The Before Read Free Page B

rocked her Slinky back and forth a couple of times. “Everybody in the whole cell block,” she said flatly. “Was dancing to the jailhouse rock.”
    Mom shot a confused look at me. I’d always been better at deciphering Mel’s riddles, but this one stumped me. My mind raced through the possible links to reality. Cell blocks were in prisons. Was it something about a prison? Or was it dancing? Or jailhouse rock? Music? “Jailhouse Rock” was a song, right? An Elvis Presley song. Uncle Rodney was an Elvis nut.
    A nervous chuckle gurgled up in my throat. Everything about this situation was absurd. As crazy as Mel’s suggestion was, maybe she was right.
    “I think she’s right, Mom. We should go to Uncle Rodney’s.”

Chapter Four
     
    Mel
     
    If I should know thyself and knowledge is power, then there is strength in knowing what I can’t do. I am not strong enough outside my routines, away from my house, in a world where monsters are real. I have enough trouble with the monsters in each of us. I can’t face the monster that each of us could become. I know my strengths, and I’m not that strong.
    We are truly trapped between the devil and the deep blue sea.
    No matter how charming a devil he is, no matter how melodious his voice, no matter how strong and comforting his arms, he is devil still. And devil tricky and devil not to be trusted.
    King says the devil’s voice is sweet, but he’s never heard my father talk. A voice sweeter than music to my ears, but a music of his own I never heard. No one else has ever talked so much without making a sound. No one else ever had my love without earning it.
    How can we choose a devil that once was most loved and now is gone? The voice of Goodnight Moon that said goodnight, but never good-bye? How can I choose him now when he didn’t choose to stay?
    No matter how tempting it is to let this choice be made for me, I can’t do it. Choice is a luxury and I can’t eeny meeny miny moe this, but maybe together Lily and I can catch a tiger. Maybe we can pick the option other than the sweet-voiced devil and what the government wants to facilitate.
    There is a voice sweeter than my father’s. Sweeter than Goodnight Moon . A voice as sweet as blue suede shoes and hound dogs. If I have the choice, I choose Elvis.

Chapter Five
     
    Lily
     
    The patrolman stopped our car twenty minutes from the house. We’d moved fast once I convinced Mom, but it had still taken a couple of hours to pack a few bags and load up all the MREs Uncle Rodney had sent last year. No one really believed we’d be there a year, but Uncle Rodney had a BYO-MRE rule that I doubted he’d break even for family.
    But in the end, we didn’t even make it out of the metroplex. The streets were almost empty, which made it impossible to ignore the flashing lights when the squad car came up behind us.
    Mom and I exchanged nervous glances. She hadn’t been speeding—Mom was hard-core about that kind of thing. She pulled over and I turned around and murmured comforting nonsense to Mel, who was starting to rock back and forth.
    A moment later, the police officer shined a flashlight in through the window of the car.
    “Can I help you, Officer?” Mom asked.
    He panned the light from Mom to me and then back to Mel. It was only dusk, so he should have been able to see us without the flashlight, but he used it anyway. I don’t know if he was just a jerk or being overly cautious.
    “Can you tell me what you’re doing out and about this evening?”
    “Is there a problem, Officer?”
    The flashlight darted back to Mom and she raised a hand to shield her eyes. “You appear to be illegally transporting teenagers over the county line.”
    Mom stiffened. “These teenagers are my daughters and I wasn’t aware that going out for a drive with them was breaking any laws.”
    “Can you tell me where you’re taking these girls?”
    “I don’t have to tell you where I’m taking them. They are my own