Margaret Peterson Haddix;Margaret Peterson by Among the Free

Author:Among the Free
Language: eng
Format: mobi
ISBN: 9780756979539
Publisher: Perfection Learning
Published: 2007-08-31T05:00:00+00:00

Luke gasped. He had to bite back the words, Wait! That was me—but that's not exactly how it happened! He looked around and was glad that no one was watching him. Some of the people around him were squinting off into the distance, as if that could help them listen better.

"Philip, no disrespect here, but that story is pretty much confirmed," Simone was saying. "We had an eyewitness tell us that that's what gave his village the courage to throw the Population Police out. And everybody says that Chiutza is where the Population Police fell first."

Luke tried to make sense of what he was hearing. When he'd dropped the gun, could someone have believed he was turning it over to the rebels? Could his one action have made that much of a difference?

"Uh, Mr. Twinings, sir," Tucker was saying on the radio. "Shouldn't you say that this whole coup thing was caused by those rebels who destroyed all the I.D.'s? If they hadn't done that, the Population Police wouldn't have had to go out to Chiutza and all those other places to issue new identity cards."

Philip Twinings chuckled.

"It is indeed difficult to separate out all the roots of this incredible event. My guess is that historians will be trying to figure everything out for years to come. But just as there were many small erosions of freedom that led to the Population Police seizing total control, it would appear that many, many small acts of bravery brought the people back to power. Each act was important; perhaps the Population Police never would have fallen without every single effort No matter how well journalists and historians do their jobs, the world will probably never know the full story of those brave acts or the total number of individuals involved...."

A man near Luke was rolling his eyes.

"That Philip Twinings always was a pompous jerk," he muttered.

"Shh!" several others around him hissed.

Luke stopped listening so intently. He was picturing a glob of horse manure placed carefully in a path—his contribution to the effort to destroy all the identity cards.

Horse manure and a dropped gun—are you proud of me now, Jen? he thought. Maybe Philip Twinings was right, and even the smallest act was important.

Around him, the other people seemed to be getting tired of having to sit so quietly, listening.

"Shut up, Philip Twinings! I'm free to tell you that!" one man yelled, and everyone else laughed.

"No more showing identity cards every time we step outside!" someone else yelled.

"No more Poppies bossing us around!"

"No more Poppies telling us we don't deserve to eat!"

"No more Poppies!"

More laughter.

Luke could feel the edge of the Population Police insignia rubbing against his chest. If he told these people that he'd once been part of the Population Police, would they get upset? Would they believe him if he said he'd been the recruit in Chiutza who had maybe set off the whole overthrow of the government? Could he believe that himself? What if he told them he was a third child?

Am I still illegal? he wondered as he burrowed back into his corner of the truck bed.

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