Eugenia part 32

Read part 31 here!

There was silence on the other end. “That’s an awfully big stretch.” he said carefully.

I sighed. “What is it with everyone wanting proof all of the sudden? Meg Lauren Carroway, nineteen years old. I traveled with Daniel Gruber from my escape to his death, and I’ve recently made contact with Luke Gallagher, Suri Archer, and Michael Riggins. Julie Sherman and my little sister, Emma Marie Carroway, are currently living with me. I had an interview with national radio personality Jon Bannister a few weeks ago that Senator Zach Bluff, who is a slimeball, by the way, called into.”

Sam, the deejay, coughed. “Well, I’m convinced. To what do we owe the honor, Miss Carroway?”

“Luke Gallagher heard the end of your broadcast last night,”

“Right, right. So your interview worked out, then?”

“It seems that way, Sam. And I’d quickly like to shout out to Kale Orson. Kale, we’ll be traveling soon as well, trying to find more outliers. A revolution isn’t a revolution if you’ve only got five people.”

“A very good point. Where will you be traveling?”

“We haven’t made any final decisions just yet, but we’ll be sticking south. Sam, how many outliers do you know listen to this show?”

“Well, in addition to Kale Orson, we’ve got at least six others that have called in, but I like to think that more just listen without phone capabilities.”

“That’s absolutely perfect. We should probably go now, but we promise to keep Outties updated on our summer road trip progress.”

“Thank you. Meg Carroway, everyone! And thanks again for your call. Ok, caller number three, you’re on the air…” Julie turned the radio down as I hung up, my breathing speeding up.

“So I take it you’re on board for the road trip?” Luke grinned at me. Laughing, I grabbed him into a hug.

“I can’t believe you found this station. You’re amazing. Things are definitely looking up, my friend.”

Two days after my call to Outties, Suri and Michael got a visit from the local police to check their papers. With Julie’s handiwork and surprisingly legitimate papers from Decklan’s contact, they passed inspection easily. While they shelved books contentedly, Luke and I were busy planning our impending summer vacation.

“If we go through Texas at all, we should just stick to the very northern parts.”

“Yeah, but do we really want to go through Oklahoma? I mean, who wants to settle in Oklahoma?”

“I dunno. Some people like Oklahoma.”

“You gonna stick with that?”

“Whatever. Arizona is somewhere we might want to spend a little more time…”

“Guys!” Decklan finally interrupted. “Where exactly are the two of you getting a ride from?”

“Can we borrow your car?” Luke asked, only partially kidding.

“Yeah, because that wouldn’t look suspicious at all.”

“Well, what do you recommend, Mr. Handler?”

“I thought that would be obvious. I’ll drive you.”

“But, Decklan…” I started. “You have school!”

“Not for much longer. Summer break starts the day after finals. And my last final for the year is in two weeks.”

“I don’t know if we can wait that long.” Luke informed him, frowning at the atlas.

“Do you have a better idea, then, Gallagher?” Decklan snapped.

“Ok, OK! Break it up, ladies.” I put my hands up. “Luke, Decklan’s right. We can’t just take his car and leave him here. He’d never be able to explain that. Bluff’s already suspicious of him. If we wait until his summer break, he could claim that he’s… visiting his family.”

“Where does your family live?” Luke asked gruffly.

“New Florida. I doubt we’ll get that far, though.”

“Too bad. New idea-”

“Can it, Luke. Do you honestly think that anyone is going to check up on this? Decklan can just call his parents and have them cover for him.”

“And what excuse would he have for that?”

“I dunno. You could have… a stalker!”

“What?” Both boys looked at me like I’d grown a second head.

“No, seriously! You’re trying to let this girl down easy, so you tell her that you’re visiting your family, and that’s why you won’t be home for a few weeks. Just tell your parents that she’s really crazy and might try checking up on your story.”

“That… that actually might work.” Decklan admitted, sitting back in his chair, abandoning the aggressive position he’d previously been in.

Luke sighed. “Fine. But no more people, ok? This is gonna be expensive and dangerous as is.”

“Yes, sir.” I muttered.

Continued in part 33!