Among the Free Read Online Free PDF Page B

believing what he’d heard.
    â€œWhat?” Luke said. “You mean, Officer Houk was—”
    He broke off as someone opened a door in one of the Chiutzan houses. A girl stepped into the street and poured out a bowl of some sort of liquid. Both Luke and the other boy ducked down and held their breath until the girl went back into the house and shut the door.
    â€œSee? You almost gave us away. You have to leave,” the boy said.
    But this time Luke heard the fake bravado in the boy’s voice, the fear and uncertainty trembling just below the surface.
    â€œNo,” Luke said. “You have to tell me everything you saw.”
    â€œNot here,” the boy said. “Someone will see us or hear us. And it’s too cold.”
    Luke looked around, frowning, still trying to make sense of the boy’s words. After the villagers killed Officer Houk . . . Luke saw the boy was beginning to inch away.
    â€œWe can talk in that shed over there,” Luke said. “We’ll whisper.”
    â€œThe shed’s mine!” the boy said, his voice arcing toward hysteria. “You can’t have it! It’s mine!”
    Luke reached out and grabbed the boy’s arm, to steady him and stop him from running away. Luke had to know what had happened.
    â€œI don’t want to take your shed away,” Luke said, trying to make his voice soothing. “I’ve got my own place to stay. I just want to know what’s going on.”
    â€œWhere’s your place?” the boy asked.
    â€œBack there. In the woods,” Luke said impatiently.
    â€œIs it warm and dry? Do you have your own food supply?” the boy continued.
    â€œI—” Luke began. His stomach churned, as if on cue. He hadn’t thought about food at all since running away from Chiutza. He’d just thought about running and hiding and freedom and Jen. This made him wonder how clearly he’d been thinking all along, how sane any of his plans and actions had been. “Look,” he said now, trying to sound calm and reasonable. Trying to be calm and reasonable. “I just want you to tell me what happened in Chiutza after I left. Then I’ll leave you alone. I promise.”
    The other boy was staring at him warily, but when Luke gave a little tug on the boy’s arm, he began to move toward the shed.
    Twilight had fallen now, with long shadows extending from the woods into the village. It was no challenge for Luke and the other boy to creep along the edge of the woods, confident they were out of any villager’s sight. But at the doorway to the shed Luke hesitated, sudden panic overtaking him.
    What if this is all a trick? What if the boy was just pretending not to want me in the shed? What if Officer Houk and the driver are waiting there, with the gun? What if they plan to kill me on the spot for running away?
    The other boy stepped across the threshold, into darkness.
    â€œComing?” he whispered, his voice taunting.
    This shed’s barely bigger than an outhouse, Luke told himself, fighting back the panic. If Officer Houk and the driver were hiding in there, they’d have me by now, no matter what.
    Luke stepped in behind the boy and pulled the door shut behind them. Now the shed was completely dark, except for a patch of light on the opposite wall, where a board was broken away.
    â€œThis way,” the boy muttered. “In case someone comes.”
    He pulled Luke over behind a pile of burlap grain sacks. The burlap smelled old and moldy, but Luke’s stomach still grumbled at the thought of possible food within.
    â€œWe have to make a deal,” the boy said.
    â€œHuh?” Luke asked, distracted by the grain sacks and the trouble he was having getting his eyes to focus in the dark.
    â€œA deal,” the boy repeated. “I have something you want—information. What are you going to give me for it?”
    Luke had nothing with him but the clothes on