Children of the Underground Read Online Free PDF

couldn’t fit through the window at the same time. “I’ll go first,” Addy said, aware that if their attackers had the window covered, going first was a death sentence.
    â€œOkay,” Evan said. They didn’t talk about their ability to run with lungs full of hot ash. They would either run or they would die. It wasn’t something they needed to discuss.
    Evan and Addy stood up, their heads lifting into the blinding smoke again. They each held on to one side of the chair. “One,” Addy called out, and they swung the chair in the direction of the window. Even through the smoke, their aim was true. The window shattered. They held on to the chair, knowing they would need it to create their diversion. As soon as the glass broke, smoke was sucked out of the cracks in the glass. For a split second, Addy and Evan felt like they could breathe again. A split second after that, they heard gunshots pummeling the wall next to the window. It didn’t matter. They had no time for backup plans. “Two,” Addy called out, and they threw the chair out the broken window. As the chair fell toward the ground, it was chased by another rip of gunfire. “Three,” Addy yelled, and jumped out the window. Without a moment’s hesitation, Evan jumped after her.
    Addy’s leg caught on some glass as she leapt through the window, cutting a small gash into her skin, but she barely noticed. The fresh, smoke-free air acted like an elixir, a cure-all to any pain. When Addy landed, she heard the sound of the bullets hitting the wall next to her. She rolled away from the sound. From where they were positioned, their attackers didn’t have a direct line of sight at Addy and Evan. Instead, the attackers were shooting at them at an angle, plugging holes into the already ravished building but missing their true targets. Evan landed only a short moment after Addy. In that moment, Addy’s eyes began to clear. She closed her eyes tightly and let the tears wash away the ash. When she opened her eyes again, she could see the two men with guns running toward them. They were wearing LAPD SWAT uniforms. Addy reached down and grabbed Evan. “Run,” she shouted with as much force as she could muster. Then she dragged Evan to his feet and they ran.

Four
    I have a book that I bring with me wherever I go. I read it every day. It describes the stages of a baby’s development. Every morning I wake up and count the days since you were born, so that I can read about each new thing that you might be doing that month or that week. I read it so that I know everything I’m missing. Since they stole you from me, I missed your first smile. I missed hearing you laugh for the first time. I missed watching you learn how to crawl. I’ve missed so much already. I don’t want to miss any more.
    I remember kneeling on the dirt in our front yard in New Mexico, my head resting in your father’s lap after the life slipped out of him. I could still taste his last breath on my lips. I couldn’t move. I wished that they’d killed me too. I knelt there, looking at the horizon in the direction they had taken you. It didn’t seem real. They came out of nowhere and stole you from me. For nine months you grew inside me and then, after only a few weeks, they came and took you away. The last image I have of you, crying as that brute held you upside down by your leg, your body covered in your father’s blood, will be burned in my memory forever. I can still hear you cry in my sleep. As much as that sound hurts me, I never want to forget it. It’s all I have of you.
    I don’t know how long I knelt there before finally getting up and stumbling back to the empty house. I remember the sky was dark. My knees ached. They were covered in hard red dirt. My whole body throbbed. When I got to the house, I did the only thing that I could think of to do. I called for help. I picked up the phone and