Traq was terrified. When the woman—Vivian Drowel—had shown up at the door, she’d had a short conversation with Rica, and then after a tearful and quick goodbye, she’d taken Traq by the hand and led him away from his home. His mother packed him a bag and told him she loved him.

“You were crying.” The voice, expected yet still surprising, came from her right, and she couldn’t immediately see the person who spoke.

By the time they reached the campgrounds it was pitch black outside. Haatim was thoroughly exhausted from driving all day and ready to collapse. It was getting cold, too, and he wished he’d brought a jacket with him. Truth be told, he wished he’d brought dozens of things with him.

Wade stood outside the little gray house belonging to Traq and his mother, letting his friend think in silence. It was painful for him. He was talkative by nature, willing to ramble on and on about anything and everything.

Jake Martins ran down the alley, clutching the bag full of money tight against his chest.  Distant now was the sound of sirens, scouring the streets for sign of the Duke Station robber.

Mark smiled pleasantly, dipping his hand into the tray of olives and pulling one out.  Honestly, he considered the sweet fruit to be disgusting in the worst sort of way, but this was no time to be ungracious.  This was a time for cordiality, and more than a little discretion.

“What happened back there?” Haatim asked once Abigail was finally awake. She shook her head to clear her thoughts and rubbed the hair out of her face. “What happened in the park with that little girl? When you got back to the car you looked terrible.”

Kristi Grove adjusted the rigid fabric against her hip with a growl. Won’t this elevator move any faster? She picked at one of the blue straps digging into her skin, deciding that as soon as this wretched party was over she would burn it.

Bret wandered through the trees, bored and aimless. It was a cold and cloudy day; the sky looked like it was going to rain soon. He swatted at the branches and yawned, wishing his mom would just give up on this stupid vacation and take him back home.