Chapter 6
Within seconds, a boy catapulted into view. He was smallish, very thin, and barefoot, so how could he make so much noise? He was covered with dirt from head to toe and blood cascaded down his arm. His face was a mixture of grime, smeared blood, and tears. He stopped, turned around and stared in the direction from which he’d come. He held his breath and listened. Hearing nothing, he fell to his knees.
When Reece and Sean slipped out from their hiding place the branches snapped back. The boy gasped, his head twisted around, and he stared at them. As the children walked slowly towards him, the boy placed his hands on the ground for support, but his arms shook as he staggered to his feet and backed away. First, his eyes lost that pinched look of panic. Then, his mouth slackened as his knees slowly buckled, and he fell to the ground in a dead faint.
The two children stood on opposites sides of the boy then leaned over and stared. He wore a faded checked shirt without a button in sight. The shirt had holes in the elbows as well as several in the front and back. Some of the holes looked more like tears created by running past thorny bushes. Just above the left elbow, blood was seeping through his shirt. His pants may have been long at one time, but now they were cut off and jagged at the knees. The soles of his feet were calloused and thick as though he hadn’t worn a pair of shoes for months.
Reece kneeled down and reached out her hand then drew it back. “He’s so thin. How did he get so dirty? And, look at his clothes. Where did he get them?”
“They’re mostly holes,” said Sean. He thought for a moment then added. “Maybe he’s running away from home.”
Reece looked up doubtfully. “He’d have a backpack with some things he’d need if he were running away.” She redirected her attention to the boy again. “I wonder who he is. He doesn’t go to our school, and I don’t remember seeing him anywhere in the neighborhood.”
“We must be farther away from home than we thought. What happened to his arm?”
With the tips of their fingers, they drew back the boy’s sleeve and found a cut two inches above his elbow. It was a fresh cut and didn’t look too terribly serious, but it definitely needed a good cleaning and some antibiotic cream. . .maybe even stitches.
Well, they couldn’t go home yet, so each child gently lifted the boy under his arm and hefted him to his feet. He didn’t weigh much, but my word he smelled. When was the last time he had a bath or washed his holey clothes? They’d have to find out where he lived and get him home, or the cut would get infected with all that dirt. But, what kind of family did he have that would let him get this dirty and wear clothes like this?
Reece raised her voice slightly as she leaned as close to his ear as she could stand. “We’re going to take you home. Where do you live?” When her question was met with silence, she raised her voice. “Can you hear me? Where’s your house?”
The boy drew back his eyelids halfway back and turned his head slightly before shaking his head.
Sean frowned. “You don’t know where you live?”
“I live here in the woods,” he whispered.
“Your house is in the woods?” Reese asked.
“No house; just live in the woods. Has he stopped chasing me?”
Reece cast a quick glance behind them then looked over the boy’s head at her brother. “Maybe he has a concussion.”
“We need to find a house and call for help.” Sean hesitated before adding. “Except, we haven’t seen a house yet or run into somebody with a cell phone.”
“Where’s the nearest house?” asked Reece rather loudly.
The boy shook his head.
Sean looked at Reece. “Maybe he can’t hear too well,” he offered, then raised his voice even louder. “We’re actually a little bit lost ourselves. Is there a shopping center or a grocery store near this end of the woods where we can telephone somebody?”
The boy closed his eyes and frowned. “Telephone somebody?”
“Yeah, telephone somebody. A cell phone would work, too. But, we need to find somebody who has one first.” Sean waited, but when the boy didn’t answer he added. “Where do you get your groceries?”
“Groceries?”
“You know, groceries, as in the food you eat,” Sean added then looked at his sister as if to say maybe he’s suffering from a serious clunk on the head.
“I get food here in the woods, or I steal it.”
Four eyebrows shot up then Reece mouthed the words. “Do you think he’s running from the police?”
“Now what are we going to do?”
Reece sighed, then without looking at her brother stated the obvious. “We’ll take him back to the hut and hope the Professor has a first aid kit.”
“What if we run into the Professor?”
“I know, well, it’s either that or the police. We’ll take our chances with the Professor.”
“Yeah, because if he’s on the run from the police, and they find us with him, they might think that we. . .” said Sean then another thought occurred to him. “Do they arrest kids?”
Reece refused to go there. With those thoughts in mind, they took a firmer grip under the boy’s arm and picked up their pace.
The Door Into Time Page 6
