‘Yuck!’ Emily said as the stallion started to eat hungrily. ‘How can you do that, Pegs? After this, I don’t think I’ll ever eat that cereal again.’
After Pegasus was fed, Joel sat down to eat the sandwiches Emily had prepared for him.
‘What time do you need to get home?’ she asked. Checking her watch, it was just past six in the evening. The sun was still up, but had already crossed the city and would soon start to set.
‘I’m not going back,’ Joel said casually after taking a long drink of milk right from the carton.
‘Not going back?’ Emily said in alarm. ‘Won’t your parents worry?’
Joel looked away. ‘My parents are dead. I’m living in a foster home. The people there hardly ever notice me, so probably not.’ He tried to sound indifferent but Emily could hear the quiver in his tone fighting through the bravado. She wasn’t sure what to say, she had no clue about Joel’s past.
‘I didn’t know. Joel, I’m so sorr—’
‘It’s OK,’ he said almost too quickly. ‘It’s not like I’ve told anyone.’ He looked down, avoiding her gaze, and began to speak slowly. ‘Three years ago I was living with my family in Connecticut. We were going away for the weekend when a drunk driver lost control of his car and crashed into us. My parents and little brother were killed instantly. I was hurt too, but somehow I survived. Though every day since it happened, I wish I hadn’t.’
‘Oh, Joel,’ Emily said in a hushed voice. ‘It must have been terrible.’
Joel said nothing for a long time. Finally he looked at her. ‘I’ve been in foster-care ever since. But I hate it.’
Emily was too stunned to speak. She could never have imagined this. She knew what it was to suffer the unending grief of losing one parent, but she couldn’t imagine what it would be like to lose your entire family.
‘Isn’t there anyone in Italy you could go live with?’
‘No,’ Joel said sharply. ‘No one wanted me. So I’m stuck here.’ He lifted his chin in defiance. ‘But not for much longer. I’m planning to run away. I’ll find someplace where no one will be able to tell me where to go, what to do or anything ever again. I’ll finally be free!’
Joel stood up quickly and crossed to Pegasus. Emily watched the tension in his shoulders fade as he stroked the stallion’s face. ‘I’m going to stay here tonight,’ he said, his back to Emily. ‘I don’t like leaving Pegasus alone.’
Emily stood and put her hands on her hips. He may have had a tough life, but there was no need to insult her. ‘Gee, thanks, Joel, for the vote of confidence,’ she said suddenly riled. ‘But for your information, in case you hadn’t noticed, I’m here. So he’s not alone.’
‘You know what I mean,’ Joel said. ‘You’ve got to get back down to your apartment before your father goes to work tonight. I can stay here so Pegasus doesn’t get frightened.’
Emily was about to say something more, but the look in his eyes stopped her.
He was nothing like the angry person she met this morning on his front stoop. In his eyes she suddenly saw – need. Joel needed to stay with Pegasus.
‘All right,’ she said. ‘You can stay. There are some extra blankets and pillows I can bring up. But just so you know, I’m planning to stay up here too. Once my father goes to work, we can bring everything up. It’ll kind of be like camping.’
‘Without the marshmallows,’ Joel added.
‘I think we might have some of those,’ Emily said. ‘But if I know Pegasus, he’ll have them off me before I even open the bag!’
9
After the doctors finished hooking Paelen up to the equipment, they went over to their computers to check out the readings.
Paelen watched them curiously, but said nothing. Instead he concentrated on his surroundings. On the wall behind him, high above the bed, was a small ventilation grill. He could feel fresh air blowing gently down on him. He could also hear sounds coming from other rooms floating through the same grill. That meant that there was a system of tunnels up there which he could easily slip through. Tunnels were his speciality. There wasn’t one tunnel in all Olympus he couldn’t slip through, or find his way out of; including the great labyrinth of the Minotaur. Paelen knew that once he was free of the casts on his legs, he would be able to find his way to the surface.
Of course, there was also the issue of the handcuffs. But he’d seen the men in the overalls had keys to the locks. If he worked it out properly, he could easily get the keys away from them. Failing that, Paelen could always use his talent for stretching out his body; though he preferred not to.
As his mind worked on the problem, Paelen heard the same strange series of beeping sounds he’d heard before. Soon after the door to the room opened and two men entered.