Tent City Read Online Free PDF Page B

clean. I do feel good about the progress we are making though; we’ve got time to make up.
     
    I check to make sure the knife I found at the bottom of my pack is tucked safely in the back of my pants. If it comes to it, I’ll do what I have to.
     
    We have traveled a good couple of hours. I’m annoyed Jack and Kit haven’t stopped so we can let Jack go and be on our way. What is he thinking, anyway? That he can just get a free ride?
     
    I also don’t feel comfortable with him knowing where we’re going. I’m sure by now, he’s looked at the maps and figured it out. It’s best no one knows where we’re going. What good is a safe hideaway if everyone is going to know about it?
     
    Brody has gone quiet, so I signal to them to stop and make camp. Brody is actually being surprisingly easy to manage. He hasn’t been complaining, but I can tell he misses Mom. He has that whiny pouting face he makes just before bed. He must be confused by what’s going on. He’s never been away from her this long.
     
    I start unpacking and I’m trying to find a nice way to send Jack on his way when he takes care of it for me.
     
    “Well, I guess I’ll take off,” he says.
     
    “Where are ya going?” Kit asks. She looks disappointed. I’m sure all she can think about is that she’s not going to get to wrap her arms around him for the next few days.
     
    “Suppose anywhere. Just wanted to say thanks for the lift and the food. Oh, and don’t start a fire tonight. I think The Council is starting to tighten things up. It’s got that feel to it. They’ll probably be looking for anything. I might even turn myself in. I’ve been thinking about it. I don’t have much, so maybe this new program could be like a new beginning for me.”
     
    “What?!” Kit and I ask in unison.
     
    “The Council kind of has a bad rap. In some ways, we’d be a lot worse off without them. I mean, I get why you guys want to go with not being split up and everything. But for a guy like me with nothing to lose, it’s gotta beat wandering around here. Searching for something, anything, nothing. ”
     
    He pauses for a second and runs his hands through his hair before he begins again, “I don’t know, maybe they can find me a job or something. What about you Kit? You got any brothers or sisters? Why do you want to get away so bad?”
     
    “Why would I want to be sent off to a baby factory?” she asks, with the usual animation in her face. She would never be able to play a decent game of poker. Every emotion she ever has displays itself in her feminine features.  
     
    “I think that’s just a rumor. They’re not going to force anyone to have babies. Maybe they’re just making it easier for the younger generation to meet and get the population going again. Is that the worst thing in the world? It might be easier to just go along… Now, you’re going to be on the run for the rest of your life. Is that any way to live?”
     
    I can see her actually contemplating this. I don’t know how she could. She’s more of a free spirit than anyone I know. Well, except for maybe me. It’s one of the things that bonds us. We have been dreaming for a long time of making our own way in the world. How could she think being in a cage would be good?
     
    “I know what you’re thinking,” he says.
     
    Being locked up, is what I’m thinking.
     
    “I don’t think it’s like a prison…It’s probably like a certain area of land designated for the purpose of letting life flourish. Ya know, making sure the younger generation has enough food, medical treatment…all those things we take for granted.”
     
    “I don’t take any of that for granted and I’ve heard enough,” I say. “Let’s go Kit.”
     
    “Kit?” he asks, and I’m pissed.
     
    I don’t know if I’m just mad or a little jealous. Why isn’t he asking me? I mean, maybe he’s thinking of Brody and me staying together, but he still didn’t ask. Why does he have this magical