Kevin "Freak" Dillon is a 13-year-old boy who suffers Mucopolysaccharidosis IV, or Morquio syndrome. He is extremely intelligent and prone to flights of fancy, but is physically crippled and is forced to walk with crutches and a brace. Kevin and Max go to a local festival to watch fireworks for Fourth of July and get attacked by Blade and his gang. The two escape into a nearby lake with Kevin riding on Max's shoulders. Kevin then witnesses that same gang of teens putting someone's purse in a sewer later. Kevin goes and bangs on Max's window to get the purse.