Actually, to be honest, cacaphony stopped me. Because I wanted to stay with being a 8 year old boy who is on what he perceives as an adventure as well as an escape, and that made me think instantly: this an adult and not a child. Is it a memory? We're not told that in the story, but if it is a memory, and was set up like that (the well educated adult looking back on a time when he was a frightened little boy), then maybe I wouldn't have been jarred by it. And maybe then I would have had that sense of relief, knowing that everything did turn out well without you having to explain it further. But that would have, perhaps, broken your suspense had you not been careful about wording it. Not ever having been an 8 year old boy, I don't know how different it is for the guys than it might be for a gal, but the one time I thought about running away, I included 7 pairs of underwear, a couple of books (to read), emptied out my piggybank, and took some soup and a can opener. yup, soup. One thought I had after posted is whether or not you you considered having the child feel relief rather than excitement (relief at getting away for a night from abuse), have him not have a plan but simply trying to escape an intolerable situation, and acting instinctively, and finding comfort in another living thing that has had the same experience. Just like me putting in Tank made the reader anticipate I had something to say about Tank (which I didn't and so Tank became as mistake as written), putting the word "plan" in makes me a reader anticipate you'll tell about the plan. But I may very well be the only who had that reaction. Anyway, I did enjoy the story and I don't want to overthink it. It's hard to give feedback on a story without going over the edge and taking the story away from the writer, which is not my intent at all. It is your story and I find it interesting how the same plot point could be turned into two different directions (and I'm sure even more). :)