locker to grab his backpack, JD ’ s urgency pushing him to get to the bus. This time he opened the locker carefully, standing off to the side. Nothing exploded, but he did discover a three - by - five inch index card taped to the inside of the door. It read: You have blood on your hands-MURDERER .
Stay strong, JD. It ’ ll take more than a little pizza sauce to break us. To Max ’ s surprise the anxiety level dropped slightly as he assured JD. He smiled and headed for the bus. However, when he got there, it was gone.
Fear surged through him so violently, he almost fell to his knees. S tronger than the fear that knocked him back against the door earlier that morning . S tronger than the fear that gripped him on the bus ride.
JD ’ s instincts kicked in and Max could only follow. He took off running, darting behind houses and ducking into business doorways. When he came to an open field, Max could hardly breathe. “ Too . . . much . . . JD, ” Max puffed out. “ You ’ re not . . . in good enough shape . . . to be running . . . this hard. ”
Tires squealing sent Max off again before he caught his breath. A stitch in his side made it impossible to run upright. Max looked up and saw a strip mall , and knowing that JD wanted to go there, turned and crossed the road . But instead of going inside the buildings, he ran behind the m , straight to a large dumpster.
Oh no . I ’ m not going in there. This is enough , JD . Stop running and face whoever is after you like a man.
But JD ’ s fear was still in control. Max lifted the lid and dove into the smelly, disgusting garbage just as the same squealing tires came tearing around back.
Max retched twice as the odors spiraled their way up his nose. He slapped his hand over his face to try an d cancel out the smell, but it was hopeless. S omething hard d ug into his back, but when he started to reach back to dislodge it, an almost audible scream told him to lie perfectly still. That ’ s pretty hard to do when you ’ re panting and shivering with fear, Max thought, disgusted with JD .
A car door opened, then another. Max hear d the driving beat of music screaming over the car ’ s stereo.
“ Where the freak is th is guy hiding? ” demanded a male voice Max thought he recognized.
“ I don ’ t know, Nate. I really thought we had him this time, ” replied a female voice.
Nate Stackman. Max was sure of it. The guy got a thrill out of bullying, and Max couldn ’ t stand him. Nate wasn ’ t exactly popular with anyone else either. L ast year he punched his girlfriend with a glass mug after a football game, breaking her nose. He ended up doing time in Juvy for it and was expelled f rom Port Fare High.
Someone hit the trash bin. Max jumped. “ Come on, let ’ s get out of here, ” the girl said.
“ I ’ m going to figure out where that little wuss disappears to if it ’ s the last thing I do. ” The car doors slammed shut and tires squealed away.
Max lay in the bin , unable to move. JD ’ s fear of being caught by Nate took every ounce of energy he had. Finally, he sat up. “ Let ’ s get out of here. ”
Max raised the lid an inch and peered around to make sure Nate was gone. He climbed out, rubbing his pounding head. I wish I hadn ’ t flushed those pain pills now . He began wiping the trash off his pants, stopping mid-swipe. He tossed his head back and groaned.
“ Please tell me this isn ’ t what I think it is. ” He lifted his hand to his face. “ Dog crap. Seriously, JD? You ’ d rather hid e in a dumpster full of dog crap than face those losers? Never again, JD. Not as long as I ’ m here. ” Max shook o f f the rest of the mess from his clothes and continued home.
“ Still getting chased , I see. ” A bald man stood in the doorway, his hands resting on the upper corners of the frame, blocking Max from going inside. He had a c ocky grin on his face. Tim . Max wanted to shove the guy aside so he could shower. He was tired,
Stay strong, JD. It ’ ll take more than a little pizza sauce to break us. To Max ’ s surprise the anxiety level dropped slightly as he assured JD. He smiled and headed for the bus. However, when he got there, it was gone.
Fear surged through him so violently, he almost fell to his knees. S tronger than the fear that knocked him back against the door earlier that morning . S tronger than the fear that gripped him on the bus ride.
JD ’ s instincts kicked in and Max could only follow. He took off running, darting behind houses and ducking into business doorways. When he came to an open field, Max could hardly breathe. “ Too . . . much . . . JD, ” Max puffed out. “ You ’ re not . . . in good enough shape . . . to be running . . . this hard. ”
Tires squealing sent Max off again before he caught his breath. A stitch in his side made it impossible to run upright. Max looked up and saw a strip mall , and knowing that JD wanted to go there, turned and crossed the road . But instead of going inside the buildings, he ran behind the m , straight to a large dumpster.
Oh no . I ’ m not going in there. This is enough , JD . Stop running and face whoever is after you like a man.
But JD ’ s fear was still in control. Max lifted the lid and dove into the smelly, disgusting garbage just as the same squealing tires came tearing around back.
Max retched twice as the odors spiraled their way up his nose. He slapped his hand over his face to try an d cancel out the smell, but it was hopeless. S omething hard d ug into his back, but when he started to reach back to dislodge it, an almost audible scream told him to lie perfectly still. That ’ s pretty hard to do when you ’ re panting and shivering with fear, Max thought, disgusted with JD .
A car door opened, then another. Max hear d the driving beat of music screaming over the car ’ s stereo.
“ Where the freak is th is guy hiding? ” demanded a male voice Max thought he recognized.
“ I don ’ t know, Nate. I really thought we had him this time, ” replied a female voice.
Nate Stackman. Max was sure of it. The guy got a thrill out of bullying, and Max couldn ’ t stand him. Nate wasn ’ t exactly popular with anyone else either. L ast year he punched his girlfriend with a glass mug after a football game, breaking her nose. He ended up doing time in Juvy for it and was expelled f rom Port Fare High.
Someone hit the trash bin. Max jumped. “ Come on, let ’ s get out of here, ” the girl said.
“ I ’ m going to figure out where that little wuss disappears to if it ’ s the last thing I do. ” The car doors slammed shut and tires squealed away.
Max lay in the bin , unable to move. JD ’ s fear of being caught by Nate took every ounce of energy he had. Finally, he sat up. “ Let ’ s get out of here. ”
Max raised the lid an inch and peered around to make sure Nate was gone. He climbed out, rubbing his pounding head. I wish I hadn ’ t flushed those pain pills now . He began wiping the trash off his pants, stopping mid-swipe. He tossed his head back and groaned.
“ Please tell me this isn ’ t what I think it is. ” He lifted his hand to his face. “ Dog crap. Seriously, JD? You ’ d rather hid e in a dumpster full of dog crap than face those losers? Never again, JD. Not as long as I ’ m here. ” Max shook o f f the rest of the mess from his clothes and continued home.
“ Still getting chased , I see. ” A bald man stood in the doorway, his hands resting on the upper corners of the frame, blocking Max from going inside. He had a c ocky grin on his face. Tim . Max wanted to shove the guy aside so he could shower. He was tired,
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