I look to either side of me, through the hundreds of shadows of thin, bony trees. The forest is empty, but it doesn't feel like I'm alone.
"Hello?" I call. "Bone?"
There is no answer. I decide not to ditch the knife in my pack. I hurry along the edge of the creek, kicking up rocks and leaves so there is plenty of noise to distract me.
Hmmm.
The last fifty yards, at the first glimpse of the house through the trees, I run.
Chapter 54
Twilight. I feel like my dad coming home from work, sore, tired, and hungry, and way dirtier. Except this isn't my home. I have no home.
It's a strange thought to belong nowhere and to no one. This past year I thought of Gatsbro's estate as my new home. Why didn't I question it sooner like Kara did? Maybe I just wanted to avoid the obvious for as long as I could. For now, Jenna's home is my home, and even though it's probably temporary, right now it looks pretty good--even the sagging porch.
I walk up the back steps and hear commotion insi
de. Jenna yelling, Oh, no, Kayla squealing. In two steps, I leap through the back door, already pulling my pack from my shoulder and reaching inside for the knife. One step into the kitchen and I freeze. I release my fingers on the knife still inside my pack.
"Ole!"
"About time!"
"Look what the cat dragged in."
Jenna, Allys, and Kayla are seated around the kitchen table--and so are Dot and Miesha. Dot sits in a high-tech assistance chair and wears a sombrero. Miesha is draped in a red and green serape, and her hair is now black. They look just as surprised to see me as I am to see them. Jenna jumps up from her chair and comes toward me. "What in the world happened to you?"
I look down at my bare chest. Besides dried sweat mixed with dirt, there are a few scratches. Wait until she sees my back. "I had a wrestling match with a spider."
"You didn't--"
"Yeah. I did." But none of that matters. They made it. Dirt, sweat, and all, I walk over to Dot and Miesha and hesitate for only a second before I hug them. Miesha is caught off guard and stiffens for just a moment, but then she hugs me back. I really don't care what we have or haven't done before. Today I almost went over a cliff, and I'm glad to see them.
"Mission accomplished, Customer Locke!" Dot says. "We shopped ourselves all the way down to Mexico!"
I pull up an empty chair next to them and run my finger along the rim of Dot's sombrero. "I can see that, Dot. Looks like you got some new wheels too."
"And then some," Miesha says. "It took a hefty chunk out of the money card, but it was worth it. She was becoming quite a load to push."
"And it does everything," Dot says. "I can even go up and down steps. It's almost as good as legs."
"I like it better than legs," Kayla says.
Dot beams.
"We were able to get her recharged too," Miesha says. "She's good to go for at least another three weeks."
"And speaking of good to go--" Jenna excuses herself and Kayla, saying Kayla needs a bath. Kayla protests that it's too early, but Jenna is firm, promising more playtime later. I know she is trying to protect Kayla from hearing too much and there probably are plenty of things she shouldn't hear. When they're both out of the room, I turn back to Miesha and Dot. "How did you find the place?"
"We were just telling everyone about it when you walked in. We found out you have to be very careful about the Network in these parts. There are infiltrators." Dot says the word like she is talking about aliens from another planet.
"We were nosing around at the station and were just about to ask a CabBot when we were intercepted by someone from the Network," Miesha adds.
"Good thing too," Dot says. "He told us that some of the CabBots are bounty hunters. You would never see that sort of thing in Boston. The Network contact didn't know you, of course, but as soon as we mentioned your friend Jenna, he knew right where to take us. She's a regular stop for them."
A regular stop? Allys looks sideways at me. I return her glance by raising my eyebrows. Jenna's questionable circle of friends continues to grow. I look back at Miesha. "What about Gatsbro? Do you think he followed you down to Mexico?"
"Oh, he followed us all right, like a shark after bloody chum. We saw him twice when we had delays at two of the stations. The last time was in El Paso. Once we crossed the border into Mexico, we rented a car and abandoned it in a small town about a hundred miles away. We left the code on the seat so anyone could take it. Hopefully someone will--all the way to South America."