PS. It’s going to be a super-long chapter
compared to others.
“Logan?” hissed a
voice.
Logan
peered from the tree house to see Saraha and Flo P standing at the base of the
tree, holding flashlights, rucksacks on their backs. Logan climbed down and turned
to them. “Where’s Ji-Ji?”
“She
said she needed to pack some essentials. Are you ready?” asked Flo P.
“I
bet NOT!” said Saraha, eyeing Logan. After a look from Flo P, she said, “Naw, I
bet the pansy’s cool and ready for action, right, Logan?”
Logan
nodded, tried not to feel stung. After all, he was the new SUPER LOGAN; Logan
the Brave; Logan the Strong; Logan the ROCK! “That’s right. Come on, guys.
Let’s wait by the garage.”
On
the way out, testing his new Super Abilities, Logan reached around and put his
arm protectively on Flo P’s shoulders. If it wasn’t so dark, he could have
sworn she was blushing, but she didn’t wriggle away. Logan felt so happy.
Saraha cast one glance at the two, rolled her eyes and smirked. Logan thought
her heard a, “Good Lord, what’s the world coming to?” come from her throat, but
he couldn’t be sure.
Soon,
a dark figure could be seen along the street. It was Ji-Ji, who stealthily
crept up, and who they scared half to death by jumping out silently and leading
into the garage.
“I’ve
got all the things we need,” said Ji-Ji, showing them a light but packed
rucksack. “Clothes, extra food, knives, lots of money, but also more
essentials. I’ve soap, toothpaste, and calcium tablets to keep up energy, but
most importantly, four heat-containing blankets.” She divvied up the blankets
and toothpaste and soap.
“Are
we ready?” asked Flo P hesitantly.
Logan
decided: it was his turn to take leadership, to speak. “I just want to make
something clear. You don’t have to come. You will never have to. But I’m glad
it’s us. I’m glad I’m running away and hiding whatever’s so important in that
document. I doubt we’ll get very far, but we can still try. I’m glad we’re
friends.”
“That’s
nice, Logan,” said Ji-Ji.
Flo
P gave him a quick squeeze, and even Saraha said, “Thanks, O Pansy One.”
They
set out for the train station, an estimated ten minutes with taking the bus,
which they were not risking. They trooped down to the station, and since the
town wasn’t that big, and Logan’s house was in the centre of it, it only took
them twenty.
The
train station was grey under the murky lamplight, and deserted but for two men,
waiting to catch the train. Newspapers and cigarette butts littered the
platform. Ji-Ji put her arm out to stop the other three, as they were about to
make their way onto the platform.
“Stop,”
she hissed. “We don’t want anyone to see us. We’ll take the far compartment
when the stationmaster isn’t looking, or whichever one the two men aren’t in.”
“She’s
right. Do you want someone to see us and report us barely an hour into our
escapade?” asked Saraha.
They
crouched in the shadows silently, one playing lookout outside, the other
watching the platform, until the men boarded the train and the stationmaster
strolled to the end, staring off into the distance.
“Train
115 is leaving in one minute. Please board the train!” rang out an
electronic female voice, as the four kids scurried up to the far compartment
and jumped in, just as the doors snapped shut. The stationmaster whipped his
head around.
“Who’s
there?” he called. “If I catch anyone jumping the train…”
But
it was already slowly pulling out of the station. The stationmaster watched it
turn into a silver blur, and disappear into the night.
“Great
job!” cried Flo P.
Ji-Ji
looked at them critically. “That was close, you know that, right?”
“So
what?” Saraha asked. “So far, so good, right?”
They
slumped down on the hard plastic seats, watching the occasional lights flicker
by. The endless passing sea of neighbourhoods and suburban lots stood along the
way to Andersbad, like a massive sea of plankton before an even greater urban
whale. Andersbad was three hours away from the village by train. Logan
suggested everyone get sleep, and then set his watch to quarter to three a.m.
He
awoke and shook the others just as Andersbad loomed out of the darkness, with
its lights and towers and foggy halo of bustle and noise, even in the cruel
hours of the morning.
The
four friends watched in awe as it loomed up, and soon engulfed them. The train
stopped near the edge of the city, and waiting until the two other men had left
out of sight, and nobody was watching them, they ran on and past the platform,
into a dark alleyway wedged between two buildings.
Ji-Ji
was solemn, but Saraha and Flo P and Logan were all grins.
“Perk
up, Ji-Ji!” said Logan. “Andersbad! We’re somewhere that’s even harder to find
four kids in! A massive city just to get lost and wander and plan, it’s
fantastic!”
“It’s
like our own metropolitan playground, just waiting for us to dive into,” said
Flo P dreamily.
But
Ji-Ji only had room for serious. “We need SLEEP. Where can we get that? You
need to stop thinking about the present and start on the near future. We’ll
never function properly if we can’t find our safe haven. Four innocent kids on
the street? We’ll get kidnapped and carted to who-knows-where… Or worse. Come
on. Let’s go.”
They
tromped along the alleys and streets, until they were sure they had reached the
outermost ring of the city. It was dark, dirty and smelled of garbage and
sewers. The four’s noses wrinkled. It was nothing like home. Logan checked to
make sure that the Walrus Document was still in his backpack, and contented, he
put the file back in again.
The
horizon was beginning to lighten. Flo P could hardly drag her feet much more,
but Ji-Ji walked with energy, encouraging, telling them “We’re almost there!”
But where was there, no one knew, not even Ji-Ji, who knew loads of important
stuff.
Finally,
Saraha collapsed on a dustbin. “I can’t keep going on this pilgrimage to find
‘shelter’, or whatever we ARE looking for in the first place.”
“C’mon,
Saraha,” said Logan slowly. “We need to go.”
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