The police came after a couple weeks, forcing Grandfather to hide under his bed. He had a handgun under there locked in a box.

He was sort of relieved when they arrested Grandfather. Kyle loved him, but he couldn’t control Grandfather anymore. He screamed and fought and shot the ceiling, kicked, bit and swore as they dragged him from the house. He thought he was going to be tortured. He kept screaming at the cops like they were Viet Kong. Then right there on the lawn his heart exploded. The police dropped him and began CPR, calling for an ambulance when they realized he was not making himself heavier on purpose like an obstinate child.

The government swooped in, trying to steal Kyle before Social Services could complicate things. Kyle ran. He’d learned enough in his 17 years to hide and live on his own. He didn’t have any particular direction in mind, he just kept moving.

Kyle had been taking alleyways hoping to avoid detection. He had no idea two girls were spying on him from a tree house.