“S’OK,” Jack mumbled as his father asked, “What’s going on?”
All four of the Landons were used to Ms. Lopez’s unexpected visits, but none had ever been in the middle of the night. A social worker who placed temporary-care foster children into safe houses, Ms. Lopez had always been dedicated to the children thrust into her care. Her kids were the ones who needed shelter for short periods until their problems could be worked out, troubled children who seemed to hover at the edge of upheaval. Over the past year, the Landons had provided shelter for half a dozen kids who needed help. Now it looked as though another one was about to come into their lives in the dark stillness of this mid-October night.
Motioning to the figure behind her, she said, “This is Morgan Rogers. He’s a computer whiz from Dry Creek.”
“Hi,” Ashley and Jack said, while their parents smiled and added, “Nice to meet you.”
A tall, thin, hollow-chested boy who wore his dark hair in a ponytail, Morgan stood rooted to the entryway floor. A few straggly whiskers of a not-quite-grown goatee curled around his chin like smoke, smudging skin so pale it seemed he’d never walked in daylight. His brown eyes, though, had a snap to them, hinting at sparks beneath.
“Morgan, remember what I talked to you about on the way here?” Ms. Lopez prompted. “Say hello to the Landons.”
“Oh, yeah. I’m supposed to learn to conform to society’s standards, even if I believe they’re for everyone else and not me,” he said as he gave a mock bow.
Sighing, Ms. Lopez shook her head. “Anyway, to continue—the other day, Olivia, you told me you’d be going to the Grand Canyon.”
“Yes, I’ve been called to help with the condors.”
“That’s what I thought. I realize this is terribly short notice.” She hesitated, then said, “I might as well just come right out and ask. Do you think there is any possible way that you could take Morgan with you?”
“But we’re leaving first thing in the morning!” Olivia protested. “I can’t see how—”
“I know, I know. I truly hate to put you on the spot like this. When you learn what’s happening to this boy, I think you’ll agree it’s an extraordinary situation.”
“Go on,” Jack’s father said.
Ms. Lopez rushed ahead, “Not that he’s completely innocent in all of this—”
“Who says I’m guilty?” Morgan countered, an expression Jack couldn’t quite read curling the edge of his lip. “Hey, I investigated the law before I started, and I’m telling you those intellectual pygmies will never make it stick! The problem is that the whole town’s filled with freaking morons. There’s not a person in Dry Creek who even knows how to spell First Amendment, let alone—”
“Morgan—be—quiet!” Ms. Lopez shot each syllable into the air in a way that made Ashley jump and Morgan clamp his mouth tight. In all the time he’d known Ms. Lopez, Jack had never once heard her raise her voice, but now he watched as she planted her round, five-foot-three-inch frame directly in front of Morgan, who stared back at her with an inscrutable expression. “Young man, I want you to consider that the people in this room—the Landons—are the ones who can keep you out of juvenile detention. They are your only chance. Do you understand what I am saying to you?”
“Yeah,” Morgan answered. “You’re telling me to keep my mouth shut.”
Ms. Lopez nodded.
“That’s censorship.”
“No, that’s wisdom. Look, I’m already out on a limb here. Don’t cut it out from under me. If I fall, so do you.” The room was suddenly so quiet that Jack could hear the hum of the kitchen refrigerator droning a long, drawn-out note against the living room clock’s rhythmic ticking. Olivia shifted uncomfortably while Ms. Lopez kept Morgan locked in an unflinching gaze. When Ashley’s eyes met Jack’s, questions passed between them. What had Morgan done that would send him to detention? Was he dangerous?
Steven cleared his throat loudly. “Well, why don’t we all sit down,” he said, sweeping his arm toward the couch. “You can fill us in on what this is about. Before we get started, would anyone like a glass of water? Or soda?”
“No, thank you,” Ms. Lopez said, while Morgan just shook his head. In an odd way, mentioning something as common as a drink seemed to break the tension. The two made their way to the couch and sank into the plump cushions, while Olivia and Steven took the remaining chairs. Ms. Lopez unbuttoned her gray wool coat as Morgan unzipped his parka. Jack and Ashley dropped to the floor, legs crossed, watching expectantly.
“All right. I’m sure you have a thousand questions. Let me start with the incident itself,” Ms. Lopez began. “As I mentioned, Morgan lives in the little town of Dry Creek, Wyoming, about 70 miles from Jackson Hole.”
“Yes, I know where it is,” Steven said.
“Well, if you’ve seen it, Steven, you know it’s a ranch town, small, quiet, and…traditional.”
“Populated by a bunch of lemmings,” Morgan broke in scornfully. “My mom and dad got scared of the big city of San Francisco—that’s where we used to live—and decided we’d all get back to basics in the cow town of Dry Creek. I didn’t want to go, but hey, I’m only a minor. I have zero rights.” He made an O shape with his thumb and index finger and punched it into the air. “I found out fast that the only way to fit into Cow Town was to turn into another stupid lemming. I refused. That’s why they’re after me.”
A frown passed over Olivia’s face. “After you?”
“Yeah,” Morgan answered coolly. “They’re after me, all right. I’m a man on the run.”
Except for his hair and his black shirt and jeans, everything about Morgan was pale. His skin looked translucent, like wax, while his fingers seemed long and white like bones. Jack could imagine how a kid like Morgan would stick out in a town like Dry Creek.
“Morgan, you’re not helping. Why don’t you hold on and let me explain to them why you’re here,” Ms. Lopez urged.
Throwing his back into the sofa, Morgan squeezed his eyes shut. “You’re right, I shouldn’t talk, even though I am the principal player.”
Ms. Lopez went on, trying, it seemed, to ignore him. “As Morgan said, he didn’t exactly fit into Dry Creek. There was some…trouble.”
“Trouble?” Olivia asked. “What kind of trouble?”
“Unpleasant things were said and done to Morgan in the high school. In retaliation, he created a Web site to deal with his feelings. He…he wrote about the townspeople. In less than flattering terms.”
Steven’s pale brows crunched together. “What does making a Web site have to do with getting Morgan out of town?”
“You’ve got to understand, this was a pretty strong Web site. Morgan wrote about his principal, his teachers, and a lot of the students who’d given him a hard time.”
With his eyes still closed, Morgan muttered, “So? Everything I wrote was true. Armed only
