May uneasily followed Ruth through the hall, down a flight of stairs, and suddenly Ruth yanked her into the bathroom doorway.

   “Why did you do that?” May whispered.

   “Because, I don’t want anybody to see me whispering in your ear.” Ruth replied.

   “What do you need to whisper?” May asked.

   “Well,” she lowered her voice to a whisper, “we can sneak through the kitchen, and out the back door. It would be less suspicious. Why, Mrs. Brook always has some of girls take out the trash everyday.”

   “But, what if she sees us?” May protested.

   “Let’s ask if we can take out some trash.” Ruth said.

May rolled her eyes, but she still followed Ruth. When they arrived at the kitchen, Ruth suddenly stopped.

   “I forgot a Bible!” She whispered, dashing back toward their room, pulling poor May behind her. 

   “Now we’re prepared.” Ruth dragged May back down the stairs, and whispered, “May, if you want to look genuine, perk up!” 

   “I don’t want to look genuine.” May rolled her eyes, again.

   “You want to be caught?” Ruth said.

   “Well, no.” May replied. “I don’t know if I even want to do this.” 

May ignored her.

Reluctantly, she followed Ruth into the kitchen, May realized the kitchen was empty.

   “Ruth, there’s no one in here!” She whispered.

   “Perfect!” Ruth whispered back. “Let’s go!” 

   As they slipped out the door, Ruth exclaimed, “We did it!” 

   “We did it.” May was very unenthusiastic.

                                                                  ~<()>~

Mr. Jones tossed and turned under the soft blanket on his bed. He finally gave up and slipped quietly onto the soft rug by the bed. On the smooth, wooden bedside table he glanced at the clock. It was 12:53. Tiptoeing to the far end of the room, he peered out the window. What would happen to Anthony? Would he survive? Would he battle with cancer for the rest of his life? 

   Suddenly he felt a hand on his shoulder. Quickly turning around, his eyes fell on his wife. She gently rubbed his shoulder and looked up at him in tearful eyes.

   “I couldn’t sleep either.” She whispered, although there was no need for it, because there was no one who she could wake up nearby.

   Mr. Jones gathered his wife in a hug, and led her back into bed. After a few minutes, they finally dozed off into a worried, troubled sleep.

                                                          ~<()>~

   Ruth continued to drag a reluctant May toward the bus stop.

   “Ruth, I don’t like this.” May whispered.

   “What’s so scary?” Ruth asked.

   “Look over there. Those men look hideous. They are probably up to no good.” May replied.

   Ruth rolled her eyes. “C’mon, May! The bus stop is just behind those hideous men as you call them!” 

   “Shh! They’ll hear you!” May whispered.

   The girls noticed the men eyeing them. Even Ruth was starting to get creeped out. May noticed one of them had a gun. It would be easy for the men to get them, and with all the confusion in the city, no one would notice. If they tried to scream, the men would probably shoot them. The tall buildings would hide them from everyone except the men hanging around once they stepped any farther.

   Trying to act casual, they began walking briskly past the men. When May turned to look at Ruth, she realized Ruth wasn’t there. Terrified, she tried to turn around, but all of a sudden, one of the men grabbed her arm, and pulled her into an alley.