Among the Hidden

I'm not worth it.' And you are, Luke, you are. You're smart and funny and nice, and you should be living life, instead of being buried alive in that old house of yours-'

'Maybe I just don't mind hiding as much as you do,' Luke whispered.

Jen faced him squarely, her gaze unwavering.

'Yes, you do. You hate walls as much as I do. Maybe more. Have you ever listened to yourself? Every time you talk about how you used to go outdoors and work in the garden or something, you glow. You're alive. Even if you don't want anything else, don't you want to get the outdoors back?'

What Luke wanted was to get away from Jen. Because she was right. Everything she said was right. But that couldn't mean he had to go. He huddled deeper in the couch.

'I'm not brave like you,' he said.

Jen grabbed his shoulders and peered into his eyes.

'Oh, yeah?' she said. 'You dared to come over here, didn't you? And here's something-why are you always the one who makes the trip? Ever think of that? If I'm so much braver, how come I'm not risking my life to see you?'

There were a thousand answers to that. Because I found you first. Because your house is safer than mine. Because I need you more than you need me. You've got your computer and all your chat room friends. And you go places. Luke squirmed away.

'My dad hangs around my house too much,' he said. 'It's safer this way. I'm-I'm just protecting you.'

Jen backed up. 'Thanks for the chivalry,' she said bitterly. 'I've got enough people protecting me. If you care so much, why don't you help me get free? You say you won't come to the rally for yourself-so do it for me. That's all I'll ever ask of you.'

Luke winced. When she put things that way, how could he not go? Except-he couldn't.

'You're crazy,' he said. 'I can't go, and neither should you. It's too dangerous.'

Jen flashed him a look of pure disgust.

'You can leave now,' she said coldly. 'I don't have time for you.'

Luke could feel the ice in her words. He stood up.

'But-'

'Go,' Jen said.

Luke stumbled toward the door. He stopped by the blinds and turned around.

'Jen, can't you understand? I do want it to work. I hope-'

'Hope doesn't mean anything,' Jen snapped. 'Action's the only thing that counts.'

Luke backed out the door. He stood on the Talbots' patio, blinking in the sunlight, breathing in the smell of fresh air and danger. Then he turned and ran home.

CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE

Luke let the kitchen door slam behind him and didn't care. He was so mad, his eyes blurred. The nerve of her, saying I don't have time for you. Who did she think she was? He tramped up the stairs. She'd always thought she was better than him, just because she was a Baron, showing off with her soda and her potato chips and her fancy computer. So what? It didn't mean she was special, just because her parents had lots of money. It wasn't like she'd earned it or anything. Who was she, anyway? Just some dumb old girl. He wished he'd never gone over there. All she did was brag, brag, brag and show off. That's all the rally was, anyhow, showing off: Hey, look, I'm a third child and I can go to the president's house and nobody will hurt me. He hoped someone shot her. That would show her.

Luke stopped in the middle of pulling the attic door shut behind him. No, no, he took it back. He didn't want anyone to shoot her. His knees went weak, and he had to sit down on the stairs, all his anger suddenly turned to fear. What if someone did shoot her? He remembered the sign she'd asked if he wanted to carry: 'Give me liberty or give me death.' Was she serious? Did she expect to-? He stopped himself from thinking the rest. What if she never came back? He should go, if only to protect Jen. But he couldn't-

Luke buried his face in his hands, trying to hide from his own thoughts.

Mother found him there, hours later, still crouched on the stairs.

'Luke! Were you getting impatient waiting for me to get home? Did you have a nice day?'

Luke stared at her as though she were a vision from another life.

'I-' he started, ready to spill everything. He couldn't hold it all in.

Mother felt his forehead.

'Are you sick? You're so pale-I worry about you, Luke, all day long. But then I remind myself, you're safe here at home, out of harm's way.' She gave him a weary smile and ruffled his hair.

Luke swallowed hard and recovered himself. What was he thinking? He couldn't tell anyone about Jen. He couldn't betray her.

'I'm fine,' he lied. 'I just haven't been out in the sun for a while, remember. Not that I'm complaining, of course,' he added hastily.

Hiding again.

CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR

For three days, Luke agonized. Sometimes he decided he had to stop Jen, to persuade her not to go. Sometimes he decided he ought to go with her. Sometimes he was mad again, and thought he should just stalk over there and demand an apology.

But anything he might do required seeing Jen, and that wasn't possible. It poured every day, the rain coming down in long, dreary sheets that made Luke feel worse as he watched from the attic vents. Downstairs he could hear Dad stomping around, muttering every now and then about the time and topsoil being lost with every raindrop. Luke felt like a prisoner.

Thursday night he went to bed convinced he'd never be able to sleep for imagining Jen and the others in her car, getting farther and farther from him and closer and closer to danger. But he must have dozed off, because he woke to total darkness. His heart pounded. He was sweaty. Had he dreamed something? Had he heard something? A floorboard creaked. His ears roared as he tried to listen. Was that someone else's breath or just his own, loud and scared? A beam of light swept across his face.

'Luke?' A whisper.

Luke bolted up in bed.

'Jen? Is that you?'

She switched off her flashlight.

'Yes. I thought I'd kill myself coming up your stairs. Why didn't you tell me they were so narrow?' She sounded like the same old Jen, not mad. Not crazy.

'I didn't know you'd ever be climbing them,' Luke said.

It was insane to be talking about stairs now, in the middle of the night, in his room. Every word either of them spoke was dangerous. Mother was a light sleeper. But Luke was delighted not to be moving on, not to be talking about what Jen had really come to talk about.

'Your parents didn't lock your doors,' Jen said. She seemed to be stalling, too. 'Guess I'm lucky the Government outlawed pets. Didn't farmers always used to keep big guard dogs that would chomp people's heads off in one bite?'

Luke shrugged, then remembered Jen couldn't see him in the dark 'Jen, I-' He wasn't sure what he was going to say until he said it. 'I still can't go. I'm sorry. It's something about having parents who are farmers, not lawyers. And not being a Baron. It's people like you who change history. People like me-we just let things happen to us.'

'No. You're wrong. You can make things happen-'