Thirteen-year-old twins, Mike and Steve, are on the run from foster care. While digging through a dumpster for food, Steve discovers a jacket with a unique bottle of perfume in its pocket. He’s convinced this is a sign his mom is still alive and sets out to find her.
Two runaway boys slipped into the service area at the back of an upmarket strip mall. Steve flashed his twin, Mike, a gleeful grin as they hurried toward the closest dumpster.
“See? It wasn’t so difficult to get away from that foster family,” Steve said.
Mike humphed and lifted the dumpster lid. “For now. They’ll report us to Child Services though, and then we’ll have to worry about cops as well as finding food.” Mike sighed. “And there’s nothing to eat in this dumpster.”
Mom leaned forward to peer at the man just as he stepped out into the sun. The smile fell from her face and she shook her head.
“He’s one of the guards from the camp,” she muttered. “Quickly, Steve, you have to run.”
“No! I won’t leave you, Mom.” Steve grabbed her hand.
“Listen, Steve, this is the only way.” Mom gave him a fierce look. “So long as you get away, you can come back for me, or call the police, but you must run, now. Go!”
Steve bolted from his mother’s side but stopped short as a second man appeared ahead of him. He raced off in the other direction, but the first guard circled around and blocked him.
“Keep going, Steve,” Mom shouted. “Run!”
They circled around the fire, hemming Steve and Mom in. Steve thought about shoving one of the men into the fire–that would surely distract them–but then their leader pulled out a gun.
“I think you’ve run far enough,” the man said. “If you come easily now then we’ll make sure we take it easy on you and the lady when we get you back to the factory.”
Steve glanced at his mom as he raised his hands in surrender. “Please just take care of her,” he begged. “She’s hurt.”
The guards took Mom to the infirmary when they returned to camp. Steve caught a glimpse of them carrying her inside before he was shut into the basement room used for punishment.
Steve curled up on a rough blanket in the corner of the room. He’d failed. After everything he’d been through to get Mom out of here, they were right back where they started. Worse than when they started because he was locked up, and she was badly injured.
Steve hugged his knees and wondered where Mike was now and if he’d ever see his brother again.
Tears rolled down Steve’s cheeks. He cried for a long time in the dark solitude of his cell and eventually fell asleep.
Sometime later, a loud thop-thop-thop sound woke him up. People were shouting and running outside. Steve pressed his face against the narrow bars set into the door of his cell and tried to see what was going on.
A voice boomed out over a loudhailer. They were speaking Spanish, but Steve’s heart soared as he recognized two words: La policia.
Two days after the camp was raided, Steve was reunited with Mom in her hospital room. He ran toward her and hugged her tightly.
“Oh Steve! You saved us all,” she said.
“What do you mean?”
Mom smiled. “Didn’t they tell you? The police had been searching for that camp for a long time but they found it because of your fire. That smoke was seen for miles and people reported it.”
“When the police came to investigate, they found Pedro and his friend washed up on the river bank,” Mom continued. “They realized they must’ve escaped from the camp they were looking for and that’s how they found us.”
“Well, I guess my plan worked after all, just not the way I expected.”
“They’re sending us back to the States soon.” Mom leaned back on her pillows. “Mr. Russo has been arrested and the police back home tracked down Mike.” Mom wiped away a tear that spilled down her cheek. “He’s going to be waiting for us at the airport. God, I can’t wait to be back home with both my sons.”
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