34 parts Complete "Hey, who are you?" I could tell he wasn't trying to scare him off while still trying to establish the fact that we could hurt him if we wanted to.
"I was gonna ask you the same question," he replied. "But since to beat me to it, I'm Eli. I'm just a seventeen-year-old kid out here alone. Y'all seem to be in the same situation." His southern accent was thick but definitely not South Carolinian. It sounded more like he was from Alabama or Mississippi.
"True. For how long?"
"Four weeks. I ran away because of...circumstances," he said, trailing off on the last word.
"Prove to us you're not dangerous," Marcus threatened.
"Prove to me you're not dangerous," Eli countered. "I don't even know your names."
"Fine. I'm Marcus, that's Peyton, Luke, and Aaliyah," he answered, gesturing toward each of us as he spoke. I could tell he didn't trust the guy, but he seemed good enough. He hadn't said anything to make us distrust him, but he also hadn't said anything to make us trust him.
"Look, dude, I'm not trying to hurt you. I'm looking for something a friend told me about a few weeks ago. She said there was a whole network of teens out here, but there's a camp somewhere in Florida that gives them a place to stay. Secret, of course, and run by teens, but anyway, it seems safer than being out here and living off the land."
"Wait, you mean there are more of us?" I asked.
☁
Three teenagers find themselves rejected by their families after they're all unexpectedly outed on the same night. With the help of their friend, they head to the streets in search of freedom and acceptance. Along the way they meet another boy, and there's more to him then they could have ever guessed.
Follow each of them as they discover who they are, who they love, and more of their country's secrets than they could ever dream of in a thrilling trilogy told from all five points of view.
