Free Gravity Check by Alex Van Tol Page A

remain hidden. I wait until Skinny Guy is looking the other way, and then I make a run for it. Silent as a ninja. Deadly as Bond.
    I remove my pack and wiggle into the space under the stairs. The bikes lean against the cabin behind me. I could reach out and grab Nolan’s water bottle if I wanted to.
    In my new spot, I can look up through the floorboards of the porch. I don’t let myself think about all the mutant insect life that might be down here with me.
    Or dead bodies.
    I shove the thought down, straining to catch bits of the conversation overhead.
    â€œYeah, the first two showed up last night. That’s when we grabbed them…Yeah, but then another one showed up, like, an hour later…Yeah, of course…No, but then this morning the other kid showed up. Damian got him and brought him back here…Yeah, some kind of camp is what one of them told me…No, there aren’t any more.” He raises his eyebrows at Skinny Guy—Damian—who blows out a thin stream of smoke and shakes his head. “Yeah, I’m sure, Deuce,” says Big Dude.
    Butterflies take flight in my stomach. Whoever this Deuce guy is, he suspects there are still other kids on the loose. He’s going to tell these guys to be on high alert, watching. I have to be supercareful.
    â€œOkay, we’ll keep an eye out for any others…Yeah, we’ll hold those four for ya,” says Big Dude. He gives the thumbs-up to Damian, who looks relieved. “Sounds good. Yeah, okay. No, they’re all tied up inside. They’re not talking. They can’t. We taped them.” Damian smirks and takes a drag.
    Still listening, Big Dude glances at his watch. “You coming out? Okay…Wow, that’s really soon. No, no, it’s cool, I’m just saying…Okay, sure thing, Deuce. See you later.”
    Big Dude folds the phone up and places it on the porch railing. He reaches for the joint. “He’s on his way.” “He’s early,” says Damian, passing it over. “He wasn’t supposed to come until tomorrow.”
    Big Dude shrugs. “Whatever, man. Deuce is in charge of his own schedule. He sounded a bit pissed with this whole thing about the kids.”
    â€œWell, it’s hardly our fault that we found those stupid punks snooping,” whines Damian.
    â€œDeuce doesn’t care whose fault it is,” says Big Dude. “If he’s mad, it’s best just to stay the hell out of his way.” He pauses for a drag. “I’m glad he’s coming. Let him deal with the nosy kids.”
    Damian nods. “Yeah. Otherwise we’d have to do it all. And I don’t want the blood of four people on my hands.”
    I shudder. So the only reason these guys haven’t killed the others yet is because they’re waiting for their boss to come and do it? I close my eyes and fight the swimmy feeling inside my head.
    Damian continues, “Yeah, no thanks. I think I’d rather sleep at night. Got to make it to heaven.” He yawns and rubs his face.
    Big Dude laughs and claps Damian on the shoulder. “You’re in the wrong line of work, then, sissy boy.”
    Damian gives him a little shove. “Speak for yourself, Warren. It’s not like you want to kill a bunch of kids either.”
    Warren shrugs and passes the joint to Damian, who shakes his head. Warren shrugs again, takes the last pull and stubs it out on the railing. He tosses it into the grass in front of the cabin. “I do what I have to do,” he says, exhaling a stream of smoke.
    â€œWhen did Deuce say he’s going to be here?” Damian asks.
    â€œTen,” Warren replies.
    Ten! I look up at the sky, but I can’t see the position of the sun. I think back to what’s happened so far this morning since Seth and I left the campsite. I figure we left just before seven. I can’t imagine that more than an hour has passed, so that puts us at almost