“Hey there, it’s me, do you remember me?” The girl stared ahead, her gaze focused out the window, her head and shoulders stiff and unmoving. Amos was very familiar with this type of body language, and he was quite used to behaving the same way. Usually, no good would ever come from a stranger trying to talk to you out in public these days and most often it was easiest to just ignore the person and to swiftly put as much distance as possible between you and them.

  In this case, the girl was trapped on a bus with very little options for getting away so she just stared ahead and ignored him as best she could. “I was at the restaurant, you saved me, and I’ve come to say thanks.”

  She slowly turned her head, her dark eyes darting over his face, scrutinizing his expression and then looked behind him for anyone else with him that could cause trouble. “It’s just me and I’m not going to hurt you” Amos said slowly “you really helped me out and I came back to make sure you were all right.”

  “Can I sit down” he said pointing at the scuffed and torn seat just across the aisle. “Suit yourself” the girl mumbled and then she tilted her head and asked, “why are you here, why are you following me on this bus?” Her eyes widened with concern and then hardened “are you trying to follow me home?”

  Holding up his hands Amos slowly shook his head “no, no I am not going to follow you or bother you. You really saved me yesterday and when I went through the kitchen, I saw those two boys chained up at the back.” Amos paused, looked down at the dirty bus floor and looked back up at the girl. “I know something really bad is happening at this restaurant, you seem terrified of your boss and there are two young boys locked up in a kitchen. I can’t stop thinking about it and I know I have to do something to help them.”

  The girl relaxed a little bit and leaned back in her seat, Amos knew she was searching his face for the truth, or the lie and she would decide which it was in the next moment.

  The old bus slowed down and groaned and creaked its way around a sharp corner and as it started to accelerate the girl reached up and pulled the cord to request a stop. “I’m off at the next stop and it is just as well; you can’t do anything for those boys anyways.” “Maybe not but maybe I can” said Amos, “let me buy you some food as a thank you and I can tell you my plan.” Now the girl really searched his face for the lie, so Amos took out a couple of twenty-dollar bills and said, “I am hungry, and it is my treat, since this is your stop why don’t you find us a good place to eat.”

  The girl’s name turned out to be not much older than Amos as she had just turned fifteen. She lived nearby in a small apartment with her aunt, and she had been working at Giorgio’s, the Italian restaurant Amos had barreled into yesterday for almost two months now. She hated the job; she hated the owner Giorgio even more. “He’s a cheat and a horrible man, he never pays me my full wages, and he yells over the slightest thing” Alanah told him over their late dinner.

  She had found a small, retro-style restaurant and had cracked her first wide smile when Amos had insisted on her having a chocolate milkshake, a cheeseburger and fries and gravy. He first saw the joy in her face when they ordered and then the methodical focus she had when eating as soon as the food had arrived.

  The narrative has been illicitly obtained; should you discover it on Amazon, report the violation.

  As they ate, they slowly opened up to each other, sharing parts of their stories with each other but being careful not to reveal too much at once. I am not going to tell her I am a thief Amos decided after wondering how to explain his access to money. Once I figure out how to pay back what I stole, then maybe but not until then he thought to himself while Alanah spoke hesitantly about life with her aunt.

  Both kids, mature beyond their years due to hardship and necessity were being careful not to let their worries and fears overwhelm the fa?ade of composure and confidence they both wore as a defensive measure. Alanah had lost her parents to the illnesses that were plaguing the city a few years ago and she was forced to live with her aunt ever since then.

  With just her aunt to provide for them both there was never enough money, and her aunt was constantly struggling to keep afloat. She was her mom’s much older sister and due to the age gap, they were never close. When Alanah’s parents had split up and then Alanah’s mom was lost to influenza a year later Alanah had suddenly and unexpectedly become the aunt’s responsibility. A responsibility she did not want and could not afford.

  Life with her aunt was awful, Alanah always felt unwanted, unloved and like a burden around her aunt and she did her best to stay out of the way and to not cause any problems.

  Alanah had gotten the kitchen helper job at the restaurant quite by chance, she had been standing behind Giorgio at a local grocery store and had overheard him complaining bitterly to the cashier about a lack of help. Without hesitating Alanah had begged the man for a job, she wanted to earn some money to help out and to find a way to spend less time at home when her aunt was there.

  The kitchen job she was given was extremely difficult and she was certain that Giorgio was cheating on her wages. He would also charge her for food and anything that might break during her shift whether she ate or not or even if the breakage was not her fault. It did not matter, he treated her horribly and she hated him and his restaurant.

  After they finished eating Amos leaned back and asked the question he was afraid to ask. “Who are those two young boys and why are they chained up?” Alanah flushed and looked ashamed, she looked down at the table and twisted her hands and fingers together nervously.

  “Giorgio brought them back over a week ago, he goes near the bus station and looks for people who look lost or in need of help. I think he lures them back to the restaurant and makes them work for him for a few weeks washing and cleaning and then he gets mad at them and kicks them out. He makes such a big deal about some made-up thing that the person usually runs away as fast as they can. They forget that he had trapped them there and forced them to work for weeks with no pay.”

  “How many times has he done this?” “I’ve been working there two months now and this is the third time he has snatched someone and kept them in the kitchen.” “They have never been this young before” she added while looking up to read his face for any signs of suspicion or disbelief. “I never would have worked there if I had known” Alanah mumbled while looking at the table. “I want to quit but he keeps promising me that I will get the money he owes me next week. It never happens and I keep promising my aunt that I will have money for her, I don’t know what to do, I keep hoping I can get paid and leave.”

  “He’s a cheat, he won’t ever pay you and once you demand your money he will most likely lock you out or do something even worse” Amos leaned forward and looked at Alanah directly. “We have to force him to pay you and no matter what, those two young boys, we have to help them.”