In Chattanooga, A Choice

Joan Garrett: For days he lived in the background of the train yard, hiding behind boxcars and lingering near brushy areas within view of the tracks.

Nails is a veteran among the traveling kids. Still, he hates waiting for the freight trains to come, sitting quiet and sober for hours on end, listening for rumbling down the steel rails.

Then he hears it, the engine, the whistle coming. He struggles off the ground and gets ready.

He throws his heavy backpack over his shoulder and puts a strong hand on his dog, Dante. He tells his traveling partner, a girl with dirty clothes and fire-red hair, to move.

As the train slows, he eyes the metal ladder outside of the engine unit.