The Relentless Pursuit

"What do we do next?" Anya Corazon asked, looking completely bewildered.

When it came to serious matters, Cathy Weber thought carefully about how to wrap up what had happened today. "We'll get off at Grand Central Terminal. There are the most station guards there. We'll report this directly and ask the police to protect us."

"No!" Anya Corazon shook her head like a rattle drum, desperately rejecting the suggestion.

"Why not?" Marty Franklin's first choice had actually been to call the police too.

Even with the issue of skin color, having police protection at a time like this was better than traveling with these strange people and then getting chased for no reason. But Anya Corazon's situation was different from the others'. She simply refused, firmly, to go to the police. "If you want to find the police, leave me behind. Don't mention anything about me."

"Okay, calm down." Seeing how agitated the girl was, Cathy Weber relented and asked, "What about your parents? Is there any way to contact them?"

The Black girl beside her gave her a strange look and suddenly asked, "Your family isn't made up of illegal immigrants, is it?"

"What does that have to do with you?" Anya Corazon snapped back.

Marty Franklin had no desire to argue with someone like her. She raised both hands in surrender and took a step back. "You don't want to call the police, fine. Once we get off, we'll go our separate ways. You figure out how to save your own life, and I'll find the police. Deal?"

Faced with the disagreement within the group, Cathy Weber could only think of another solution. "If you don't have anywhere to go for now, I can take you to Poughkeepsie. I know a church there. The nuns can protect you