Blind Run (18 page)

“That’s right, Syd. Fight it.” He found the seat-belt clasp. “I’m going to release this. Are you ready?”

She nodded, only partially with him.

They didn’t have a lot of time. If the deputy had managed to radio for help before ending up in this ditch, the cops would be crawling all over this place any minute.

Ethan had to get Sydney out of here. Now.

Bracing her, he ignored the scream of protest from his arm and unfastened her seat belt. She came down in a heap, but he broke her fall, protecting her head and neck.

She groaned and opened her eyes, her expression confused and frightened. “What—”

“It’s okay, Sydney. I’m getting you out of here.” Flipping over, he backed out through the window, drawing her with him. Once he had her in the open, he carried her away from the wreck and laid her on the soft grass.

“Sydney?”

She blinked. “Ethan?” She half smiled, her eyelids fluttering, then closing.

“I’ve got to go back for the deputy,” he said. “Will you be okay for a minute?”

She nodded, drifting back into unconsciousness.

Ethan returned to the cruiser.

The deputy proved both easier and harder to free. Easier because Ethan could simply grab him under his arms and pull. Harder because the man weighed a good hundred pounds more than Sydney.

After getting him out of the vehicle, Ethan checked for life-threatening injuries. A couple of cuts on the man’s forehead and chin bled freely but weren’t critical. As for internal injuries, Ethan didn’t have a clue. He’d done all he could for the man, taken all the time he dared.

He carried Sydney to the Explorer, settling her in front and lowering the seat to its full stretched-out position. Then he strapped her in and covered her with his jacket, started for the driver’s door, and stopped.

“Damn it,” he said, looking back at the wreck of a cruiser and the man lying beside it.

He couldn’t just leave an injured man and hope help would show up. From the back of the Explorer he got a blanket, carried it to the deputy, and covered him. Then Ethan scooted back into the front seat of the cruiser and grabbed the radio transmitter.

As he pressed the transmit button, he said, “There’s been a car accident on Highway 120, north of River Ridge Park. The officer is injured and will need an ambulance.”

Ethan released the button, not waiting for the reply.

Back outside, he said to the unconscious deputy, “They’re coming. You’re gonna be okay.”

Conscience clear, Ethan returned to the Explorer and headed north, hoping he hadn’t just made a big mistake.

CHAPTER TWENTY

DANNY CAME AWAKE
with a start.

The truck had stopped. Rubbing his eyes, he wondered how long he’d been asleep. The last thing he recalled was curling up beside Callie to keep warm. He began to sit up, then remembered he had to keep low so the driver wouldn’t spot him out the back window.

“Callie,” he whispered. “Wake up.” He gave her a gentle nudge. “We’re off the highway.” Only, since he’d been sleeping, he didn’t know for sure when they’d gotten off or which way they’d gone.

The truck started moving again.

“Callie.” He shook her a little harder. “We’re here.” It sounded like a town, with traffic on all sides. He wanted to peek over the sides of the truck but didn’t dare. “I think we’re in Champaign.”

Callie’s eyes opened wide. “What—”

“Shhh.” He pressed a finger to her lips.

“Are we there?”

He nodded, excited. “I think so.” Where else could they be? “Get ready. We’re gonna have to get out of the truck really quick.”

But the next time they stopped, Danny didn’t think it was such a good idea to climb out. It sounded like they were on a busy street, and he wasn’t sure they could get away before the light changed. He wasn’t going to be stupid enough to risk Callie getting hurt on top of everything else. So they waited, stopping and starting several more times, while watching traffic lights pass overhead.

He was beginning to get nervous, afraid the driver was just passing through town, when they turned. The sound of traffic faded, which only made Danny more certain he’d made another mistake by stowing away in this truck. He visualized the map, trying to remember the area around Champaign, but couldn’t. He hadn’t really paid attention to anything except how to get here.

By the time the truck stopped and the driver shut off the engine, it felt like they’d been riding forever.

Wherever they were, they needed to make a run for it. If the driver caught them, it would be all over.

“Come on,” Danny said. “We’ve got to go now.” Grabbing his backpack, he scrambled between the burlap-wrapped roots toward the rear of the truck bed.

Doors opened and shut, and voices drifted back to him.

Keeping low, Danny swung himself over the tailgate and reached back to give Callie a hand. “Hurry.”

“Hey, you kids.”

Too late. They’d been spotted.

“Come on, Callie.” Danny half pulled, half lifted her out of the truck, no longer worrying about staying out of sight.

“What are you doing back there?”

The voice was closer now, and Danny saw two men coming straight at them. The first and nearest man was huge, with a scraggly beard and a gray-streaked ponytail, while the second was younger and looked a lot faster.

Danny grabbed Callie’s hand. “Run.”

They raced away toward the parking lot exit and a small empty street. It was deserted. Warehouses and empty fields stretched side by side for several blocks, but in the distance was a busy road.

“Wait,” came the command from behind them. “Come back here.”

“Don’t look,” Danny said. “Keep running.”

They headed toward the intersection.

Even as he ran, Danny realized he wasn’t scared. Not really. Not like earlier today in the woods. Compared to that, this was a piece of cake. He didn’t think the men from the truck would catch them. The big man sounded out of breath as he called out for them to stop, and another glance over his shoulder convinced Danny that the younger man wasn’t even trying. If he did decide to grab them, it still might not end their search for their father. The men might even turn him and Callie over to Timothy Mulligan, if Danny was convincing enough.

As he’d hoped, the men only followed for a block or two. But Danny kept running when he reached the intersection, looking for some place where they could blend in—just in case the men called the police. He could hear Anna’s voice in his head.

“It’s always best to hide in plain sight. As long as you look like you belong.”

First, they went into a convenience store, but the lady behind the counter watched them like they were going to steal something. Next they tried a Wal-Mart a few blocks down the street. It was a good choice, crowded, with lots of other kids. Danny figured they could stay there all day and no one would know the difference. Sooner or later, though, they’d have to leave, and he wanted to get as far away from the truck and the men driving it as possible.

After that they spent time in a grocery store, tagging behind a woman with a baby, hoping people would think she was their mother. They even followed her out to the parking lot, then slipped away between the cars and headed back out to the street. For a few minutes they stood with a group at a bus stop, while Danny thought about what to do next. Then the bus came, and he and Callie started walking again.

It had become a game, pretending to belong where they didn’t, and they were getting pretty good at it. Too bad it was getting dark. Then Danny’s stomach growled, reminding him that they hadn’t eaten in hours.

Meanwhile, cars choked the road, four deep, moving along at a stop-and-go pace. Now that they were well away from the men and their truck, Danny realized no one even noticed them. He’d spotted several signs on businesses, claiming Champaign as their home. So at least they were in the right town.

“I’m cold,” Callie said. “Let’s go inside.” She pointed down the road, and Danny’s mood lightened when he saw the mall sign.

“Good eyes,” he said. “Let’s go. We can get something to eat and warm up.”

They nearly ran the few blocks.

They’d only been in a mall once before, and that had been with Anna. She’d taken them right after they’d fled the island, claiming they needed different clothes to blend in. It had only taken a couple of days on the outside for Danny to see she was right. They would have looked like a couple of freaks in their Haven clothes of dark wools, crisp white shirts, and blazers.

For two kids who’d never even been in a store, that first mall with Anna had been overwhelming. They’d both wanted to leave right away and didn’t know what to make of so many people in one place. But after they’d gotten over their initial wariness, they’d both agreed it was about the neatest place they’d ever seen.

Anna had told them there were malls all over the country. Danny hadn’t really believed her. But here they were, halfway across the country, and Anna had been telling them the truth.

This mall wasn’t as big as the one in Seattle, but it was still pretty awesome. He couldn’t imagine what anybody needed with so many stores, but he was glad they did. Plus, there were lots of other kids around, some with grown-ups and some without. Everyone was minding their own business. Even more than when they’d been on the street, Danny felt like he and Callie were invisible. No one here would come running up to them and ask what they were doing alone.

At the food court, they ordered slices of pizza and Cokes. It had become their favorite food since leaving the Haven. The girl behind the counter, a teenager with spiky pink-and-purple hair and a nose ring, took their money and served them without even a smile, much less any questions.

Danny carried their tray to a corner table, where they ate in silence. Callie was particularly quiet, watching everyone around them with wide eyes. He wondered how she was feeling, but was afraid to ask. She hadn’t started coughing again, but she looked pale. Despite worrying about his sister, the food worked wonders, making him feel better as soon as he started eating. After all, they were in the same town where their father lived. They were home. If Callie was sick, their dad would get her better.

While they ate, he watched a store named Aladdin’s Video Arcade. It was brighter and noisier than the other stores, with a steady stream of kids coming and going. From where he sat, the store looked filled with games of some kind.

What could it hurt to check it out?

Besides, he wasn’t ready to leave the mall. Mainly because he didn’t know where to go when they did. Although he had his father’s address, he had no idea how to find it. Not without asking an adult—a mistake he didn’t plan on repeating.

“Let’s go look in that store,” he said to Callie as they finished their pizza. “It looks like fun.”

Callie frowned. “You go. I’ll wait here.”

“I can’t leave you alone.” After all, she was only seven. “Come on, it’ll be great.”

“But . . .”

“What’s wrong?”

“There are only boys over there. And, well, older kids.”

She was mostly right. “There,” he said, spotting a skinny girl hanging on to one of the older boys. “You won’t be the only one.”

“She’s a teenager,” Callie said, as if it were a disease.

“It’ll be okay. You’re with me.” Danny picked up their trays and carried them to a trash can like he’d seen everyone else doing. When he got back to her, he said, “Come on, it will be fun. You’ll see.”

Callie eyed the store warily, but finally agreed. Maybe she wasn’t ready to go back outside, either.

Inside, the arcade was even neater than Danny had hoped. The store was packed with video games of all types. Some you sat in, while a screen flashed in front of you like you were driving a race car or flying a plane. Others involved tossing disks or rolling balls. Most, though, were standing video games, some of which were bigger variations of the ones he had on his Game Boy.

The kids, most of whom Danny had to admit were older, played by themselves or in twos or threes. Danny was drawn to an animated group surrounding two boys who were only a couple of years older than he. Each boy had his own control, and they were obviously playing against each other.

Danny was mesmerized.

The game was Street Fighter. It was a bigger, more elaborate version than he had on his Game Boy, but it was basically the same. Except, it was so much cooler than his version. Not only were there more controls and better graphics, but everything moved faster as well.

He watched the two boys carefully, paying particular attention to the extra buttons and their uses. One of the kids was definitely better than the other, and everyone kept calling him Gerard. When he made his final move that destroyed his opponent, the group let out a loud cheer. He was obviously the favorite, and everyone pummeled him on the back and shoulders, declaring him the best.

“He isn’t so good.” Callie’s soft little-girl voice cut through the ruckus. “My brother can do better than that.”

“Callie.” Danny looked at his sister with disbelief as the space around them went very quiet. This guy was twice his size. Did she want to get him killed?

“Well, you can,” she insisted.

Gerard pushed his way through the group to Danny. “You think you can beat me, kid?”

“Uh . . .” Danny glanced at Callie, wondering why she’d picked this exact moment to brag about him. Looking back to Gerard, who towered over him, Danny shrugged. “Don’t know. Probably not.”

Gerard laughed and so did his friends. “Well, your little sister thinks you can.”

Danny shrugged again, thinking he was gonna strangle her if they got out of this.

Gerard held up an odd-looking coin, then slapped it on the game top. “You afraid to try?”

Danny pulled some change from his pocket. “I don’t have any of those.”

The boys standing around laughed louder.

“Tell you what,” Gerard said in a condescending tone. “You go on over to that machine and buy yourself some tokens. I’ll wait here.”

Danny hesitated, and Callie elbowed him in the side. “Go get the tokens, Danny.”

He threw her another frown but headed over to the machine. Tokens were twenty-five cents apiece or five for a dollar. He couldn’t believe Callie had gotten him into this. Like they had a dollar to spare for Danny to make a fool of himself.

When he returned, Gerard said, “I’ll even let you go first.” There was a general snicker from the onlookers.

“That’s okay,” Danny said. “You go ahead.”

“No way, man. You’re the newcomer. You go first.” He took one of Danny’s tokens and slipped it into the slot. “Rules are, loser pays for the next game.”

Danny warily stepped up to the machine.

It took most of the first game for him to get the feel of the controls. But by the last move or so, he’d gotten the hang of it and no longer even noticed the other boys behind him. He lost, of course, but not as badly as he’d expected.

Slipping another token in the slot, he looked at the older boy. “Ready to go again?”

Gerard gave him a small smile and nodded.

By the time Danny had used up his five tokens, he was making Gerard work to win, and the kids watching were treating him like one of their own. They cheered him on when he did something right and moaned when he missed a move.

The last game was close, but several of the boys slapped him on the back and wished him better luck next time. Even Gerard seemed impressed and followed Danny and Callie back out into the mall. “You’re not bad,” he said. “Do you live around here?”

Danny’s earlier wariness returned. “Not really.”

“So, where are you from?”

Danny didn’t know exactly how to answer. “Uh, we’re from Seattle.”

“Cool. You here with your parents?”

“Yeah, they’re—”

“We’re looking for our dad,” Callie said at the same time. “We were stolen.”

Danny shot her a worried glance. What was with her tonight? Talking to strangers and all? She had no idea how Gerard would take the news that they were runaways. He might call the police or tell his parents.

Gerard, however, seemed fascinated. “Really? Awesome.”

“Look,” Danny said, giving Callie a don’t-say-another-word glare. “Do you know where Henning Street is?”

Gerard glanced back and forth between them, then shook his head. “Nope. But hey, my big brother would know.”

“Your brother?” Danny backed up. “No thanks. We better—”

“It’s okay. Really. He’s cool. He delivers pizza for Domino’s and knows his way around. And if he doesn’t know, he’s got a map.”

“That’s okay,” Danny said. The more people who knew about him and Callie, the bigger their chances of getting caught. “I don’t want to bother him.”

“I bet he’ll even give you a ride.”