Luke's Dream Read Online Free PDF Page A

help?”
    The woman had watched my struggles to peel a
carrot for the last three minutes.
    “Yes.” I gave up trying to work the peeler
and handed it over along with the carrot.
    “So how did Bob rope you into this?”
    “He didn’t. I volunteered.” I’d woven a
rather convincing story about a man with a newly acquired
bachelor’s degree in psychology, looking to observe troubled teens
as a field study for a paper. Bill had been more than willing to
invite me to help out in the kitchen. According to him, I’d get the
most interaction if I served them meals first.
    I didn’t want interaction, just observation.
And, though I couldn’t see Bethony from the kitchen, I checked in
on her each time I excused myself to use the restroom. The last
time I’d checked, she had found a comfy chair in the corner of the
main room. Slouched into it with her arms tensely wrapped around
her bag, she’d pretended to sleep as a deterrent to conversation. I
wished she’d actually let herself sleep. She still had dark circles
under her eyes.
    “This is where you succeed or fail at
peeling,” Kathy said, reclaiming my attention. She held the peeler
comfortably in her right hand and the carrot in the left. Then, she
set the peeler to the carrot and slid the blade away from her. She
made it look so easy.
    “Here,” she said, giving it back. “Keep
trying.”
    She picked up another peeler and joined my
efforts. It took an hour to get through the carrots and potatoes
and another hour to chop. There were two other people in the
kitchen with us. As we focused on preparing lunch, they washed the
dishes from breakfast.
    “How many people do you feed each meal?” I
asked.
    “Around one hundred. We never turn anyone
away. If we run out, we have peanut butter and jelly sandwiches. We
usually don’t run out. If there’s extra, we invite those who are
still hungry back for seconds. The people here might look rough,
but most of them have very giving hearts.”
    It reminded me of how things were run at the
Compound. Going there had been my first exposure to giving hearts.
Mainly Charlene’s. It didn’t mean I wanted to live there, though.
Too many wolves ready to get into your business or to compete for
the few females who showed up.
    However, I understood why my kind wanted to
go there. It gave them a place where they felt they belonged. Just
like the homeless shelter did for these people.
    A scream echoed through the halls. I barely
stopped myself from running after Bob.
    “Stay here,” Kathy said before following
him.
    The other guy strolled to the door and poked
his head out for a moment before coming back.
    “Some girl must have freaked out. Maybe
someone tried taking her stuff. Bob has it under control now.”
    It wasn’t some girl. It was my girl. Forcing
myself to nod, I went back to the vegetables.
    Kathy returned several minutes later.
    “Is she all right?”
    “Yes. Poor thing. It was a dream that made
her scream. I can’t imagine what someone so young must have endured
to have such terrible things in her head while she sleeps.”
    I couldn’t imagine it either.
    Over the next six hours, I helped prepare and
serve lunch and dinner. Bethony didn’t eat either meal. Instead,
she stayed in her chair and suffered her dreams. She screamed at
least a dozen times over the course of the day, and my frustration
grew with each incident. Kathy’s comment echoed in my mind. What
had happened to Bethony? What haunted her dreams, and why did she
calm when I was near her? I could only think one thing. Someone had
hurt her.
    Most of the people who ate dinner left the
building after they were finished.
    While Kathy and the other guy cleaned up the
serving line and went out to collect any missing dishes, I
discreetly checked on Bethony to make sure she was still in her
chair.
    Bob had checked on her each time she’d made
any noise. He seemed a decent enough sort, and I was glad she was
at least trying to sleep. However, if she decided