The boy felt as though he was nearly dead.The boy felt as though he was nearly dead. Each step took his full concentration and every bit of energy that he could muster. Finally he came into the lighted area that he'd seen a half-hour earlier. It had been a long walk. He looked at the signs, then followed the one that said I-95 South, Miami, Palm Beach. Rafael had never hitchhiked before. One or two of the other boys at Centerville had done it at various times when they ran away and he knew enough not to go up the on-ramp where the police might see him. Instead he stood right at the corner, moving his thumb horizontally as each car turned into the on-ramp and went past him. The time passed slowly. It was late at night and there weren't that many cars. Several times he thought about leaving and finding somewhere to sleep, behind a building or somewhere like that. A truck came past him and slowed down then stopped about a hundred feet up the on-ramp. Rafael hurried up, going as fast as his hurt, exhausted body would let him. |