Free Trapped by Laurie Halse Anderson

was bad,” he admits. “Really bad. I didn’t check my trapline for a day because my sister was sick and my mother was working late. Things were so crazy at home that I just... forgot. It won’t happen again. And I guess I’ll have to find another place to set my trapline. I didn’t really understand about the nature preserve being totally off-limits. That’s a new thing. The warden explained it all, so now I get it.”
    So, he is going to keep trapping. What is it going to take to make him stop? “Billy,” I say carefully. “I’ve been learning some stuff about trapping. Did you know that more than ten million animals are killed every year for their fur? And that lots of the animals caught in traps are like Chico, animals that the trappers don’t even want?”
    Billy sort of grunts. Does that mean he already knows all this stuff?
    I decide to keep talking. I tell him everything that I learned about trapping and all the harm it does to animals, just like I’d planned to do when I first headed to his house.
    He listens. He really does. He nods once in a while, and a couple of times he rolls his eyes as if he thinks I’m saying something ridiculous. But he doesn’t interrupt. Not once.
    I bet I have Chico to thank for that. Billy probably feels so guilty about Chico that he figures he owes it to me to hear me out, at least.
    Finally, I finish. I can’t think of another thing to say. Billy seems to be mulling it all over, staring down at his hands. We just sit there quietly for a moment.
    That’s when Sage comes out of the clinic. He stops in his tracks when he sees us.
    â€œWhat are you still doing here?” he asks Billy angrily.
    â€œI just—” Billy stands up quickly and tries to answer. “I—”
    But Sage is too mad to let him finish. “You are a sorry excuse for a human being,” he says, shaking his head. “You ruined one animal’s life, then you almost killed another for no reason.”
    â€œI was going to put the fawn out of its misery!” Billy protests. “Stop its suffering!”
    â€œYeah, right,” Sage says. “I think you’re just bloodthirsty. You like killing animals, don’t you?” Sage is almost shouting now, and his hands are clenched into fists.
    â€œN-no!” Billy says. “It’s not like that! I’m not like that, honest!”
    â€œHe’s not,” I tell Sage, trying to calm him down. “Billy and I have been talking. He explained—”
    Sage whirls toward me. “You stay out of this,” he hisses. “What do you know about it?”
    â€œShe knows a lot,” Billy says, defending me. “She’s been telling me all this stuff about trapping. Stuff I didn’t know.”
    â€œYou didn’t know,” Sage mimics in a nasty voice. “Oh, you’re so innocent, aren’t you?”
    â€œNo, I—”
    But Sage doesn’t let him finish. Suddenly, he leaps at Billy, fists flying.
    â€œSage!” I shout. “No!” I can’t believe what I’m seeing. I grab at his shirt, but I can’t get hold of him.
    Billy’s trying to defend himself, but Sage is out of control. He throws Billy to the ground and begins pounding him.
    At first, I panic. “Stop it!” I yell. “Stop it, Sage!”
    How can this maniac be my brother Sage, the one who never got in a fight before?
    â€œSage!” I yell at him. “What about being a pacifist? You’re letting the Steven Bauers of the world win!” But he doesn’t seem to hear me. He just keeps throwing punches.
    Billy manages to scramble to his feet, trying to dodge the blows. But Sage doesn’t let up. He swings wildly at Billy.
    â€œSage!” I yell again.
    It’s obvious that nothing I can say is going to stop my brother. So I jump between him and Billy, grabbing at Sage’s arms to stop him from