underbrush. âItâs better. Iâve checked it out already. The federales swing through the train yard every now and then.â
We followed the tracks for several hundred meters. The grass on both sides was firmly packed down, evidence that many train-hoppers had waited here before us. In the thick undergrowth beyond the grass, others had cut back the brush to make places to sleep, or to hide. A dead campfire blackened the ground in one spot. A faint wisp of smoke crept up from the center.
A pack of yellow-eyed dogs emerged from the brush and wandered toward us, sniffing the ground. The leader eyed us boldly. I picked up a rock and flung it in his direction. Javi ran after the dogs, screaming, âGo on! Get out of here! ¡Lárguense de aquÃ! â I hoped the dogs werenât like the rats, another bad omen.
CHAPTER 19
Javi chose a spot just before the track curved for us to wait. âThis is good,â he declared. âThe mata gente will still be going slow enough for us to hop on. Itâll be here in less than an hour. Youâll see, no problem. But first things first.â
From his pack, he took out a pocketknife, the kind with miniature tools attached. He pulled out the little scissors from one side and held them out to Elena.
âYou need to cut your hair off, all off, short. Then put your cap back on,â Javi instructed.
He looked away, but continued, âYou should disguise yourself. The less you look like a girl, the better. There are train gangs. They rob, steal, beat people up.â¦â
Javi paused. Finally, he looked back at Elena. âAnd they rape many women.â
The look I saw in Elenaâs eyes when Colmillo robbed us returned for just a moment. She grabbed the scissors and began to hack away at her hair. It fell to the ground in dark, thick clumps. She cut and cut her hair. Then she asked Javi to cut it even more, until it lay like a small black cap on her head.
When he finished, Javi stood with the little scissors open in his hand, staring at Elena. âYou look like mâija Magdalena with your hair like that. She cut it short herself last year. She plays soccer, climbs trees, runs. She said she didnât want to bother with her hair. Really, you could be hermanas, you look so much like her.â
Javi seemed unable to move. He seemed stuck to the ground. He couldnât take his eyes off Elenaâs face.
âWhat else, Javi? What else?â Elena demanded.
She just wanted to finish. She just wanted to get it over with. Elena looked down at her clothes. Her pants and loose shirt, her sneakersâall of them couldâve belonged to a boy. It looked like a good disguise to me. With her cap pulled down over her eyes, she would fool almost anybody.
Javi turned, and dug into his backpack. He pulled out a black marker and handed it to me. His hand trembled. He looked me in the eye, but it seemed he was looking straight through me to a place a long ways away.
âWrite âTengo SIDAâ in big letters across her chest,â he said quietly. âThe threat of AIDS might stop some men.â
I swallowed hard, took the top off the marker, and wrote the words in thick block letters right above Elenaâs small breasts. It was warm, but she shivered anyway. I shivered, too, at all the things I didnât know, and didnât want to know.
And how could I protect Elena when I didnât have a clue about all the things I was supposed to protect her from?
Of course Javi had a plan for getting on the train. He made us run through the steps ten times before he was satisfied. I didnât see why we had to practice hopping the mata gente. We were young and quick and there was no one else around to fight us for a spot on a ladder.
âItâs coming!â Javi said. âCan you hear it?â At that moment, the mata gente âs whistle blew loudly. It was close, very close.
âCome on! Get in position!â Javi