they drove me around for a long time, then we ended up at this ranch --
yeah. six, i think. it was a long time ago.
yeah. two of them were brothers, i think their last name was winslow, something like that. the oldest was jeffrey, i think he was around eleven.  . and walter.
yeah.
collins.
because of what happened.
walter and jeffrey were talking when everybody else was screaming. they were scared, same as the rest of us, but they weren't scared stupid. they kept checking around until they found a part of the coop where the chicken wire was all messed up.
they figured we might be able to yank the chicken wire and bring down the corner, maybe make enough room to get out of there and run.  but it would make an awful lot of noise and if it wasn't wide enough, we'd be stuck. it might even bring the whole place down.
help!
hurry!
that's the last i saw of any of 'em.
no. all i know is, if he hadn't come back for me. i don't think i ever would've gotten out of there.
i hid in the woods for two days, too scared to move, because i was sure they'd find me. i finally started walking, but every time a car came up i was afraid it was them. so i kept off the main roads until i saw a train stopped at a crossing, and i jumped in.
i was afraid! i thought they'd come after me, or my folks. so i didn't tell anybody. i was on my own until i got a free meal from this lady, mrs. lansing. i told her i was an orphan, on my own. she said i could stay on, and. i did. every night, i'd wake up, thinking they were right outside my window. then i heard the police talking on the radio about what happened at the ranch, and i thought, for sure i can't go back now.
since i didn't tell anybody what happened, i was afraid they'd blame me for those kids being dead. so i just. stayed away.
i miss my mom. i miss my dad. i just. i just want to go home.