Free Valley of Death by Gloria Skurzynski Page A

will be blocked off from that point on.”
    She got up and walked to the door. “I told you I saw a man in the hall.” For a long minute she squinted through the peephole, having to stand on her toes because it was too high in the door, and she wasn’t very tall. “They make these holes so that you can only see what’s straight ahead of you, not what’s on either side. But he’s probably still out there.” Turning again to face Jack, she said, “I think he’s someone sent by The Unit. That’s why I decided to give myself up. All I have to do is walk out this door and tell him I’m willing to go back.”
    Maybe Leesa was right, and that would solve everything, Jack thought. But should she be allowed to make that decision without any adults around? What would his parents say if she left after they’d been ordered to stay in their rooms? How was he going to stop her, if that’s what she decided to do? He couldn’t contact his parents on the broken two-way radio, and he didn’t know how to reach them by phone. If Leesa opened his door right that minute and walked into the hall, what was he supposed to do—tackle her?
    â€œI don’t want you to go,” he said.
    â€œIt’s not up to you.”
    She was right. He had no right to interfere with her life. All he could do was try to persuade her. “Look, Leesa,” he began, “you said those men aren’t killers or terrorists. But your dad and your brother beat up Aaron pretty bad, didn’t they? What if they’d killed him? I’ve heard about guys getting into fights where someone got knocked down and hit his head and died, and the guy who hit him was arrested for manslaughter. Even though it was just a fistfight.”
    Leesa stood with her hand on the doorknob, her eyes cast down.
    â€œJust how bad was Aaron hurt, anyway?” he asked her.
    â€œPretty bad.”
    â€œAnd he got beat up just because he sent a note asking you to a movie.”
    She moved away from the door before answering, “There was more to it, but I don’t know whether my father knew about it. One of the kids from The Unit who goes to my high school caught me with Aaron in the orchestra room. We were kissing.” Moving across the room toward the dresser, she said, “Jack, I’m going to borrow your hooded sweatshirt, OK? It’s chilly out there now, and I don’t want to go back to my room for a sweater. I promise I’ll return it.”
    â€œWait a minute! Wait a minute!” Jack waved his hands. “Oh, I don’t mean about the sweatshirt. Take it. But if you’re going anywhere, I’m going with you. You can’t run out into the night all by yourself.” He didn’t know why he was offering to do this when it would make him a collaborator in her crazy scheme. But he couldn’t just let her fling herself into danger. Not all alone.
    She frowned at him, then said, “I guess I can’t stop you any more than you can stop me.”
    â€œLet me go first.” Jack opened the door a crack to peer into the hall. If his dad knew what he was doing, Jack would be in the most major trouble of his life.
    The part of the hall he could see through the crack looked empty. He inched the door a little wider. Behind him, Leesa reached out to push it, swinging it open all the way.
    Nothing. There was no one in the hall.
    â€œSee? What did I tell you?” Jack asked. “It’s your imagination. So come back in the room, and we’ll lock the door.”
    Abruptly, Leesa said, “Forget that. You made a good suggestion in there when you said I could hitch a ride. If I can just get close enough to where they’re keeping Ashley, I’ll sneak past the rangers and run across the desert.”
    Grabbing her arm, Jack demanded, “Did you ever try to run through sand? I did, this afternoon. Your feet sink in, and it’s hard to keep