At the last instant, the boy skipped back, as if he’d been more aware of his surroundings than his posture indicated.
Good for you, young man. Feeling a bit better, Bowdler headed toward the containment facility where the subject would be taken as soon as he was recaptured. He needed to have a word with the other detainee, and decide whether it was time yet to cancel him.
friday morning
peregrination #2
LUCKY TAKES A WALK AND HEARS A NEW VOICE
IN THE FOG
ANOTHER WALK, DIFFERENT nurse. A guy named Nick. Lucky shuffled along next to him, wondering how much time there was before his next pill.
“Lucky.”
That wasn’t supposed to happen. The medicine should muffle the voices.
“Lucky, come back.”
He walked several steps past the open doorway before he understood why the voice was so clear. It was coming from a real person. He turned back.
“Where you going, sport?” Nick asked.
“Someone called me,” Lucky said.
“I didn’t hear nobody say Dominic.”
“He called me ‘Lucky.’ That’s my nickname.”
Nick snorted out a laugh, then shook his head. “Sorry, dude. I guess it’s not that funny.”
“Lucky,” the voice called again.
“Can I see who it is?” Lucky asked.
“I suppose it’s okay to peek in and see if he’s really calling you.”
Lucky walked to the room. He didn’t recognize the bruised, swollen face.
“Lucky,” the kid said, “it’s me. Cheater.”
Next to him, he heard Nick say, “Lucky, Cheater. What next? Sleepy, Dopey, and Goofy?”
“It’s not Goofy,” the kid said. “It’s Grumpy.” He listed the seven dwarfs, then started to talk about the origin of Goofy as a character called “Dippy Dog.”
Lucky took another step into the room. He knew that voice. He recognized the way an endless stream of information flowed from that mouth. His brain slowly made sense of the unexpected images. This was Cheater. His old friend. Without his glasses. All banged up, and moaning after every couple of words. “What happened?”
“I stayed when I should have folded.”
“You okay?”
“I’ll live. Guess what? I have great news.”
“What?”
Cheater stared past him, toward Nick. “Nothing. Hey, what are you doing here?”
Lucky knew it wouldn’t be good to talk too much. He and Cheater had dangerous secrets. He stumbled over to the bed and thought about all that had happened. He swished it around in his mind and tried to keep it there as long as possible, like a big mouthful of stinging mouthwash.
A moment later, Nick tapped Lucky on the shoulder. “Come on, Unlucky. We can’t hang here too long.”
Lucky followed Nick out of the room. When he looked back, he saw that Cheater was reaching for the phone on the small table next to his bed.
friday morning
peregrination #3
TORCHIE TAKES A RIDE AND EVENTUALLY ARRIVES
“WOW, I THINK we’ve seen the whole city,” Torchie said. He glanced to his left. Mr. Wickman was hunched over the wheel, looking all around, and then down at the map clutched in his right hand. Behind them, a horn blared. Philadelphia sure was a noisy place.
“It’s got to be somewhere,” Mr. Wickman said. “Everything is somewhere.”
“We’ll find it.” They’d been driving around for an hour, searching for the hotel. Mr. Wickman didn’t seem to be very good at following directions. And it was really distracting the way so many people were blowing their horns.
At last, Torchie spotted a small sign on a pole at the corner of a parking lot. “There,” he said. “The Hillville Luxury Motel.”
“I guess we found it.” Mr. Wickman drove into the lot. The red pickup bounced as it crossed potholes of various depths.
Torchie saw several kids walking around with accordions. Nobody had an instrument anywhere near as large as his.
“You want me to come in with you?” Mr. Wickman asked.
“No. That’s okay.” Torchie slid out and grabbed his accordion. “Thanks for the ride.”
“My pleasure.” Mr. Wickman pulled back into the street.
Torchie flinched at the blaring of another car horn, then went inside.
friday morning
peregrination #4
FLINCH TAKES A WALK AND FAILS TO DIE
“YOU’RE NOT FUNNY.”
“You’re not smelly. Wait—we’re both wrong.”
Lying in bed on Friday morning, half awake, Flinch grinned as he relived his favorite moments of last night. He always tried to be hard on himself and look for any flaws in his act, but he had to admit that he’d been on fire. Big time.