the night. Kelley and I follow suit, moving slowly and cautiously.
Soon, we are standing there on the edge of the road. I can feel the weight of the knife in my waistband. If they try to strip-search me, then I will be forced to use it, because thereâs no way I can explain a weapon away. Then I realize that Kelleyâs gun must still be in the car. Thatâs going to be a lot harder to explain than a knife.
Kelley puts a hand on my shoulder. Maybe itâs a way to appear motherly. Or maybe sheâs trying to signal something to me. I canât tell.
âPapers,â the officer commands us.
We reach into our pockets and extract our government ID cards. Then we hand them over to him.
He scrutinizes them one by one with his flashlight. On the road, I see other cars going through the roadblock without any problems.
âWhere are you headed?â he asks, without looking up at us.
âWeâre on our way home from New Lakeport,â Kelley says.
âFrom a camping trip,â Shawn adds. âUp near Lake Nedra.â His voice cracks nervously, but luckily the officer doesnât seem to notice. He keeps looking at our ID cards.
I remain completely silent. Iâm worried that the officer will notice my wet hair, and think that itâs suspicious, but maybe thatâs why Shawn said we were coming home from a camping trip at a lake.
Iâm watching the officer. Heâs holding Kelleyâs and Shawnâs ID cards in one hand, and mine in the other. He raises mine closer to his face, bringing it up to the light.
âDate of birth?â he asks me.
I tell him the fake birth date on the ID card, without hesiÂtation.
He squints at me, turning the bright flashlight to my face. âYou look old for sixteen.â
âLife will do that to you,â I snap, before I can stop myself.
Time seems to stand still for a moment.
I donât know why I said it. It just came out.
For a moment I see something pass across his eyes. I shouldnât have said anything. I wish I could take the words back, but itâs too late. Iâm overcome by sudden fear. Iâm about to say something else to try to make it better. If this officer gets angry at me, or thinks Iâm mouthing off to him, then our entire cover might get blown.
Then the officer nods. âLife does that to everyone, I guess,â he says, as he hands my card back to me.
âWhatâs going on out here tonight?â Kelley asks, sounding perky and fake again. At first Iâm worried because I donât wanther bringing more attention to us. But then I realize that sheâs trying to figure out how much the government knows.
The officer shrugs. He seems more at ease with us now. âEscaped convicts,â he says. âA couple guys broke out of the maximum-security prison in New Fort Worth. At least thatâs what theyâre telling us.â
Kelley nods.
âItâs a good night to stay off the roads. Theyâve got roadblocks set up from here all the way to New Austin.â
âIâll keep that in mind, Officer.â
He nods. âAnd remember, itâs your duty as a citizen of the UNA to report any suspicious activities that you might observe.â
âDoing my part for the UNA is a real pleasure,â Kelley chirps happily. âSo we can go now?â
âYeah,â the officer says, lowering his flashlight. âSure.â
We get back into the car.
Iâm shaking a little bit. I can see the tip of Kelleyâs rifle poking out from under the seat. If theyâd searched the car, they would have found it.
Shawn starts the car and begins driving again, slowly pulling back onto the road. I see beads of sweat running down his cheek, even though the night is cool.
âSee? I told you it would be okay,â Kelley says. Her voice is no longer chipper. Itâs firm and as cold as steel.
âBarely,â Shawn mutters.
âBarely is good