Chapter 2
After twenty minutes, Paul wasn’t back yet. “It’s getting hot in here,” Zeek said. He kicked the back of Jack’s seat. “Open the window.”
“I can’t!” Jack said. He turned in his seat to face Zeek and Nelson and added, “Paul took the keys, remember? The windows won’t open without keys.”
“Well, I need some air,” Zeek said. He opened his door and got out.
“Me too,” Nelson said. He stepped out to and stretched his arms.
Jack sighed. “Fine,” he said. Then he got out too and closed his door. “One of you leave your door open, though,” he said . . . just as both the back doors closed.
“Oops,” Zeek said.
“Why?” Nelson said. “They’re not locked.”
As he said it, the locks clicked.
“They lock on their own,” Jack said. He leaned against the car. “Great, now we’re locked out of the car.”
Zeek patted him on the shoulder. “Big deal,” Zeek said. “Your bro will be back in a few minutes. Then he’ll open the doors.”
Jack nodded. “I guess,” he said. “It’s not like it’s raining.”
Just then, a big drop splattered against the car hood with a loud ping.
“This is your fault, Jack,” Nelson said. “You had to say it’s wasn’t raining.”
The skies opened up. It began to pour. Thunder cracked and lightning burned across the sky. The torrent of rain was deafening.
“We have to find shelter!” Zeek shouted.
The other boys nodded. “I’m pretty sure there was an overpass, not far back,” Jack said. “We can run for it.”
The three boys sprinted along the shoulder of the highway. “There,” Jack called out. They reached the overpass and stopped. As soon as he was out of the rain, Jack bent, with his hands on his knees, to catch his breath. “I hurt all over,” he said.
The other boys laughed, but they were out of breath too.
“It can’t rain like this for too long,” Nelson said. He sat down on the curb, just under cover, and watched the pouring rain fall.
Zeek and Jack sat next to him. Jack grabbed his shirt and rung out some of the water.
“I’m soaked to the skin,” he said. “I might as well have gone swimming in my clothes.”
The other boys laughed. Then Nelson spotted someone walking down the road. “Hey, is that Paul?” he asked. From where they sat, and with the sun nearly all the way down, it was hard to be sure.
“I hope so,” Zeek said. He stood up and waved his arms. “Hey, Paul!” he called out.
Jack grabbed his wrist and pulled him back down. “He doesn’t have a gas can, whoever that is,” Jack said. “That’s not Paul.”
“Oh, whoops,” Zeek said.
The figure stopped a moment. Then the person seemed to realize where the boys were sitting. He started jogging quickly toward them.
“Well, here he comes,” Jack said. “I hope he’s not a crazy murderer or something.”
“Don’t be ridiculous,” Nelson said. The figure got closer. “See?” Nelson went on. “He’s our age.”
Zeek nodded. “Nothing to be afraid of,” he said. Then, facing the stranger, he said, “Over here. Looking for shelter from the rain?”
The guy stepped under the overpass. He looked about their age — maybe a year or so older — and his clothes were soaking wet. His pant legs were both torn at the ankles.
“Hey, are you okay?” Jack asked. “You look like you’ve been walking for a long time.”
The boy smiled at Jack and his friends. “Not that long,” he said. “I’m sure glad I found this overpass before it got much darker. I’d hate to get lost in those woods.”
He nodded toward the forest just off the highway. Jack, Nelson, and Zeek glanced at the woods. They were creepy looking, dark and deep.
“Can I join you?” the boy asked.
Jack and his friends looked at each other. Then Jack answered, “Sure.”
The boy sat down and took a deep breath. “Thanks,” he said. “I’m exhausted. My name is Caleb, by the way.”
Jack introduced himself and his friends. “I’m Jack,” he said. “Those two yahoos are Zeek and Nelson.”
Caleb smiled. “You guys don’t have any food, do you?” he asked. “I feel like I could eat a horse.”
“Sorry,” Jack said. “All our snacks are in the car.”
“You have a car?” Caleb asked. “Why are you sitting here, then?”
“We ran out of gas,” Zeek explained. “Jack’s brother went to get gas back down the road.”
“And we got locked out of the car,” Nelson added.
Caleb nodded. “Well, no big deal,” he said. “Soon the big full moon will be out. Then everything will seem a little brighter.”
“What’s that mean?” Jack asked. But Caleb didn’t answer. He just looked at his hand and picked his dirty fingernails.