got to leave this ranch okay, Lennie? We can’t stay.”
“Why can’t we stay none, George? How come we can’t stay? I was beginning to like it here George.”
“I know. We just gotta leave, okay? If we don’t leave now-”
“Its ‘cuz of me, ain’t it? I gone and messed up again, ain’t I?” Lennie whimpered.
“No, no. ‘Course it ain’t. God damn, it’s always ‘cuz of you, ain’t it? Everything has to always be about God damn you!”
Lennie was stunned and scooted back. “I sorry George-”
George shook his head. “No, I’m sorry. I didn’t mean that. It’s just that we gotta go before-” Suddenly, he whipped around to his bindle and pulled out Carlson’s luger, expertly pointing at a spot in the brush behind them.
Lennie leaned over to George and whispered, “What’s that George?” But George kept his eye on the brush until it started rustling and someone stepped out.
“Whoa, it’s just me, calm your horses,” said the stranger, coming out of the brush with his hands in the air. George exhaled and immediately put down the gun. The man from the brush walked over to them and knelt beside George.
“What’re you doing here? Won’t they get you if they find out that you’re helping me and Lennie escape?”
Slim shook his head. “Nah. Curley’s got his guys out with the dogs searchin’ the place in every’ nook and cranny. They won’t find us here.” He laughs a small laugh. “This will probably be the last place they look.”
George looked at him. “What’s that s’posin’ to mean?”
But Slim only shook his head. “Nothing. Nothing at all.”
Lennie, who had been cowering unsuccessfully behind George, did not go unnoticed when he peeked out from behind his shoulder and nudged George. “Hey, George?”
“Yeah?”
“Can you ask him if he got any more pups, George?”
“Maybe later, once we leave.”
Slim glanced at George. “Where y’all headed? Just out of curiosity.”
“Not quite too sure. Any where far, far away from here is about good as any other one of them ranches. Gotta leave before they come stormin’ down to-” he looked at Lennie. “Why? Know any places?”
“Nah.” He shook his head. “Don’t know a single place that works as good as this one here.”
They sat resting, and then Lennie broke the silence in a little unmeasured voice.
“Hey, George?”
“Yeah, Lennie?”
“Whose them people?” George turned to where he was facing, but only saw a massive sized shrub blocking his view. “Where Lennie?”
Lennie extended his finger to the spot about five yards in front of them. “There.”
All at once, a mob of ranchers swarmed at the two men. Slim stepped back and watched with a sad gaze as two ranch hands grabbed George and instantly pinned him to the ground. Lennie roared and instantly came to George’s side, but Curley’s men were prepared. Five strong well built workers flew at Lennie like a swarm of bees. One pistol whipped him in the head, and Lennie fell, staggering on the ground while two others quickly bound his arms behind him, working quickly. Then, they all pulled him up and held him down and kept him from running away.
Lennie was bleeding from the front of his temple where the ranch hand had hit him with his gun. Curley noticed this first as he walked out from behind the brush with his hand still in a cast from Lennie’s last encounter with him. He walked out in the opening, in front of Lennie and paused.
“You’ve been a real bastard, and you lucky my old man don’t want you killed. But by God, I swear, you will suffer for everything you done to me.” And with that, Curley punched him, hard and stepped back. Lennie doubled over and stayed upright only because of the men holding him. George, still pinned on the ground, twisted to break free, but could not.
“Stop it! Don’t you dare hurt him Curley, or I swear to God—” but Curley just laughed.
“You will, won’t you? No, you don’t scare me no more, now that he—” he gestured towards Lennie, “—won’t be around no more.” Curley stepped back and looked over his small party of fifteen men that he brought with him.
“That’s right, did ya’ll all hear me? None of you damn people scare me!” He turned back to the men holding Lennie. “Take him to my old man. He’ll decide what to do with him.”
Lennie’s captors started dragging Lennie away, but Lennie looked at George. “George!” he screamed. “George, don’t leave me! George!”
George struggled violently. “Lennie!”
Lennie was almost out of sight with tears streaming down his face. “George! Please, don’t leave me, George!” and then he was gone.
“LENNIE!” George screamed. He cried again and again he tried to free himself so he could save Lennie, but failed. He instead crumpled on the ground, shaking heavily and screaming for them to bring Lennie back.
One of the men who held him called Curley over. “What do you want us to do with him?” he asked, nudging George with his foot.
“I don’t care.” Curley snickered. “Hell, no one else in the whole world would care except maybe him,” gesturing to the place where they last saw Lennie.
The man sighed. “Yeah, I guess you’re right.”