And so they did. They sat down and talked and talked. First Amanda told what happened, then Peter, then Thibodeaux. Even Cindy told her version of what happened and about how brave she had been. After the children were through talking, Mr. Garvain, Miss Virginia, and Auntie Tina told their version of the events.

By then it was night. They were still sitting at the back table eating some hamburgers that one of the policemen had made when Amanda, Peter, and Cindy's moms arrived.

Melanie Wolinski and Aunt Janey ran into the diner. "I am never going to leave you alone again," said Melanie Wolinski as she hugged her children.

"Oh, Cindy. I am so sorry. I should have been there with you," said Aunt Janey.

"Hey, we did okay. We are tougher than we look," said Amanda.

"They sure are," said the cop.

Cindy saw Amanda looking at her. "And Amanda took care of me. She took care of me and Peter and Thibodeaux."

"You took care of them?" asked Melanie.

"Of course I did. They are my family," said Amanda.

"Hey, I took care of myself," said Thibodeaux.

"Yes, you did. You've got some skills," said Amanda.

"Whatever are you wearing?" asked Aunt Janey looking at Cindy, Amanda, and Peter who were all dressed like rappers.

"I lent them some of my clothing designs. They look pretty cool," said Thibodeaux.

Aunt Janey opened her mouth to say something and then stopped and said, "Why yes they do."

"I was so worried. You were all Peter and Cindy had and I know you don't...," said Melanie.

"Why were you worried? Why wouldn't I want to take care of them? I'm the oldest and they are my family," said Amanda.

"Hey, I did my part," said Peter.

"So, did I," said Cindy.

"You were both wonderful. I was very proud of you," said Amanda.

Melanie looked as though she could not believe what she was seeing. "But sometimes you don't...."

"This sure wasn't sometimes," said Thibodeaux.

"No it wasn't," said Melanie.

Melanie looked at Amanda with a surprised and proud look on her face; she did not say anything more about how Amanda did not like Peter and Cindy.

"But what did you eat? How did you survive?" asked Aunt Janey.

"A lot of stores had open doors. People must have just run away and not locked their doors. So we took food and batteries and stuff, but we always left a note about what we took. When the city is safe again, we need to go back to the stores where we were and pay for things. Is that okay, Mom?" asked Amanda.

"Of course it is. I am so glad you found food. Aunt Janey and I were so worried. We did not know if you were alive, if you were hurt, if you were scared," said Melanie.

Amanda hugged her mother. "We were okay. We were all okay."

"These are some very brave and smart kids," said Mr. Marcum.

"Yes they are, Miss Virginia and I are very impressed," said Mr. Garvain.

"We most certainly are," said Miss Virginia.

"But now we can go home and everything will be the same as it always was. All your new friends can come with us and we will camp out until you can return to your homes in the city. Aunt Janey and Cindy will also stay with us too until we know it is safe to return," Melanie said to Thibodeaux, Auntie Tina, Mr. Garvain, and Miss Virginia.

"We need to get home quickly. This poor woman is using a walker," said Aunt Janey.

"Thank you very much for your courtesy," said Mr. Garvain.

"We will be very grateful to be your guests, although I do want to return home as soon as possible. New York is my home," said Miss Virginia.

"Me too," said Cindy.

"Hey, I am just grateful to have any home that is not under water or covered in flour," said Thibodeaux.

"Well Harlem has been my home for all my life and I want to go back home right now. Will someone please drive that hearse back across the river?" said Auntie Tina.

No one answered her.

Amanda looked back across the river at the city they had just left and thought nothing would ever be the same. The city would come back, but she would never be the suburban girl she had been. None of them would. Even Cindy looked like a little adult as she stood hugging her mom. They were all different. Life would never be the same, even if they wanted it to be.

"We were the lucky ones," Amanda told Mr. Marcum.

"No, you were the smart ones," said Mr. Marcum.

"Yes, we were," said Amanda. "We did what we had to do; we figured it out."

The End TEEN Action Adventure Story Copyright 2011 by Wendy R. Williams First Kindle Original Edition, December 2011 ISBN # 978-0-9836672-1-6.

All rights reserved, including the right to reproduce or transmit this book or any part thereof by any means whatsoever, without written permission of the author, except where permitted by law.

Address story inquiries to: Wendy R. Williams Oval Concierge 276 First Avenue New York, New York 10009 bigappleposse@newyorkcool.com Address illustration inquiries to: essoclaffi@gmail.com http://www.esofii.com/ http://www.facebook.com/The.Big.Apple.Posse The Big Apple Posse Trilogy is dedicated to Megan, Justin and Chloe.

Table of Contents

Chapters:.

One.

Two.

Three.

Four.

Five.

Six.

Seven.

Eight.

Illustrations

by Sophie Escabasse

A They are found B The diner C Mr. Trudeau's home D Aunt Camille's home E The apartment F The game G Dinner H The concert I The parade J The dance studio K Getting dressed L The capture M The escape

Chapter I.

Amanda kicked the soccer ball toward the goal and saw him. He looked just like the others-the tall, blond men who terrorized New York City six months ago.

They had been found.

Amanda ran, away from the man, away from the trees, away from her fear, and towards Peter. It was only 3:30 p.m.; she was supposed to be at practice for another hour, but she couldn't stay. As her team raced down the field she peeled off, grabbed her backpack from the bleachers and raced into the middle school. She could hear her coach yelling, "Amanda, where are you going?"

Amanda bolted through the front entrance to her school, flashed her ID card, dashed past the guards and lied, "I have to go to the bathroom and there is a water leak in the field house."

"What water leak? No one reported a water leak," replied the guard.

"I'm reporting it." Amanda continued running down the hall towards the stairs to the computer lab.