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with some of the neighbors.
    Jake took a deep breath. “That was close.”
    â€œWhat else do we need?” Taylor asked.
    They hurried back to their room, and Jake pulled open the top drawer of the desk they shared. It contained some of his most prized possessions. He pulled out his Swiss Army knife and shoved it into his pocket. Next he handed his compass to Taylor. “Here, you keep this. And go get some string from the kitchen drawer.”
    While Taylor went off to the kitchen, Jake also pulled a cell phone from the desk. The phone was a disposable one with a fixed number of minutes on it. Jake had seen Bull toss it in a drawer a couple of weeks ago, and Jake had retrieved it when he wasn’t looking.
    Taylor returned with a small spool of string and put it into his own pack. “What else we need? Can I bring Ziggy?”
    Taylor held up the little stuffed raccoon their mother had given him a couple of Christmases ago. Seeing it in his brother’s hands, Jake felt bad.
    â€œI’m . . . sorry. We don’t have room.”
    To Jake’s surprise, Taylor only nodded and gentlyplaced Ziggy back on his bed. Then Taylor reached into their closet and held up a battered booklet.
    â€œWhat about this road map?”
    Jake nodded. “Definitely. Good.”
    â€œCan we also bring some books?”
    Jake glanced at their already-bulging school packs and then walked to the bookshelf. “Only one,” he said, selecting their father’s journal. Both boys stared at it and then at each other. Jake quickly stuffed it into his pack.
    After grabbing a few cans of food and a can opener from the kitchen, Jake led Taylor and Cody to the bedroom Bull and his mother shared. He got down on his knees and pulled up the loose tile covering Bull’s secret hiding spot. Bull’s gun was gone, but the plastic bag full of money lay undisturbed. Jake grasped it.
    â€œJake, what are you doing ?”
    â€œWe’re going to need cash,” he said, straightening up. “It doesn’t belong to Bull anyway.”
    â€œBut you said Bull would kill us,” Taylor told him, staring at the cash.
    Jake felt something harden inside him. “Only if he finds us. And Bull isn’t ever going to find us.”
    Back in their room, Jake also pulled the orange box full of letters from where he’d hidden them under his bed. Jake grabbed the most recent ones and slid them into his bag.
    Finally the boys zipped up their packs and struggled into them. Jake could feel the straps digging into his shoulders,but he almost welcomed the pain. It was nothing compared to what he’d felt watching their mother get carried away in the ambulance.
    Loaded up, Taylor walked to the front door and peeked through the glass.
    â€œThe neighbors are still out there,” Taylor observed. “And that social worker.”
    â€œWe’ll have to climb out our window.”
    They hurried back to their bedroom at the back of the house, and made sure the backyard was clear. Jake slid open the windowpane and dropped both of their packs onto the ground below.
    â€œWhat about Cody?” Taylor asked. “We’re takin’ him, aren’t we?”
    Jake stopped. He hadn’t thought about their dog. Almost reading his mind, Cody whined and wagged his tail. Jake smiled. “Of course. We can’t leave him with Bull.”
    Taylor climbed out the window first, and Jake lifted the terrier down to him. Jake dropped to the ground after them. This is it, he thought. No going back. He picked up his backpack once again, then paused.
    â€œYou ready, Taylor?” He asked.
    â€œReady,” Taylor replied.
    Together the three of them cut through their neighbor’s backyard to the next street over. Then they hurried toward the jungle and away from their old lives. They didn’t look back.

6 “How are we gonna get to Wyoming?” Taylor asked.
    That’s the question, Jake