And do it fast. I’d like to get them back before Tragg wakes up.’
She sighed. ‘All right, give me the details.’
The truck’s gentle rocking soothed Zack’s initial adrenaline shakes. That, plus the knowledge he’d outsmartedNolan, boosted his mood from what it had been that morning.
But he could tell the others were far from happy. They huddled together in the small space near the door as cold air and dust swirled around them.
‘You’re bleeding,’ Reece said, pointing to his leg.
Zack looked down, saw that one leg of his jeans was torn and rolled it up. There on his calf, half concealed by a layer of dirt, was adark red blotch. He spat on the cuff of his sweatshirt sleeve and used it to wipe away some of the grime.
The cut was only an inch or so long but it was almost as deep. If he pushed the skin a certain way the edges gaped like the mouth of a fish. He stared in wonder at how little it hurt and that he hadn’t even felt it when it happened.
‘Must’ve cut myself climbing out of that ditch. Or intothe truck.’ He rolled the pants leg down and dismissed it.
‘My stomach hurts.’
Zack sighed. Corey always had to be the centre of attention. Any time someone else got hurt, somehow he always felt sickas well. ‘You’re just hungry, that’s all.’ As Zack was himself, he suddenly realised.
He inspected the boxes stacked around them. They were all sealed with tight plastic bands, impossible to break.If he only had a knife or something sharp . . .
On the floor beside him he spotted a two-inch metal staple. He snatched it up, jabbed it into the nearest carton and ripped a small hole in its side.
Toilet paper.
He tried the next box. Laundry detergent. And the ones after that. Dish liquid, toothpaste, motor oil.
He dropped the staple and sat back down. ‘I’ll find us something to eat whenwe get there.’
‘When we get where?’ Reece said softly. ‘Where are we going?’
‘How the hell should I know?’
‘How long will it be?’
‘If I don’t know where we’re going how can I –’
‘Who’ll take care of us?’
Corey’s frightened little-boy voice just made things worse. Why were they always asking him questions he couldn’t answer? ‘Who took care of us up till now? You think Frank and Julie evergave a crap about us?’
Corey bowed his head. A minute later there were tears on his face.
Zack paused to get a grip on himself. One thing he had always sworn – he would never let the Bad Boy out around them. That part of him that felt like a whole other person, the side he sometimes couldn’t control, the one that mouthed off to men like Tragg no matter the risk. Sometimes that part of him scaredeven him.
‘What’s wrong now?’ he said at last.
‘I left Ali on the van.’
Crying. Over a skanky stuffed animal. Corey was just too dumb to realise his dad had only given it to him because he felt guilty for walking out on him. But just at that moment Zack didn’t have the heart to explain.
He pushed off the box, dropped to the floor and slung his arm around Corey’s shoulder. ‘Don’t worry, we’llfind another one.’
Reece scooted closer to the boy’s other side. ‘I know how you feel – I lost all my baseball cards, too.’ He held up a single dogeared specimen. ‘All I got left is this dumb Eric Gagne.’
The man clipped the chain to his collar and dragged him down the darkened corridor. At the end, a garage with only one vehicle – the idling truck.
He fought and kicked but the man was stronger,lifting him towards the open compartment, pushing him in, slamming the door.
The air inside burned his lungs like fire. Absolute blackness swallowed his pleas. But a terror far deeper evoked his screams –
this is what happens to unwanted boys . . .
Zack jerked awake, somehow managing to stifle his cry. He sat up, blinking around in confusion.
He was in a truck all right, but not the one ofhis recurring nightmare. This one was bigger and loaded with boxes, and
She sighed. ‘All right, give me the details.’
The truck’s gentle rocking soothed Zack’s initial adrenaline shakes. That, plus the knowledge he’d outsmartedNolan, boosted his mood from what it had been that morning.
But he could tell the others were far from happy. They huddled together in the small space near the door as cold air and dust swirled around them.
‘You’re bleeding,’ Reece said, pointing to his leg.
Zack looked down, saw that one leg of his jeans was torn and rolled it up. There on his calf, half concealed by a layer of dirt, was adark red blotch. He spat on the cuff of his sweatshirt sleeve and used it to wipe away some of the grime.
The cut was only an inch or so long but it was almost as deep. If he pushed the skin a certain way the edges gaped like the mouth of a fish. He stared in wonder at how little it hurt and that he hadn’t even felt it when it happened.
‘Must’ve cut myself climbing out of that ditch. Or intothe truck.’ He rolled the pants leg down and dismissed it.
‘My stomach hurts.’
Zack sighed. Corey always had to be the centre of attention. Any time someone else got hurt, somehow he always felt sickas well. ‘You’re just hungry, that’s all.’ As Zack was himself, he suddenly realised.
He inspected the boxes stacked around them. They were all sealed with tight plastic bands, impossible to break.If he only had a knife or something sharp . . .
On the floor beside him he spotted a two-inch metal staple. He snatched it up, jabbed it into the nearest carton and ripped a small hole in its side.
Toilet paper.
He tried the next box. Laundry detergent. And the ones after that. Dish liquid, toothpaste, motor oil.
He dropped the staple and sat back down. ‘I’ll find us something to eat whenwe get there.’
‘When we get where?’ Reece said softly. ‘Where are we going?’
‘How the hell should I know?’
‘How long will it be?’
‘If I don’t know where we’re going how can I –’
‘Who’ll take care of us?’
Corey’s frightened little-boy voice just made things worse. Why were they always asking him questions he couldn’t answer? ‘Who took care of us up till now? You think Frank and Julie evergave a crap about us?’
Corey bowed his head. A minute later there were tears on his face.
Zack paused to get a grip on himself. One thing he had always sworn – he would never let the Bad Boy out around them. That part of him that felt like a whole other person, the side he sometimes couldn’t control, the one that mouthed off to men like Tragg no matter the risk. Sometimes that part of him scaredeven him.
‘What’s wrong now?’ he said at last.
‘I left Ali on the van.’
Crying. Over a skanky stuffed animal. Corey was just too dumb to realise his dad had only given it to him because he felt guilty for walking out on him. But just at that moment Zack didn’t have the heart to explain.
He pushed off the box, dropped to the floor and slung his arm around Corey’s shoulder. ‘Don’t worry, we’llfind another one.’
Reece scooted closer to the boy’s other side. ‘I know how you feel – I lost all my baseball cards, too.’ He held up a single dogeared specimen. ‘All I got left is this dumb Eric Gagne.’
The man clipped the chain to his collar and dragged him down the darkened corridor. At the end, a garage with only one vehicle – the idling truck.
He fought and kicked but the man was stronger,lifting him towards the open compartment, pushing him in, slamming the door.
The air inside burned his lungs like fire. Absolute blackness swallowed his pleas. But a terror far deeper evoked his screams –
this is what happens to unwanted boys . . .
Zack jerked awake, somehow managing to stifle his cry. He sat up, blinking around in confusion.
He was in a truck all right, but not the one ofhis recurring nightmare. This one was bigger and loaded with boxes, and
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