With a boom, all the children in the truck bed jumped. Someone covered their ears and said, "Was that thunder? But why is the ground shaking too?"
"What ground? Aren't you standing in a truck?" someone pointed out. One of the older children stomped on the floor and said, "I think the truck started..."
"Started? But wasn't this truck broken? How can it start?" someone asked. Nearby, Six-Fingered Big Sister was arranging the blankets. "Quiet down. If you've got nothing to do, go to sleep. Those of you over there, squeeze inward and leave some room. Don't take up the whole truck..."
Seeing that she looked upset, no one dared make another sound. After a while, Bruce climbed into the truck and said, "I just fixed it. Maybe later, we can drive somewhere else and look around."
The children stared at him wide-eyed. Some of them seemed to understand something, but they did not discuss it. Instead, they asked Bruce, "How's Boss Jason? Is he okay?"
"He's fine. No fever, and the wound isn't infected. He's recovering well." Bruce climbed back down and looked over his shoulder. "I need to check on him. If the truck starts moving later, don't panic. Hold on tight."
After he left, the atmosphere in the truck bed fell silent. Several older children gathered together, and Six-Fingered Big Sister said, "I knew it. Jason was definitely going to do this. He must want to drive out and save people..."
One Black boy said, "If I run into that bastard Wes, I definitely won't save him. I'll kick him straight into a mud puddle!"
Another girl snorted. "We're always the ones showing kindness. Why are those useless idiots so helpless? I've never seen them come save us even once!"
Six-Fingered Big Sister swept back her long