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ONE

Houston County, Texas

FOURTEEN YEARS AGO

Jo woke to the taste of copper

She s’s in ht, and spat two pieces of cru head, she gazed around, wrinkling her nose at the antiseptic sht diht the rooood That’d mean she and Thaddie were back in the foster syste hiain

Where was he? Why couldn’t she reme you rean to surface

It’s getting too hot to stay here

Closing in on the library, Jo scanned the streets for the gang lord’s Monte Carlo She thought she heard its newly replaced engine ru a couple of blocks over

The streets of this hood were a on She was a plucky superhero, carrying her trusty sidekick on her back

But last night hadn’t been a game

She craned her head around to ask Thaddie, "What do you think?" His little body was secured in the Thadpack--the stolen backpack she’d s "We lost ’ele toy, his Spider-Man doll, to celebrate

She and Thaddie needed to get scarce,a new start in Key West

She eyed their surroundings one last tih the library’s back door, left open for her by Mrs Brayden, part-time librarian/full-tie, already setting up the high chair Her picnic basket was full

Do I sry" Her dark-brown shoulder-length hair had a touch of gray Her eyes were light brown behind her boxy glasses As usual, she wore soer for chicken "Whatever" Jo freed Thaddie fro him in her lap "Guess we could eat" She propped her cohed at Jo’s outfit: ratty jeans, a stained T-shirt, and a black hoodie The woman had offered to do laundry for thee into while they waited

"We need to talk, Jo" She sat, but didn’t unload the basket

"Uh-oh, Thaddie, it looks like we’re about to get a lecture" Jo winked at hirinned at the wooff fuggoff!"