Chapter Text
Summer, 1965
Luke didn’t remember much of his childhood, and maybe that was for the best. His clearest memories were of a boarding school and hating it there. He had been eleven when a group of boys his age said they were leaving. Scared as he was, Luke decided to go with them. Almost half his life had been spent within the walls of the school or in the fenced in area they were permitted to play in, and he wanted out. If one thought spurred him on more than any other, it was the memory of a man chasing the car that had taken him away. He couldn’t remember the man’s face, but he knew who he was. Luke had a family out there, and he wanted to see them again.
On one late summer night, they made their escape. Five boys, two Nez Perce named Thomas and Charles, Jack who was Blackfoot, Nathaniel, a Lemhi Shoshone, and finally Luke, who just so happened to be the youngest one there. Thomas was the oldest and had been planning to get out the longest. Jack on the other hand, had escaped the most, and between the two of them had come up with a way to get out. Charles was basically dragged into because Thomas refused to leave him behind. The twelve-year-old had been there for three years and could still only speak broken English. He had gotten hit several times for slipping into his native tongue while speaking to a teacher. Nathaniel was probably the most eager to leave, which surprised Luke. Nathaniel was the smartest kid in his class and was actually praised by his teachers. He was the reason Luke even knew about them leaving.
When Luke asked why the older boy had asked him out of all the other kids, Nathan replied, “Because we’re both Shoshone. We have to stick together.”
Luke didn’t remember much about their great escape, just that his hands were shaking he was so nervous. What would happen if they were caught? He had seen Jack get dragged back once or twice, and he always looked badly bruised. He gripped the bag that held his meager belongings tighter. No, he had to do this, if only to see the man who had chased the car that took him away. They sneaked out the window, into the yard, and crawled along the ground to the fence. Jack knew where it was easiest to lift, and slide under. While crawling under the fence, the back of Luke’s shirt got caught and he began to panic, until Nathan tugged his shirt loose.
Once there were no more walls or fences in the way, the boys took off running through the field till they got to the road.
“What now?” Nathan asked.
Thomas looked at Jack, and Jack nodded towards the west. “Train tracks a mile that way. We wait for the next freight going north.”
North, Luke thought. Was that where he was supposed to be headed? The last thing he wanted was to move farther away from his family. After glancing around at the others, he figured he didn’t have much of a choice.
After twenty or so minutes of walking, and mostly tripping in the dark, they made it to the tracks. Standing in the middle, one could see for miles but not a single train shook the rails. They sat together on the rail ties and talked.
“Have you ever gotten this far, Jack?” Nathaniel asked.
“Jacy,” Jack said.
“What?”
“My name’s Jacy. My real one anyway. They made me change it. And no, I’ve never made it this far. Usually, they’re right on my tail when the tracks come into view.”
Luke glanced over his shoulder at where the school was. Did their teachers know they were missing yet? He wished the train would hurry.
“Where are you guys headed once we’re home free?” Jacy asked.
“Where do you think?” Thomas replied.
“You can’t go home,” Jacy said. “That’s the first place they’ll look for you.”
Luke didn’t like the sound of that. It made them sound like criminals.
“I don’t care,” Thomas said. “They can’t take me from there again. The only reason my parents agreed to me going to school, was that I could come back for the summer. Seven years,” he muttered. “Seven years and not one summer with them. My grandma was sick when I left. She might not even be alive anymore. I don’t care if they come for me. I’m going home. And I’m taking Espowyes with me.”
Charles looked at Thomas when he said this, and whispered something that Luke couldn’t understand. Thomas replied in the same language, and then Charles said in English- “I go too.”
“Espowyes,” Jacy repeated.
“Yeah,” Thomas replied. “And I’m Chuslum Moxmox, if I’m pronouncing it right. It means Yellow Bull. My great grandfather had a similar name.”
Luke looked around at the older boys. They all seemed to have a second name, not including Nathan. Luke had been about to ask him if Shoshone just didn’t give their kids traditional names, but all of the sudden the rails began to quake.
“That’s it!” Jacy cried, jumping to his feet, and getting the hell off the tracks.
It took a while for the train to get to them, but once it drew closer, Luke became aware of how fast it was actually going.
“How are we gonna get on?” Nathaniel said, voicing all of their concerns.
“Run and jump,” Jacy cried, as the train roared closer. “If you don’t want to, then stay here.”
Fear almost made Luke freeze up. The train came barreling at them through the darkness like some terrible beast with one glowing yellow eye.
“Luke, come on!”
Luke turned and saw Nathaniel pulling on his arms. The other boys were already running along the tracks, to build up speed. Without a second thought, Luke followed. The fear of being left behind greatly outweighed the fear of the train. The ground seemed to shake beneath him as the train plowed along beside them.
Jacy had already jumped into an open rail car. Whether he somehow opened it himself or if it was already opened, Luke would never know. Thomas, or Yellow Bull, was onboard next, but immediately turned around to help Charles… Luke had forgotten his other name. Nathan leaped onto the train with ease, leaving only Luke on the ground. Now that he was alone, the train seemed to be moving faster, in fact Luke was sure it was picking up speed. He ran faster but felt himself growing tired. He wasn’t going to make it.
“Luke, come on!” Nathan shouted. The older boy stretched out his hand.
With one last burst of energy, Luke managed to catch the boy’s hand, just as his legs gave out. His knees hit the rocks as he was dragged along. Someone else must have helped pull him onto the car, because Luke was sure he himself had been no help. Breathing hard, and with tears on his pants and shoes, but he was otherwise unharmed. He tried to gasp out a ‘thank you’, but instead collapsed on the floor near the far wall. The night was not yet half over and already, he was too tired to remain awake. Darkness surrounded him, and he drifted off to sleep.
+
Luke awoke to the sound of the train horn bellowing, but it didn’t startle him. He opened his eyes slowly and looked around. The train car he was in was empty with the exception of the four other boys. They lounged around, some leaning against the walls, others asleep on the floor. Luke set up and pulled his knees to his chest. With the door now shut- he wasn’t sure who closed it- he felt just as isolated from the rest of the world as he did before. The air was getting stuffier by the minute and soon he couldn’t take it anymore. Should he open the door? Was he allowed to? He wasn’t in school anymore, but what about the others? Did they care? Would they be mad he tried?
He was saved from having to make any decisions himself by Jacy waking up. The older boy stretched and yawned loudly. “Who shut this door?” he said, standing up.
“I did,” Yellow Bull replied. “We got cold with the wind blowing in last night.” By ‘we’ he must have meant him and Charles- darn, he still couldn’t remember that kid’s other name.
“Well, it's not night anymore.” He grabbed the door and pulled it open.
The sunlight came pouring in, but as soon as Luke could see out, he gasped.
The wide-open Nevada desert sprawled out before them, with the mountains towering behind. Each of the boys stared on in awe, but Luke leaped to his feet, any sign of weariness gone.
“Home,” he said softly.
“What?”
Luke looked at his fellow escapees. “I live over there,” he said, pointing at the mountains in the distance.
“Where?” That was Nathaniel.
“Just out there.”
“No address? No street? Just desert?”
“What were you raised by coyotes?” Jacy added in a mocking tone.
“We have a house,” Luke replied. “I just don’t know where.” He looked longing upon the mountains. He knew them. He knew he belonged there.
“Then let’s get off at the next stop and see if there’s a reservation nearby. If you’re from around here then that’s where your family will be,” Yellow Bull said.
It was a sound plan, but the mountains kept calling. What if the train didn’t stop soon? What if they stopped further away from home than he started? He knew the risks, but his heart wouldn’t let him alone till he followed it. In a moment he made a decision and the next he was moving. He heard someone shout his name, but it was too late. Limbs flailing and the world turned to a blur. He hit the ground hard and rolled to a stop. His legs felt like they were hit with a hammer, and he could have sworn his back was shredded to a million pieces. He had felt it in his jaw, but he was off the train. He staggered to his feet, still shaken.
“Luke!” someone shouted.
Luke looked at the train just as someone threw out his bag he had left behind.
“Good luck, kid!” someone shouted, and he could have sworn it was Jacy.
Luke smile and waved as the train traveled further down the tracks, then went to collect his things. He hoped that wherever his friends were going, they got there. He didn’t wonder too long on if he would ever see them again. That thought was too sad for him. Right now, he wanted to be happy. He stood straight and tall as he looked out across the desert with a smile. But the longer he looked the more his smile began to fade.
Suddenly, the world seemed so huge. With the train long gone down the tracks, he realized how alone he truly was. He tried to remind himself that this was the same place, or general area, that he had lived in before, that this was where he belonged, but five years at that school had taken more than his family away. For years he had wanted out of its stone walls and high fences, but now with the world before him, and no one to stop him, Luke was terrified.