Read Pod for Free Online Page B

Sticking to the shadows, I make my way to the SUV. It’s a Lincoln Navigator. The big rear window is broken but not smashed. The window on the front passenger side is completely gone. My hand shakes as I reach for the door handle. I’ve never busted into a car before. It feels like I’m doing something illegal. But that’s crazy thinking—nobody is going to yell at me now. The door is unlocked. I slip inside, promising myself that if I take something, even if it’s just a crumb, I’ll leave a note.
    The first thing that hits me is the smell of leather. It reminds me of shopping with Mom one day. We stopped at a furniture store and sat on all the expensive couches—“Just for kicks and giggles,” she said. My shirt smelled like leather the rest of the day. I didn’t want to wash it.
    There’s barely enough light from outside to see what I’m doing. The front passenger seat is covered with smalldiamonds of broken glass. I wrap my hand in my shirtsleeve and sweep them onto the floor. The glove compartment is hanging open, its contents tossed around. I find folded-up maps of California, Nevada, and Oregon, a small notebook with two pages of neat handwritten information about miles traveled and gallons of gas. While I’m flipping through the pages I think I hear something, like a small squeak. I stop and listen. It doesn’t happen again, so I keep searching.
    The ashtray holds some change and half a stick of gum. I start chewing on the gum but leave the money. The storage bin between the front seats has a stack of four CDs, all country, which I hate, and a power cord for something, probably a cell phone. There is one treasure the looters missed. A pen with a small flashlight that works. I stuff it into my pack.
    The compartments in the doors are just as worthless— a hairbrush, some greasy food wrappers, and a remote for a garage door opener. Zack always hides stuff under the seats, so I check there. Nothing under the passenger side except pieces of glass and one pencil that could be useful. But under the driver’s seat—that’s where I find something interesting.
    It’s a black metal box a little bigger than Zack’s briefcase. There’s a drawer on the front with a silver keyhole. The drawer is locked. I yank on the box. It doesn’t budge. I try to pry the drawer open with my pencil, but all I do is break the lead. Whatever is in the box must be important,probably tools and maybe some cash. But that will have to wait until later. I need to get moved in.
    I search the rest of the SUV. It’s huge compared to Mom’s Nova. There are two seats in back, one with a booster that has smears of something dark on the cushion and seatbelt. It’s either chocolate or dried blood. I remember the girl’s head was bleeding after the crash so I’m pretty sure it’s not chocolate. The family must have been on a road trip because there are coloring books full of pictures of unicorns, three
Spider-Man
comics, and a shoebox crammed with baseball cards. I roll up the comics—they go in the pack. The storage compartment between the seats is full of crayons. I stick my fingers in the cracks between the armrests and get lucky—twenty Skittles, my favorite candy.
    This car is so gimongous there’s even a row of seats behind the backseats. It’s comfy, like my favorite couch in the expensive furniture store, with plenty of room to stretch out. Perfect for a sleeping bag and my backpack. There’s a rear compartment that I can get into by folding down the seats, but I decide to explore that in the morning when the light is better. I could use the flashlight pen, but why waste the batteries? I roll out my sleeping bag, crawl inside, and use the backpack for a pillow. There’s a kind of nasty smell back here—I’m not sure what the problem is, but it can’t be much worse than the shirt I’m wearing.
    I close my eyes and wait for sleep. Hopefully it will come without bringing pictures of Speed-Bump Guybouncing under the cars.