The Only Road Read Online Free PDF Page A

window Jaime watched the truck with tall wooden planks attached to the sides sputter to a stop outside Tío’s house. A fair-skinned old man with white hair eased himself out of the vehicle, his wrinkled hands braced over the door in the moonlight.
    Not the Alphas, just Pancho.
    Some days he sold fruit and meats; other days Pancho’s truck held furniture. Today it was filled with sacks of used clothes.
    â€œAre you ready? It’s over three hours to the Mexican border and it’s better to cross it while it’s still dark,” Pancho rasped.
    The remaining bean-drenched tortilla dropped from Jaime’s hand onto the plate. Abuela didn’t demand he finish it. Part of him wished she would, just so things would feel familiar.
    Instead she handed him, Ángela, and Pancho plastic bags of food before walking off into the night. She didn’teven say good-bye. It would have been too hard for her.
    Tears rolled down his face as he hugged both of his parents.
    â€œ Vamos, patojos .” Pancho called the youths to go. Jaime and Ángela hugged each other’s parents before climbing into the back of the truck. The burlap sacks were scratchy but cushioned, making it easy and somewhat comfortable to be wedged between the goods. They poked their heads through the burlap as the motor turned.
    Mamá hobbled, holding on to Jaime’s hand as the old truck clunked down the road.
    â€œI love you both. Be safe,” she called out louder than she should have. Her hand slipped from Jaime’s and she was left panting in the middle of the dirt road.
    Jaime watched her until the truck turned a corner and she, his mamá, was gone. Who knew when he’d see her again? If he would . . . no, he wouldn’t think like that. Of course he’d see her again. Of course.
    They passed the cemetery where they had buried Miguel, the road leading to the school Miguel would have attended in the fall, the park where Miguel . . . Good, he never wanted to see that place ever again.
    The village Jaime had known his whole life, gone. His house, his family, gone. From now on, home would only get farther and farther away.

CHAPTER FOUR

    Jaime lost track of how long he watched the road they left behind. The sacks of clothes closed in on him like when he and his cousins used to sandwich themselves in couch cushions. His face peered out from the middle of the sacks like a micoleon , the slinky, long-tailed, long-tongued mammals that inhabited the forests on the outskirts of his village. For a while he recognized landmarks—a village where distant cousins lived, the tree under which he got carsick, the road that led to the beach where he and Tomás shared that sunset. Then one dark village began to look like another until he was sure he’d never been this far from home before.
    It’s all your fault, Miguel. If you were still here, we would still be at home . The thought entered his mind before Jaime couldstop it. Miguel wasn’t to blame. Not when he’d died fighting. But if Miguel had just given in and joined the Alphas . . . Jaime shook his head to stop his mind from playing games with him. If Miguel had given in, Jaime would never have forgiven him for that. It would have been a betrayal to him, and the family. Few things were worse. As much as he hated leaving home, he’d have to be brave, like Miguel.
    After miles and miles of pothole-filled roads with no streetlights, Pancho pulled onto the highway. The wind rushed against Jaime’s ears, and the headlights from the few cars on the road blinded him. Best not advertise to the other drivers that he was back there. He closed his eyes and retreated back between the scratchy sacks.
    When he opened his eyes again, the faintest blue crept through the crevices in the sacks. He blinked a few times in bewilderment. Not because he didn’t know where he was—sadly, the week’s events hadn’t been erased