Free Wanderers by Susan Kim Page A

as if to provide guidance.
    â€œGrab hold,” said the stranger’s voice. “We put a noose at the end so you can put your foot in it. Ride up that way.”
    Awkwardly, Asha did as she was told. She stuck her right foot, sneaker and all, into the loop at the end. Then she gripped the scratchy rope with both hands. When the cord tightened and began to lift her, she let out a small scream. She twirled in the glow of the torch, her white robes billowing as she ascended to the doorway.
    Hands reached to pull her to solid ground. Giddy with excitement, she stumbled, nearly knocking over her saviors.
    â€œThank you,” she said again and again. She could not see their faces, but her relief was immense. “Thank you, thank you.”
    She sensed her rescuers were guiding her through the large room. Outside, a winter moon gave off enough illumination for her to see a little better.
    There were three boys who looked to be her age or a little older.
    One of them was large, hulking and immobile. He held the torch, which he kept close to her face. After a while, she wished he wouldn’t; the heat and glare of it were starting to bother her eyes. As if he had heard her, he lowered it so it moved slowly over the rest of her body. A second boy, shorter and nervous in his movements, began to whisper and giggle to himself.
    Asha decided she didn’t like either of them very much.
    But the one who had spoken to her was different.
    â€œCare for some candy?”
    He proffered a small package and shook a few pieces into her hand. She couldn’t stuff them into her mouth quickly enough; and as she crunched on the hard sweetness, he chuckled, and the sound was friendly.
    â€œAin’t you a long ways from home?”
    â€œNo,” she said. “I mean . . . we’re going to Mundreel. That’s where there’s lots to eat and we can live a long time. That’s our new home.” Swallowing and wiping her mouth, Asha grinned foolishly in the bright light. It was so hard to explain herself sometimes.
    â€œWe?”
    â€œThe people from Prin,” she said, speaking slowly, the way she had been told to do whenever she became too excited. Then she gave up altogether and just gestured down the road. “Over there. Want to come with me?”
    The one with the candy turned to the others and said something Asha couldn’t hear. The smaller one giggled again and whispered in response. The big one said nothing, but Asha didn’t care. She had been given some candy and was heading back to the others. She was happy.
    â€œThat sounds,” said her new friend, “like a real good idea.”

UNCORRECTED E-PROOF—NOT FOR SALE
    HarperCollins Publishers
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FIVE
    E LI WAS THE FIRST TO NOTICE THAT A SHA WAS NOT ALONE .
    He had been looking for her, using a torch to check around the wagons. He was worried that she had wandered off into the evening and become lost in the unfamiliar surroundings. When he spied the girl on the dark street, his relief was so great it took him a few moments to register that she was accompanied by three strangers. Like her, they were clad in dirty white robes that gave off a faint glow in the gloom. She was sucking on a piece of candy as she walked, nearly skipped toward the camp.
    â€œHey,” he said, approaching.
    â€œHi,” Asha said, her face brightening, biting the sweet now with a piercing crack. By the light of his flame, he could see the candy had dyed her mouth and tongue bright orange.
    â€œWhere have you—”
    â€œI was getting stuff, by myself. But things got real scary, and these guys saved me.”
    She gestured toward the three behind her, and Eli lifted his torch higher to see.
    They were old: perhaps sixteen or seventeen. The one in front seemed to be the leader. He was medium height, solidly built, with a broken nose and a wolfish grin that he flashed at Eli.