Free Red Skies (The Tales of the Scavenger's Daughters) by Kay Bratt

I’ll be back for you. Now go on.” She was firmer this time, and she peeled Xiao Mei’s fingers from around her and gently pushed her. The girl stumbled and fell, falling onto the ground and looking up at An Ni as if she were suddenly the enemy.
    An Ni felt a rush of guilt for being too rough as she ran to help her up.
    Xiao Mei slapped her hands away. “Why are you being so mean, An Ni? I don’t want to go over there by myself, it’s too dark.” She held her palms out, and An Ni could see that they were speckled with gravel, and probably stinging.
    Li Xi yelled again, and both she and Xiao Mei jumped. He had stopped to wait for them, and he was angry.
    “Xiao Mei, listen to me. If you don’t go hide over there, Li Xi is going to make you jump onto a moving train. What if you fall? We have to hurry, but please—go there and wait for me. I’ll be back, and when I do, I’ll have some food for you. I promise.” An Ni hoped the mention of food would convince her, and it did.
    Xiao Mei ran to the grove of trees, and An Ni took off to catch up with Li Xi. Jumping on a moving train was the last thing she wanted to do, but the alternative was to take a beating first from the boy, then probably again later from Tianbing when Li Xi told on her for being disobedient. Maybe a train was the lesser evil after all.
    The closer she got, the louder the train became. Even though they were running, she could feel her legs getting weaker and trembling. She’d never even been close to a train, much less climbed one that was moving!
    It finally came around the bend, chugging as it moved toward them. Li Xi was the first to it, and he pointed out what he thought was the dining car. When he got close, he leaped between two train cars and disappeared for a moment, then poked his head out and waved the boys closer. He looked proud as he balanced on the metal piece that connected the two cars.
    An Ni’s side ached where Li Xi had kicked her earlier, but she kept running. She still had a ways to go to catch up to them, but as the train was moving toward her, it wouldn’t take long. As she ran, she saw the two boys jump, one by one, onto the narrow platform Li Xi stood on.
    Finally she was near enough to see the expressions on their faces, and though one of the boys looked scared, the others were smiling—happy they’d made it and high from the rush of the danger. The car they clung to came closer, and Li Xi held his hand out.
    “Grab my arm and I’ll pull you up!” he called to her.
    Once again An Ni wondered why she had to do this with them—the boys could’ve done it and been back before morning. Why take along two girls? She gasped for breath as his brown hand came closer. She resisted her urge to jump back from the train and, instead, grabbed hold of Li Xi’s fingers and was yanked into the air. She jerked her legs up—afraid they’d be eaten by the zooming track below—as she scrambled to find her footing. The other boys laughed.
    Li Xi held his hand up for them to be still. “I don’t know why you sent the little one away, but I don’t have time to deal with it. We have only another few miles before the train picks up speed. We gotta hurry. Follow me.”
    Now An Ni was trembling so hard she could barely function. She looked at the scenery flying by, knowing it was taking her further from Xiao Mei, and she’d have to walk back a long way.
    Li Xi moved from the metal connector to the rusty ladder attached to the side of the car. For a second, An Ni thought he was going to climb to the top of the train car. She prayed he wouldn’t, because then he’d expect her to follow. Instead, he focused on the two windows. One was open only slightly, but the farthest one over was open enough that a body could slip through. Li Xi went from the ladder to the first window, using it as a foothold, then grabbed the frame of the second window and stepped over. He slid his legs through, and then his body disappeared. The boys quickly