Chapter 3

“Okay. So who is he and how can he help?”

“His name, well, what he goes by on the street, is Slade. Could be real, or not.” Grey stretched out, using his backpack as a pillow before continuing. “He runs what he calls the Encampment. It’s for guys like you who are in danger for one reason or another.”

Davie cocked an eyebrow. “Wouldn’t that be every kid on the streets?”

“Okay, more danger than most of us. Like someone’s after them to hurt them bad, which it sounds like that guy your mother hooked up with is doing.”

“I’m sure,” Davie replied angrily. “Bastard. So, where’s this Encampment and how do I know it’s really safe?”

“Slade won’t say. He never does for obvious reasons.”

“Then how do I…No, how do weget there, because I’m not leaving you behind. You’d be dead in a week, or worse.”

Grey barely smiled. “There’s worse?”

“You know there is. For starters, think about the SOBs who kidnap runaways to turn them into sex slaves.”