The Only Ones Read Online Free PDF

can go with you.”
    “I’m not made for pals, if you know what I mean.”
    “I don’t.”
    “I’m better without you.” Kelvin’s tone was unapologetic.
    George never would have said such a thing, or at least not in such a way. It seemed that not all other people were going to be like George, even the ones who looked like him. Kelvin had been nice enough to provide some information. Maybe that was the most Martin could ask for. Still, he had to try.
    “How do I find it?” Martin asked. “Shi …?”
    “Xibalba?” Kelvin said. “You know it’s actually spelled with an ‘X,’ but sounds like an ‘Sh,’ as in ‘Who gives a Xibalba?’ You just find it. Like the rest of them did. You’ll know you’re close when you smell the nuts.”
    “Yes, but for me—”
    “You’ll do fine,” Kelvin assured him. “They’ll help you, as much as they help anyone, anyway. ’Cause you’re the kinda kid they like. Capable. Honest.”
    Martin nodded. He could tell that his time with Kelvin was up. He reached down, picked the fox skin off the ground, and held it out.
    “In case you get cold.”
    Kelvin took it, held it against his chest. “Ain’t exactly Sunday’s best,” he said, handing it back. “Keep it. A memento. And keep this too.” From within his cloak, Kelvin pulled a tiny glass bottle, about the size of his pinkie finger.
    Martin took it. “What am I supposed to do with this?”
    “It’ll bring you luck with the ladies,” Kelvin joked.
    “Okay.”
    “When you get there,” Kelvin went on, “tell ’em you saw me and tell ’em I looked fantastic.”
    “I can do that,” Martin said.
    Kelvin placed his bony hand on Martin’s shoulder and gave it a squeeze. He paused, looked Martin up and down, nodded, and withdrew. Then he turned toward town and set off into the forest. His cloak caught the breeze and trembled gently behind him.
    “Watch out for the library bears,” Martin called out.
    “Should be all right,” Kelvin called back. “I don’t have anything overdue.”
    As Martin watched the boy disappear into the maze of firs, he wondered if this had all been a put-on, if Kelvin was like some of the people he had read about in books. Were his tales a game he played with the green and gullible? Maybe. Then again, Kelvin’s skinny body didn’t seem a big enough place for lies.
    So Martin chose to trust him, and he decided, right there in the forest, that he wasn’t going back to the island. He was going forward. He would find this Xibalba place. He would meet these other people. He would trust them too. Maybe that would make him a bit too curious, a bit too much a fool. It was better than being suspicious and alone.

—— 3 ——
The Trail
    R ain christened Martin’s new journey. Trapping was infinitely harder in the rain, so he scavenged in cars for his breakfast and lunch: candy, soda, chips—anything with enough packaging and preservatives to keep it edible. He had no idea which way to go, but he figured if he followed the roads away from the ocean, he’d end up somewhere. Kelvin’s confidence in him was hard to believe, but it kept him moving.
    That night he slept in a van, where he could stretch out his entire body. He noticed that almost all the vehicles he came across had keys in the ignition, but even if Martin had known how to drive, it wouldn’t have been worth the effort to steer around all the other cars that were on the pavement, in the grass, or wrapped around and crushed under trees. It was easier to walk.
    Over the next few days, he passed through several towns with vacant, dust-frosted stores and weather-beaten homes.In each place, animals came and went as they pleased, but once Martin saw that there were no people, he never bothered to stay long. He felt safer away from buildings. The road offered a clear future and a clear past, so he followed it forward.
    For eight days he walked. He hadn’t given up hope, but he was beginning to wonder how he would ever know