Chapter 17

“You can come out now.” The man said, without turning around. Grace drew in a breath. He knew she was there. Hesitating for a moment, she decided it would be best if she just came out of hiding.

“How did you know…?” Grace said, shaken.
“It’s my job to know everything.” He said, matter of factly.
“What job is that?”
“You asked too many questions.” The man said, smiling.
“I have a brother?” Grace asked, holding back tears.

“I’m sorry you heard that. But I’m not at liberty to tell you anything.” The man said, sternly. Grace looked down at her shoes and thought for a moment.
“Can I hire you?” Grace asked, quietly.
“You can’t afford me.” The man laughed.

“I have $1,500.” Grace offered. It was all she had. Years of babysitting, mowing lawns, and cleaning houses had amounted to just over a grand.
“How is that possible?” The man asked.
“I’m sorry. I’m not at liberty to tell you anything.” Grace said, defiantly.

The man laughed. He found her courage endearing. “Alright, what can I do for you?”
“I need you to find someone.” Grace said, with a touch of hurt and anger in her voice.

“I don’t know where your brother is and I can’t help you with that.” The man said.
“I don’t care about that,” Grace said, pretending not to be hurt, “I need you to find a girl that got adopted from the orphanage. Her name is Sophie Templeton. How soon can you get me any information on her location?”
“I can give you her address in an hour.”

Chapter 16

Stepping outside and into the road, Grace looked down the street in the direction toward Barkerman Steel to make sure that Miss Derby was no where to be seen.

Deciding it was safe, Grace tied her sweatshirt around her waist and ran hard to the abandoned steel mill determined to beat Miss Derby and her mysterious cohort there and find a safe hiding place.

As she got to the old mill, Grace looked around and noticed that she had arrived before anyone else. Grace ran inside and hid in a storage room closet. Hiding in the dark, Grace waited anxiously to see who Miss Derby was going to be meeting.

She didn’t have to wait long. A man with a dark suit walked in and placed a black duffle bag on a table. Moments later, Miss Derby walked in. Standing across from each other, Miss Derby opened the duffle bag and pulled out some of its contents. She clutched stacks of money wrapped in neat bands. Setting some of the money on the table, Miss Derby spoke to the mysterious man.

“She turns 18 next week.” Miss Derby said, staring the mysterious man down.
“What’s your point?” The man said, in a gravely voice.
“My point is that I put up with her for eighteen years and this is all the anonymous benefactor will be paying me on my final payment?” Miss Derby said, gesturing angrily at the duffle bag of cash.

“You were compensated very well, you know that. Trust me, my boss isn’t someone you want to challenge.” The man said, threateningly.
“But I have taken in two of his illegitimate children over the years. I never even told Grace that her brother was actually at the orphanage with her. I never told her about Alex. Doesn’t that earn me more money than this?” Miss Derby said.

The two of them stared at each other and the man calmly pulled open his suit jacket and reached for his waist, pulling out a gun. Pointing the gun directly at Miss Derby’s face, the man spoke, “Take the bag and leave.” He cocked his gun and continued to stare at Miss Derby.

Miss Derby, gathered her composure, slammed her hand onto the black duffle bag and with a grunt, said, “Fine.”

Grace braced herself against the cool storage room wall. Placing her head in her hands, she let everything wash over her. She couldn’t believe what she had heard. Alex was her brother. “I should have left with him when I had the chance.” Grace thought to herself, heart broken.

Chapter 8

Feeling high on happiness and friendship, Grace and Sophie headed into the backyard.

“What’s in this shed?” Sophie asked.

“Oh, just left over stuff from kids that got adopted over the years.” Grace answered.

“Let’s check it out.” Sophie said, excitedly. Stepping into the shed, Grace saw that Alex and Hazel were inside. Alex was bent down and it looked like he was packing something.

“Oh, sorry, we’ll just leave.” Turning around quickly, Grace bumped awkwardly into Sophie.
“No, stay. Have a seat. Hazel and I want to talk to you guys about something.” Glancing around, Grace could see that it looked like they were definitely packing for something. Looking outside to make sure no one could over hear him, Alex leaned in and spoke.

“Hazel and I are running away tonight.” Alex said, barely above a whisper. Grace was shocked. She didn’t know that was an option. Sure, she had dreamed of running away, but actually doing it was another thing.
“Wait, what?” Grace asked, confused. She couldn’t hide the shock on her face.

“We’ve been planning this for a while now. We’re going to hop the midnight train that leads out of Oasis Springs.” Hazel said, excitedly. She couldn’t believe what she was hearing.

“But where does the train go? Where will you live?” Grace asked, concerned.
“Does it matter?” Alex asked. “It’s not like Miss Derby will notice us gone.” Alex said.
“Sophie, you’re welcome to come with us.” Hazel offered. Grace put her head in her hands. This was all moving too fast. Alex and Hazel were leaving. They were actually packing. And in less than four hours, they would be gone.

Grace thought for a moment. Even though things were tough at the orphanage, she still had a roof over her head, a bed, and a shower. Eating was inconsistent, but she had friends at school that would give her bits of their lunches that they didn’t want.
“Grace? Are you coming with us tonight?” Asked Alex, bringing Grace out of her deep thoughts.
“No. I’m staying here.” Grace said, shocked at her own decision.
“I’m going to stay here, too.” Sophie added.
“Okay, but if you change your mind, we leave a few minutes before midnight.”

Chapter 6

Grace had the best day at school. After Mrs. Holland cleaned up her finger, she made it back to class in enough time to play with glass vials, the microscope, and another slide. She loved looking at things under the microscope and see things wiggle and move. Walking home after school, she saw Alex walking up ahead and caught up to him.

“Hey, I saw you in the principals office today.” Grace said, concerned.
“I saw you in the nurses office.” Alex teased.
“What happened? Did you get in trouble?” Grace asked, worried.
“At recess today I snuck back into the classroom and ate other kids lunches.” Alex said, embarrassed.
“Why?”
Alex looked down at the ground and spoke.

“Damien took a double helping of dinner last night so I didn’t get to eat. I was so hungry I didn’t know what else to do. Why were you in the nurses office? I saw Nurse Holland putting a band aid on your finger.”
“Science lab.” Grace giggled. A few moments passed and they both got quiet as they continued walking down the block. Grace smiled, awkwardly.

“I’m sorry I’ve never really talked to you before. Hazel and I keep away from you because we’re afraid that if we become friends with you, Damien will pick on us, too. We feel awful that we always avoid you. We’re just too afraid.” Alex admitted.
“I understand. You need to protect yourselves. But if you ever come into a situation where you need something like food again, come ask me. I will share my dinner with you.” Grace offered.

“We don’t have anyone looking out for us at the orphanage, do we?” Alex said, quietly.
“I’ll look out for you.” Grace said, comfortingly.

Chapter 5

Grace was so excited for school today because it was Friday and that meant Science Lab with her favorite teacher, Miss Wilburn. Mixing ingredients and watching green smoke come out of vials was her favorite. Today, after Miss Wilburn did her usual talk about safety, she was going to teach the children more about how to use the microscope and how to use the glass slides.

“Good morning, class! Let’s get started!” Miss Wilburn said, excitedly. She picked up a box from her desk and walked around the classroom, handing out the slides to every student.

“Now be careful, these things are very fragile.” Miss Wilburn warned. Grace was so excited that when she was handed her slide, she immediately removed the thin tissue paper that covered it and with a little too much enthusiasm, accidentally squeezed the slide too tight in between her fingers, and broke the slide in half. The broken glass sliced her finger.

“Ouch!” Grace gasped.

“Oh dear, Grace are you ok? Let me see.” Miss Wilburn said, sweetly. Grace was so excited, she didn’t put down the broken slide. She held up her cut finger and the slide for Miss Wilburn to look at. “Hmm. Looks like you need a Band-Aid. Why don’t you head over to the nurses office and have that looked at?”

Grace quickly headed out of the classroom and down the hall to the nurses office. She looked forward all week to Science Lab Friday and she didn’t want to miss a second of it. Sitting in the nurses office, Grace held up her finger and explained to Mrs. Holland what had happened. Mrs. Holland took a look at Grace’s finger and seeing the little girl’s excitement to get back to class, cleaned Grace’s finger up quick.

While Mrs. Holland was reaching for a Snoopy Band-Aid, Grace leaned back in her chair and saw Alex in the principals office. “That’s strange.” Grace thought. “Alex never gets in trouble.”

Chapter 4

Grace awoke the next morning with a burst of excitement. Could it be possible that after all of these years she could finally have a friend? Excited for the new day, Grace climbed out of bed and looked around the room. She couldn’t find Chompy. He wasn’t anywhere. Worried of what Damien could have possibly done with him, she walked outside to the monkey bars and found him sitting on top of the bars.

“Damien, have you seen Chompy?” Grace asked, timidly.
“What would make you think that I have him?” Damien teased. Alex and Hazel played nearby. Both of them were too scared to get involved so they continued playing by themselves. Sophie walked up and stood quietly, watching the situation unravel.

“Damien, please…” Grace pleaded.

“I saw him take Chompy this morning.” Sophie said, rubbing the sleep from her eyes.

Damien glared at Sophie then pulled Chompy out of his pocket and set him on the bars.

“Damien, may I have him back, please?” Grace asked.

“If you want him so badly, you can come up here and get him.” Damien teased. Grace’s eyes widened. He knew she would never go near the monkey bars ever again. Especially not after what he did to her last year. Damien saw the fear in Grace’s eyes and smiled.

“What, you aren’t still afraid of the monkey bars, are you Grace? That was a year ago.” Damien said, mockingly.

Last year, Damien double dog dared Grace to play on the monkey bars. Normally, this wouldn’t be terrifying for a child, but when the monkey bars were installed, they weren’t cemented in properly making the entire structure sway when kids played on them. Damien discovered that if he shook the bars at just the right moment, kids would fall off. Last year, Damien double dog dared Grace to hang upside-down from the bars. Tired of his antics, she agreed. Climbing to the top she kept thinking about how dumb she was. It was dark, she could barely see the bars in front of her, and Damien couldn’t be trusted.

Poor Grace was right. Right as she got to the top, Damien shook the bars hard and Grace’s foot fell through. Unable to hang on, Grace fell off of the monkey bars.

Instinctively reaching out to catch herself, Grace fell hard on her wrist. Pain shot up her arm and Grace let out a scream.

Terrified that she might have broken her wrist, she sat there, stunned. She wasn’t so much concerned for her own safety as she was scared that if it was broken, it was going to cost Miss Derby in doctors bills, and that fear alone shook Grace.

Over time, Grace’s wrist healed. She never knew if it was broken as she never told a soul that she fell. She didn’t want to risk getting in trouble.

“Well, are you going to come up here and get him or what, weenie? What, are you too chicken?” Damien laughed. Grace stood there, frozen. “You’re never getting him back. Besides, I think he likes the view.” Damien said.

“Damien, just give it back.” Sophie said. Shocked, all of the kids turned and looked at Sophie. No one stood up to Damien. Ever. It was just a known fact that Damien did what ever he wanted.

“You think you can come in here and boss me around?” Damien said, pointing down at Sophie. “You have another thing coming. Better be careful. I hear Miss Derby has a fireplace in her bedroom and she falls asleep with the fire going. You may have survived one fire, but I will make sure you get burned this time.” Climbing down off of the bars, Damien passed by Alex and Hazel and kicked the toys they were playing with and strode off towards the house.

Grace just stood there and looked at the monkey bars. Feeling helpless, she bent down and collected small rocks to try to toss up to Chompy to knock him down.

Sophie, remembering Grace’s kindness from the night before, and seeing that Grace was not going to climb onto the bars, climbed onto the monkey bars to help out.

Thankful for Sophie’s help, Chompy was once again safe in her arms. Grace decided to ask Sophie what Damien was talking about with the fire later. For now, she had her Chompy back and he was safe.