Chapter 9

“Jesus,” Mother said. “Did you see all that?”

“How could I not?” Philip said. “We’ve got to leave here. It’s not safe.”

“We can’t. They’ve put up barricades everywhere.”

Philip moved to open his door.

She grabbed his arm. “We can’t leave the safety of the car. You heard the policeman.”

“And this is safe?”

“You know what I mean,” she said. “Where would we go? The man said—”

“He’s not here. Do you see him anywhere?” Through his coat sleeve, Philip could feel her fingers trembling.

Another siren blared, this time closer, louder. A fire truck whizzed by headed for the intersection and the conflagration that seemed completely out of control.

“I…I don’t know,” she said. “Maybe we should go.”

“We can’t stay here, Mom. We’ve got to find someplace else.”

She looked out her window and pointed to an alley off to the right. “Down there. We could try that and still be close to the car. Just in case.”