Sorry it's been so long, lovely readers. Want to hear my excuses? Well, first, I was out of state, then I was at sports camp, then I got a new computer so I had to move all my files…hehe…yeah well, thanks so much to people who reviewed: Bal8rokstar, nishia (x2 lol), cattyforlz, wiseoldman, Brooke and Kate-Emma—I know that guy is exactly like the ones in 7-Eleven!!! I went there at 2 am with my friend once to buy some Snapple and he was there…. But really, I am horrible at keeping up with things I write, so I'm amazed that I really wrote this. I did it for you guys, because…well, you seem to like it! I wrote half of this chapter a long time ago, then stopped to write Downfall, which is why some of the stuff in the beginning may sound similar. I'm sorry if this is kind of short and crappy, but as I said, it's incredibly rare for me to pick up anything again, so I'm giving it my best try. Thanks again!

-Sienna, writer of long author's notes

Chapter Six: Freddy Must Deal

I wake up cold on one side and warm on the other. On my cold side there's a bag of fertilizer. On my warm side there's Katie, asleep.

Can you guess which one I scoot closer to?

Very carefully, trying not to wake her, I lift my arm between us and check my watch. Quarter past three. Definitely still time to sleep….

Dude, this is so crazy, I think happily. On my own again but not alone, this is way better than usual. Just chillin in this awesome pad…okay, the fertilizer kinda smells…and chillin is right, it's getting colder….

I wonder if Katie's cold, on her side that's next to the shed wall, then I worry she is. Why am I worrying?

I only hear silence from myself. I know what the answer should be. "Cause you're like, best friends, have been for years. Cause she's your buddy." Would that be so hard for myself to say?

There's no answer.

I shake my head. "Careful you don't go crazy now, Freddy Jones," I whisper, looking at Katie's shiny hair and putting my arm around her shoulders. She is cold.

Katie sighs a little, resting her hand and head on my chest. We should buy a blanket or something. There's no reason to be cold out here, not when we've got money up the ying-yang and a perfectly good hiding place.

But where are we going to go next? Dammit, I knew I should have planned this more.

No. No. I am going back to sleep. I am closing my eyes and going zzzzz.

Sleep, do you hear me?

SLEEP!

Eyes shut, doze, eyes open, eyes shut, shift shift shift, my butt has fallen asleep. It's useless.

I wonder if the police are looking for us yet.

I try to imagine what's going on at home. Mom probably woke up around eight and had coffee. Dad probably woke up around ten and read the newspaper. When would they have noticed that I wasn't there? Noon? Sooner?

Then they would call Zack and Katie and all my other friends. They'd discover Katie was gone as well. They'd put two and two together, look through my room, find my note and my detailed explanation of what we'd done ("Don't worry. I'll be back.") My parents might give me a day or two to show up on my own, but I bet Katie's will spaz and call the cops. They'll want dogs, detectives, helicopters, the works, just to bring their daughter home from the clutches of the local bad boy.

Was this a good idea?

"Like hell I'm going back now," I mutter.

I hear a yawn, and Katie sits up a little. "Going back where?"

"Nothing," I say. I don't want her to think I'm weakening.

Sitting up properly and leaning against the wall, she yawns again and rubs her eyes. I check my watch; it's almost five. "Think it's dark yet?"

"I dunno," she says. "But my whole body is all stiff. I don't wanna lie here anymore."

"Me neither," I say.

We both look at the door for a moment, expectantly. There's no light coming in through the cracks on either side, which I suppose is a sign that the sun's at least somewhat set.

"Where are we going?"

I think for a minute. "We need to get out of the town, right? They're going to be looking for us. We need to get lost."

"Lost without forgetting where we are."

"Right."

"How about the city?"

"The city?" I repeat. I was thinking of hopping a bus to Pennsylvania somewhere, a nice easy little town where we could visit for a couple of days. Far away from where they'd expect the two missing kids to be. "Why there?"

She shrugs. "We've been there before, to see Dewey and everything. It's busy but too far away…it's not like, out in Pennsylvania or something."

"Right," I say, swallowing my Pennsylvania idea. I stand up. "Right. Let's go."

"What, right now?"

"Unless you want to chill here for a while? I thought you were tired of sitting."

"Well, I am, but…I just…."

I look at her. "Do you want to go home or something?" God help me if she says yes. I'll hit her. Sounds harsh, but when we go home, her parents are going to kill me, so it's really pretty fair I think. I could have run away for two days by myself and not gotten murdered. This was supposed to be worth it.

"No!" she exclaims. "I don't want to go home at all! It's something else."

"Like what?"

"It's…it's kinda weird…."

I wait expectantly.

"Freddy, I have to pee."

I start to laugh. "That's not a big deal! We'll just—"

Suddenly we both hear a sound, the ominously familiar and close sound of a door closing. Like, say, the back door of the house. And someone crunching across the icy snow.

I duck down, just in case. Katie's looking at me fearfully.

"What if they see our footprints?" she says, but I shush her.

Less than a minute passes before the door begins to ease open. I hear Katie's breath catch and clamp my hand over her mouth instantly, keeping my eyes focused on the door. There's a man there, silhouetted in what little light there is outside, his shadow made lumpy by whatever he's carrying. He grunts as he sets it down on the floor. Please, please, please don't look back here, I'm thinking, please don't see the blonde kid hiding behind your fertilizer.

He pushes the lawnmower over a little, sliding around everything in the shed. Katie pries my fingers from her lips and holds my hand painfully tightly. Then he's gone.

"He didn't lock the door," she whispers, almost before it's safely shut.

"He's coming back."

"We can't get locked in, Freddy. We'd starve."

"I'd saw through the walls before that happened," I say, but all the same, I don't want to be trapped either. "Come on. Let's run for it."

We clamber over the junk in the shed, trying to be quiet, until we're next to the door and Katie knocks over a bunch of shovels. They clatter and clang.

I glance out the door. The shadow of a man is on the deck, but he definitely heard that sound; he's walking faster across the hundred feet of his backyard towards us.

"We're going to be seen," I say.

"But not caught," she says. Tightening her grip on my hand, Katie runs out the door, pulling me along with her.

"Hey!" the guy yells.

Crap, I think. He's going to chase us.

"Faster, Katie!" I hiss, taking the lead as we dart into the woods. "Faster!"