Chapter 10

CHAPTER 10 The three of them walked for at least an hour more, inching their way along the packed sidewalks. They were getting closer to the Palmer House, Jennie said. But new fires kept forcing them to find alternate routes. Now they were caught in a sea of hundreds of bodies. People squeezed them on all sides, and Oscar struggled to stay on his feet. They were passing by a warehouse when suddenly — KABOOM! The smell of oil filled the air, and shards of wood flew all around them. "Run!" someone screamed. Boom! Boom! Boom!

The explosions rang out like cannon fire. Like a herd of cattle startled by a clap of thunder, the crowd erupted into a stampede. Oscar, Jennie, and Bruno were caught right in the middle. Elbows jabbed them, boots mashed Oscar's feet. He watched as parents were torn away from their children. A woman fell and didn't get up again. "Hold on tight, Bruno!" Oscar ordered, locking his arm around the boy as he gripped Jennie's hand so hard he was sure he would crush it. If they were separated now, they'd never find each other again. Luckily the street widened slightly, and they managed to burst out of the crushing crowd. Jennie led them down a side street, and finally into a wide alley. "State Street is just a block away from here," Jennie said as they caught their breath. "The Palmer House will be right there." Halfway down the alley, they discovered a water barrel. They all ran toward it, desperate to quench their thirst and to cool their burning skin.

Oscar felt like a stalk of wheat, shriveled in the boiling sun. He hoisted the lid off and held Bruno while the boy slurped up water like a thirsty horse. When he was finally done, Oscar and Jennie took turns, scooping up handfuls of the cool water and gulping them down. They splashed the soothing water on their faces and down scorched necks and arms. Oscar sighed with relief. "You really know your way around the city," he said to Jennie as he dabbed drops of water onto his

burned forehead. "You'd make a good tracker." "My mother was a baker," Jennie said, with a hint of pride. "Bruno and I used to go with her to deliver her cakes and cookies." "I love cookies," Bruno whispered to Oscar, as though he was sharing a deep secret. A picture popped into Oscar's mind. He saw Jennie with her braids straight and glossy, Bruno nibbling on a cookie almost as big as his head. He pictured a lady with Bruno's dark curls and Jennie's big brown eyes, standing in the kitchen in a flowered apron. "My mama got sick," Bruno said softly. "She in heaven." Jennie glanced at Oscar and he glimpsed the fresh hurt in her eyes. "My papa's in heaven, too," Oscar said, swallowing the lump in his throat. "Our father died right after Bruno was born, in an accident," Jennie said. "Mama died six months ago. I promised her I'd keep an eye on Bruno, no matter what." Oscar thought of his own promise to Papa: to watch over the farm. That promise had kept him

going these past two years. But now it was broken. Would Papa forgive him? Would Oscar forgive himself? Jennie put her hand on Bruno's head. "I couldn't let us go to the orphanage," Jennie said. Her voice dropped very low when she said orphanage, as if it was a curse word no one should ever say. Oscar understood. He'd heard horror stories about the orphanage in Minneapolis, the city closest to Castle — that it was more like a jail than a home. Oscar looked at Jennie and Bruno, suddenly wondering what would happen to them. Their home was gone. They were all alone. What would they do? But no, Oscar suddenly remembered. They weren't alone. He picked up Bruno. They weren't alone because they had Oscar. "Hey, Bruno," he said. "I bet up in heaven, my papa and your parents are good friends."

Bruno leaned back so he could look Oscar in the eye. "Like us!" he exclaimed. His soot-covered face grinned out from under the fancy lady's hat. Both Oscar and Jennie laughed, and for that second Oscar forgot about the smoke and the flames. But their smiles didn't last long. They'd just started walking through the alley again when they heard loud voices. A group of boys swung into the alley from the street. They were walking toward them. Jennie froze. Then Oscar saw who they were: the boys from the train station. And there, right in front, with his rattlesnake eyes glowing through the smoke, was Otis Webber.