Chapter 2

Nick immediately took notice of his fluffy blond hair and vibrant green eyes. He split his time between watching Nick and his traveling companions. When the others were mounted and turning away, preparing to ride from the village, the older boy hung back and turned in the saddle to look at Nick. He smiled softly and winked.

“Todd!” the man called John barked.

Todd rolled his eyes and shook his head, turning his horse and nudging his heels to the animal’s side. The horse sprang into a quick trot, and Todd followed the rest from the village. Not, however, before Todd turned and looked at Nick one final time, waved, and winked again.

Nick would have to wait nineteen years for another of those winks.Chapter 1

The scratch of metal on metal and the grind of brakes jolted Todd awake. Nick was heavy against Todd’s side. He must have been cold, he had his nose pressed solidly into Todd’s ribcage. Todd wondered why the position didn’t hinder Nick’s breathing.

Todd heard something scurrying between them and the train yard, but he couldn’t see what it was. Whatever it was moved closer to the trains and crunched almost inaudibly along the gravel near the tracks. Enough hours had passed since fleeing the territorial army and taking cover near the train yard that it was dark. They’d been waiting for the cover of deep night, when the place would be almost deserted and any external lights were dimmed, to hop onto a freight train and escape, not only the city, but the soldiers pursuing them. Todd yawned and mumbled, “Great, probably something that needs killing. Like we’ve got time for that now.”

Nick shifted, lifted his head, and looked around, squinting first up at Todd, then into the night.

“Time to catch our train?”

“I think it’s that one,” Todd said, nodding to a train beginning to pull through the yard at a snail’s pace. “We get on that train, it’ll take us far enough out of New Colorado City. Once we’re at a safe distance, we can head back up north and swing west to home.”

Nick straightened his arms, pushing onto all fours and shook his head with a yawn. He leaned back until he sat on his heels. Cold air rushed in where Nick’s warmth had only seconds before been sprawled across him, making Todd shiver from the sudden temperature change.

Todd lumbered to his feet, twisted side to side, then swung his arms around to get the blood flowing again. Todd hoisted Nick to his feet with one hand and watched as Nick rubbed his arms a few times and rolled his shoulders.

“Let’s get moving. We’ll warm up faster, and once we’re inside one of those train cars we’ll at least have better cover, even if there is no heat.”

Nick nodded, gathered up their packs, handing over Todd’s before shouldering his own.

“Yeah. Think they followed us?” he asked as he scanned the area.

“No. Well, I doubt it.” Todd looked around before standing on tiptoe for a look over the half wall they’d been huddled against. “I’d think if they’d managed to follow us we’d have known about it by now since we’d be in custody.”

Nick chuckled, inched to the end of the wall and leaned around it, glanced about, and returned to Todd’s side.

“True.” He jerked his thumb over his shoulder. “That way looks clear.”

“This way, too. Time to get while the getting’s good.”

Todd led the way, Nick only a step or two behind. Todd didn’t have to see Nick to know he glanced behind them more than once as they crossed into the train yard. Moving quickly, they stayed as much to the shadows as possible. They stopped behind a row of storage bins and had to hunker low to keep their heads below the top. Backs pressed against the bins, Nick inched one way, Todd the other, so they could get a view around each end of the line of metal containers.

A tap on Todd’s arm made him turn away from his end of the row and scoot closer to where Nick stood. Motioning with two fingers to one of the train cars, Nick glanced back at him, waiting for Todd to agree or not.

Todd stepped around Nick and took a good look at their surroundings. The yard wasn’t completely deserted. Their targeted train screeched to a halt and a few men wearing work coveralls with the railroad insignia patch on their right shoulders were performing what looked like a check of each car’s mechanical parts. They moved down the line of cars, ducking underneath, jiggling things here and there, making the occasional note on pads they carried. Todd saw two more pairs of legs on the far side of the train, other workers presumably doing the same thing.