Free Eyes Of Danger by M. Garnet Page A

did try to hit on me. He took me back to Ohio where I headed to Cleveland. I let the salesman think we were going to get into something important for him when we stopped at a Denny’s . I took my backpack with the excuse I needed to get refreshed, and with a wink, went to the women’s restroom.
    Unfortunately, he was sitting where he could see me come out. I looked around, looked at the ceiling, and had an idea. I went into a stall, and locked the door. I climbed up on the stool so I could carefully lift up one of the ceiling panels. It was a drop ceiling, with a rough metal stud holding up the roof about four feet above the wires holding the panels. I stepped up on the tissue dispenser, then to the top of the stall. I hung onto the metal beams until I slid the ceiling panel back in place.
    I worked my way to the back of the building to where I figured was the storage area. I carefully pulled up a panel and found out I was right. I was over a small dark room with metal shelves full of items. I did one of those acrobat hangs that I never could pull off, but this time it worked. I was on top of one of the shelves. Of course, I knocked over all kinds of jars and things that made a lot of noise. I climbed down just as a kid opened the door to see what was going on. I gave him a smile, said thanks and ducked around him to go out the back door, leaving him looking at the mess on the floor he was going to have to clean.
    I went over a couple of blocks to avoid running into my disappointed salesman. I stopped at a Shell station to inquire about the bus station. I was in luck as it was close.
    I also slept on the bus to Cleveland. I would always wonder what drew me to Cleveland. If I knew then what I know now, I would have gone to Florida, or Kentucky or anywhere else. However, at the time, I thought the area a safe destination that wouldn’t show up on the Feds’ radar since I thought they would be looking for me in Washington, or somewhere close to the Capital. Who goes to Cleveland, Ohio?
    When I got to Cleveland, I did find it was not a grim a place as I pictured. I remember hearing about the river catching on fire and I pictured it looking like the City in Batman movies. Actually, it was like most mid country cities. Construction had halted due to the economy and there was a lot of unemployment. But the streets were clean and there were a lot of areas where I felt the crime was not too high. I found a couple of street kids who were walking and watching around them for anything that they could get in trouble or a fight with. I crossed over to them and finally decided to see if they would talk to me.
    “Hey, kids, I need some help.”
    The guy looked at me, but the girl still wanted to move on. “We don’t have any drugs.” He held out his hand, palm up, and open.
    “No, I’m looking for a safe place to sleep.” They looked at each other for a moment, then seemed to reach an agreement.
    “Follow us.” They took off, ignoring me.
    I thought, okay, I am either going to get mugged or I am going to find a safe place to sleep. After a couple of blocks, we turned down an alley and went through a gate of a fenced-in yard. I looked up at the brick wall that was the back of some large building hidden by the dark. I didn’t see a lot of lights back here, but there was one over the door.
    The kids knocked on the door and it opened immediately. They went in and I followed, finding myself in some type of large community kitchen that was clean, but closed down for the evening. We walked through, following a man who was dressed for sleeping. He told us to keep quiet. Finally, we entered a dim room filled with cots, most of which were full. The man told us to pick one and be quiet. He whispered we were to be up at seven in the morning to help with chores.
    I cautiously watched the kids, who seemed to know the ropes as they found a couple of cots together. I found one not too far away. Theytook off their shoes, tied them together and