need to just let things be. ”
“I’ll make thing s turn out well.” Waiting on chance is defeat. “ I won’t rely on chance, I’m sorry Dr. Hanson .” Max steps around him . “Goodbye.” The other three join him .
“Goodbye, Max,” Dr. Hanson says to no one. Watching them disappear into the forest carrying staffs, reminds him of a medieval party departing on a quest . He chuckles to himself, shakes his head thinking of the anger he will face when he gets inside the school.
---
Max, Walker , Virginia, and Naomi run a short distance into the trees and quickly discover it’s practically impossible to run in a wild mountain forest . The thick undergrowth is hardy, snagging their clothes and scratching exposed skin. The vines and branches are bad enough, but i t’s also steep and the floor of the forest is covered with old snow, each step can be on solid ground or on a snow covered hole. After Max is sure they can’t be seen from the gate , he stops. “Hold up . ” When the y all stop , he leans against a tree and takes some time to catch his breath. The other s don’t seem to be winded. “ OK , so now we stay in the forest and circle to the south end of the building.”
“ Seriously ,” Virginia and Naomi say at the same time.
“Why don’t we head deeper into the forest?” Virginia asks , her breath visible in the frigid air .
“We can’t survive in the forest, not enough food, no map , no gear, it’ll probably go down to three degrees Celsius tonight, and we don’t know where we are . I thought we’ d try something other than dying on our first night of freedom. W e’re heading to the loading dock; there is a truck due in soon . I’ve been watching , every Saturday at six a tractor trailer delivers bread . I t’s here for about a half hour , and then it leaves. W e’re going to be in the trailer when it leaves .” Max looks at the time. 5:53.
---
Crouching against the loading dock under the back end of the trailer, t hey hear the bread racks rolling out . Max whispers, “ He’ ll unload one side first, when he’ s done that side of the truck, he’ll put the empty rack s back inside to clear the loading dock , we go in then , and hide on the racks . ”
“Where is the truck going?” Naomi asks.
“Does it matter?” Max shrugs.
When the driver is half done, Virgin ia, Naomi, and then Walker slip into the truck. Max stands up an d cracks his head on the bumper. “ Owww .” Blushing, he then step s on the bumper of the truck and slip s, and scrapes his shins . Six hands reach down and pull Max into the back of the trailer . “Sometimes I hate being me. ” Max sighs . They hide on top of the empty racks.
T he driver , after loading the remainder of the empty racks back into the truck , makes a call and leaves a message . “Hi honey , I just unloaded at the government research building in the mountains . . . I should be back in Kitimat in four hours, I’ll call you when I’ m close to town . . . this place always gives me the creeps , I’ll be happy when I see you. L ove you.” He closes the door and locks them in. The engine starts , and the truck pulls away.
“ OK , so we should have a bit of time before the roadblock.” Max climbs down , leans against a stack of empty bread racks, and massages his shins.
“What roadblock?” Virginia asks.
“Standard protocol for an escape is to setup a roadblock,” Max says. “They’ll place it far down the mountain so they have the best chance of catching us —”
“Wait a second Max, the driver said we would be in Kitimat in four hours, where’ s Kitimat?” Walker asks. Max shrugs.
“Man, you guys,” Naomi says, “ Kitimat is on the west co ast of Canada. If you’d stop writing code so metimes you’d know this.”
“ Hold on ,” Virginia says , “how can you plan an escape and not know where you ’re going? I sn’t that as bad as running blindly into the forest? ” Both girls are standing over Max looking
“I’ll make thing s turn out well.” Waiting on chance is defeat. “ I won’t rely on chance, I’m sorry Dr. Hanson .” Max steps around him . “Goodbye.” The other three join him .
“Goodbye, Max,” Dr. Hanson says to no one. Watching them disappear into the forest carrying staffs, reminds him of a medieval party departing on a quest . He chuckles to himself, shakes his head thinking of the anger he will face when he gets inside the school.
---
Max, Walker , Virginia, and Naomi run a short distance into the trees and quickly discover it’s practically impossible to run in a wild mountain forest . The thick undergrowth is hardy, snagging their clothes and scratching exposed skin. The vines and branches are bad enough, but i t’s also steep and the floor of the forest is covered with old snow, each step can be on solid ground or on a snow covered hole. After Max is sure they can’t be seen from the gate , he stops. “Hold up . ” When the y all stop , he leans against a tree and takes some time to catch his breath. The other s don’t seem to be winded. “ OK , so now we stay in the forest and circle to the south end of the building.”
“ Seriously ,” Virginia and Naomi say at the same time.
“Why don’t we head deeper into the forest?” Virginia asks , her breath visible in the frigid air .
“We can’t survive in the forest, not enough food, no map , no gear, it’ll probably go down to three degrees Celsius tonight, and we don’t know where we are . I thought we’ d try something other than dying on our first night of freedom. W e’re heading to the loading dock; there is a truck due in soon . I’ve been watching , every Saturday at six a tractor trailer delivers bread . I t’s here for about a half hour , and then it leaves. W e’re going to be in the trailer when it leaves .” Max looks at the time. 5:53.
---
Crouching against the loading dock under the back end of the trailer, t hey hear the bread racks rolling out . Max whispers, “ He’ ll unload one side first, when he’ s done that side of the truck, he’ll put the empty rack s back inside to clear the loading dock , we go in then , and hide on the racks . ”
“Where is the truck going?” Naomi asks.
“Does it matter?” Max shrugs.
When the driver is half done, Virgin ia, Naomi, and then Walker slip into the truck. Max stands up an d cracks his head on the bumper. “ Owww .” Blushing, he then step s on the bumper of the truck and slip s, and scrapes his shins . Six hands reach down and pull Max into the back of the trailer . “Sometimes I hate being me. ” Max sighs . They hide on top of the empty racks.
T he driver , after loading the remainder of the empty racks back into the truck , makes a call and leaves a message . “Hi honey , I just unloaded at the government research building in the mountains . . . I should be back in Kitimat in four hours, I’ll call you when I’ m close to town . . . this place always gives me the creeps , I’ll be happy when I see you. L ove you.” He closes the door and locks them in. The engine starts , and the truck pulls away.
“ OK , so we should have a bit of time before the roadblock.” Max climbs down , leans against a stack of empty bread racks, and massages his shins.
“What roadblock?” Virginia asks.
“Standard protocol for an escape is to setup a roadblock,” Max says. “They’ll place it far down the mountain so they have the best chance of catching us —”
“Wait a second Max, the driver said we would be in Kitimat in four hours, where’ s Kitimat?” Walker asks. Max shrugs.
“Man, you guys,” Naomi says, “ Kitimat is on the west co ast of Canada. If you’d stop writing code so metimes you’d know this.”
“ Hold on ,” Virginia says , “how can you plan an escape and not know where you ’re going? I sn’t that as bad as running blindly into the forest? ” Both girls are standing over Max looking
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