by Sarah Biglow
Shrugging, I tugged my hair loose of its ponytail and weaved it into a braid over my shoulder. "So? How is that supposed to help us get out of here?”
“It might help us figure out what she wants with us,” Rosa answered.
Erin nodded and leaned forward on her elbows. "We know we all make people do weird things at school.”
“I don’t see how it’s going to help us figure out what is going on.” I kicked at the nearest leg of Erin’s bed. The lack of real information from our visitor soured my mood. Hunching my shoulders, I crossed my arms over my chest. “If Glaukos was so smart, he should have just told us what’s so special about us or how to get out.”
“Maybe he gave us a hint and we just missed it,” Erin said.
“What else could we do to get out of here? The bathroom didn’t work.”
Rose tapped her chin. “What if the next time she comes in, we all hit her with pillows?”
Erin let out a snort. “Seriously? That won’t do anything to her.”
“Except piss her off.” I couldn’t keep from laughing a little at the suggestion. Rosa’s face fell and her eyes shone with unshed tears. I hadn’t meant to offend her but the idea was more than a little stupid. I looked right at Rosa. “Besides, do you remember what it felt like the last time we tried to run? I’m not in any hurry to go through that again.”
“Whatever we decide, we need to get out together.” Erin stretched her legs out and got to her feet. She started to pace in the small space between me and the side of the bed.
“But if just one of us could get out, she could go to the police,” Rosa insisted.
“God only knows what she’d do to whoever she caught.” I shivered.
The conversation halted. The longer we sat there the more we’d just drive ourselves crazy going in circles. A change of focus was in order. ”So maybe we don’t focus on how to get out right now.” Erin and Rosa stared at me. “You two are right. We need to know what she’s keeping us here for. That seemed more important to Glaukos.”
Erin scratched the back of her neck, still wearing a worn path in the carpet. “Okay. Do you have any suggestions on how we figure that part out?”
Rosa scooted forward and opened her mouth before I could respond. "What if we let her tell us what to do until we figure out how our ... gifts work?"
I raised any eyebrow. “You think she’d let something slip if we cooperated?”
Rosa nodded. “Maybe she would give us a hint if she thought it would let her control us.”
“But what if we’re supposed to solve this on our own?” Erin stopped pacing and sunk back onto the bed.
“How?” Unwinding my legs, I pulled myself up to the edge of Erin’s bed. “It’s not like we have anything to help us research. My mom took my phone since I’m grounded and I doubt we’d even get Wi-Fi in here.”
"We could ask her. I really think she wants to tell someone what she is doing." Rosa turned so she faced the end of the bed.
There was no way our captor would be so forthcoming. "It can’t be that easy.” I raised my hands and used air quotes when I said, “No one gives an ‘Evil Speech of Evil’ in real life.” Both girls looked at me with blank expressions. “Never mind. The point is, if she told us everything and we got free, the cops would have all they needed to put her away.”
Erin held her hands up to stop an argument from breaking out. “Let’s not fight, okay? We need to stick together to get through whatever she’s got planned.”
Silence fell again and I finger-combed the patch of hair at the bottom of my braid. We were missing something obvious. I replayed our late-night conversation and it smacked me in the face. “That’s it!”
Rosa and Erin turned in unison. “What?”
My excitement bubbled over and I leapt to my feet, bouncing on the balls of my feet as I tried to put everything into words. “I’ve been trying to figure out what Glaukos was talking about. It did leave us a hint and we missed it but I get it now. We need to find books.”
“Huh?” Erin tilted her head and her brow creased. “How the hell did you come up with that from what it said?”
“Glaukos mentioned Athena, the Greek Goddess of Wisdom. My English teacher has a poster of her on the wall in his classroom and there’s lots of wisdom in books. I bet you Dr. Phillips has books that can tell us what is so special about us. I think I even saw a bookshelf in the room beyond this one.”
Rosa let out a huff. “But you just said we do not have any books or anything to research with.”
I broke out into a toothy grin and rubbed my hands together conspiratorially. “Not yet. But something tells me we’re closer to finding them than we think.” I wasn’t sure where this newfound confidence stemmed from but I grabbed hold and didn’t let go. If we were lucky we’d find a way to locate something useful without getting caught.
14
I woke up well before my alarm on Friday morning. Worrying about Abbie and what my father was up to had kept me up most of the night. My stepmother had been unusually quiet at dinner on Thursday night and she’d gone out late that night. As I got dressed, I considered whether I should tell Mr. McManus that our fears had been confirmed about Abbie’s disappearance. Then again, something told me the teacher probably knew already or would have checked for himself. After packing my backpack, I stopped in the kitchen to grab a couple granola bars from the cabinet. I barely had time to shove them in my bag before my father appeared and his aura flared around him, blinding me. Turning, I could just make him out standing in the dining room entrance. I blinked several times to clear my vision.
He stepped further into the kitchen. “I trust you are coming home right after school today?”
Shrugging, I shouldered my bag. “I guess so. Why?”
“We are having a dinner guest and I want you to meet them.”
I arched an eyebrow. “Who?”
“An old friend of mine.”
The look on his face didn’t betray any hint as to our mystery guest’s identity but I mentally made an educated guess. Deciding it was safer to stay in his good graces as long as possible, I nodded. “Okay. I’ll come right home.”
“Good.” He retreated back to the dining room.
I left the house and sped off toward school. If I was lucky, I could catch Mr. McManus before first period and we could start formulating a plan to get Abbie back. This was my fault for not being straight with her before she was taken. If only I’d told her about my connection to her shrink or given her a real warning when I’d actually had the chance during our brief Facebook chats. I needed to make it right. Shaking my head and braking to a stop in the school parking lot, I realized “if only”s weren’t going to get Abbie back.
An empty English classroom thwarted my plan to strategize before school started. By the time English rolled around that afternoon, my anxiety was through the roof. Mr. McManus handed back an old assignment and there was a sticky note on the top of my paper. “See me after class.” Stowing the assignment without looking at the grade, a hopeful spark ignited in my chest. Surely the note related to Abbie’s situation and not the assignment itself. We spent the period reviewing for the final exam the following week. With a pang, I realized there was a possibility Abbie wouldn’t be taking the test with us. The bell blared and the rest of the class dispersed. Ignoring the curious looks from my classmates, I stayed put. Finally, when the last student had shuffled out, Mr. McManus approached. “I have a message for you.”
“From who?” My pulse sped up.
Mr. McManus sat down in the seat to my right. “Abbie.” I started to speak but he held up a hand to keep me quiet. “She wants you to know she’s alive and that you were right. I’m not sure what the last part means.”
My heart plummeted to my stomach. “I do.” Anger took over and I slammed a fist on the edge of the desk. I ignored the pain. “And I hate that I was. I should have told her more than I did. I just didn’t want to scare her or make her think I was nuts and have her never
talk to me again.”
“Warning her wasn’t your job, Liam.”
“I still feel like I let her down.” Rotating in the seat, I faced Mr. McManus head on. ”You said you saw her. Where is she? How is she really?”
“I’m afraid there are some things I can’t share. But she is all right for now and she’s not alone. Your father seems to be starting a … collection.” Mr. McManus shuddered at the last word. “There were two other girls with her, girls like her.”
I bit my lower lip until I drew blood. “What are you doing to save her then?”
“I am working with a few others like me but we can’t simply go to the police and make accusations. Your father will have prepared for that.”
Fiddling with my backpack strap, I couldn’t dispel the helpless feeling wrapping itself around me. Mr. McManus’s words were just excuses. I let out a breath and decided to change the subject. “My father is having someone over tonight. I think I know who it is. Do you know a man named Rhys Holden?”
Mr. McManus paled. “By reputation only. If your father is enlisting his help in his plans then the situation is more dangerous than we thought.”
“I’ll spy if I can.” I stood up. “If you see Abbie again, tell her I’m sorry I didn’t warn her better.”
The teacher smiled sadly. “I haven’t been used as a literal messenger in a long time. I will do what I can.”
“Thanks.” Heading for my last class, I clung to the knowledge that Abbie was alive. I needed to be prepared for whatever came at dinner that night. If Mr. Holden was as formidable as everyone thought, I couldn’t let anything slip. So I would be the spy. I needed more information about what was happening and I’d find it one way or another. Even if people didn’t want to share the details they already knew.
15
Most of Friday morning and early afternoon consisted of lying on top of the covers trying not to pay attention to my overly full bladder. The other girls had retreated to their beds as well and there’d been no more discussion about our research plans. I’d tried to doze off—curious about whether another dream might surface—but sleep eluded me. Rolling onto my side, I decided to fill my friends in on the strange dreams. “Hey guys—”
The hidden door opened and Erin and Rosa both bolted from their beds to crowd around me. Dr. Phillips appeared and held out blindfolds. Launching myself off the bed, I grabbed one and tied it hastily over my eyes. She took my hand and led me out of the room. Only counting two sets of footsteps, I assumed our joint trips to the bathroom were over.
Ten minutes later, all three of us had relieved ourselves and were once more sitting side by side on my bed. Dr. Phillips stepped out of the room long enough for me to confirm at least two sets of tall bookshelves in the room beyond our cramped quarters. I’d been right. The doctor returned and set down a collapsible keyboard stand and a sheet music stand in the middle of the room. Her second trip yielded a violin and an electronic keyboard. Next came three folding metal chairs and a piano bench. She placed a blank pad of paper and a pen on one of the chairs. Glancing from Rosa to Erin, I gestured at the growing collection in the middle of the room. “What is she doing?”
Erin and Rosa shrugged as Dr. Phillips made one final trip, wheeling in a small organ. Our captor gave us a full-lipped smile. "I hope you slept well last night."
I bit my tongue to keep from letting something rude and sarcastic slip. We needed to placate Dr. Phillips. So, forcing a smile, I nodded in answer to her question. The doctor’s shoulders relaxed a little. "Good. Come sit down." She patted the chairs next to her.
No one moved. The door to the outer room remained open—a temptation, perhaps, or a test. Either way, I couldn’t keep my attention from drifting to the tall bookcases that likely held the answer to one of our problems.
The doctor settled into one of the folding chairs. "It's okay, girls. You can sit down. I promise it's all right."
I crossed my arms over my chest. "You swear?"
"Of course, Abbie."
I turned first to Erin and then to Rosa. They nodded toward the chairs in silent agreement. We could get through this. We might even score another meager meal if we played along. Erin took up residence on the chair to Dr. Phillips’s right while Rosa claimed the third folding chair in front of the organ. I took a seat on the piano bench. Our captor balanced the pad of paper on one knee and tapped the pen against her leg.
Erin wet her lips and turned to face Dr. Phillips. “What are we doing?”
“We’re going to work on a little project.” She leaned forward as if filling us in on a secret. “You girls are very special. More than you could ever imagine. You have amazing gifts and I want you to use them.”
“What kind of gifts?” Rosa asked.
Dr. Phillips looked at each of us in turn. “You can all make things happen. Like all those times at school that you told me about. You three are more alike than you realize and I know deep down you know how you make things happen.” She focused on me. “We talked about the trigger in our session. Remember? ”
I barely stifled a snort of disbelief. Rosa had been right; Dr. Phillips did want to fill us in on her secret plans. Chewing my lower lip in thought, I leaned back against the edge of the keyboard. “Oh. You want us to hum. I’ve never made anything happen with an adult before. It’s always been kids in class.” Good thing I’d kept quiet about that time in the car with Mom.
“I have not either,” Rosa added.
Dr. Phillips waved her hand in a dismissive gesture before Erin could contribute. “Don’t worry. I’m sure that won’t be a problem.”
“So what’s the project exactly?” Erin scooted closer in her chair.
“We’re going to write a play.” The doctor’s eyes went wide with excitement and light from the bare bulb overhead reflected in them. “Let’s just say it’s always been an ambition of mine to be a playwright. Something the ancient Greeks did. Did you know they had people help them write their plays too? Just like you, girls.”
“You could have just asked us to help. You don’t have to keep us here.” It slipped out before I could stop myself.
Her smile faltered and heat crept up the back of my neck. I’d pissed her off and now hell was about to rain down on us.
Erin grabbed the woman’s wrist so she no longer focused on me. “Where do we start?”
Dr. Phillips exhaled slowly through her nose and ran her free hand through her hair. She smiled again but her shoulders remained stiff. “We will start with Rosalia. I want to start with the dialogue. Then we’ll move on to the musical portions.”
Erin released her grip on Dr. Phillips’s wrist. “What should we do then?”
“Why don’t you and Abbie play us some music? I know Abbie plays piano. And you said you like to play the organ.” Dr. Phillips nodded at the instruments.
Erin vacated the chair beside Dr. Phillips and swapped seats with Rosa. I turned to face the keyboard but didn’t play. Stomach churning, my arms went into spasms like the day Erin joined us. I swallowed twice to keep down the bile rising in my throat and focused on the keyboard. I just hoped going along with the play would be worth the discomfort. I started playing a song I’d been composing before the suspension and life spun out of control.
Erin rolled back the key cover up on the organ and leaned in so no one else could hear. “I thought we agreed to cooperate.”
I paused mid-song. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to. It just came out.”
“She knows what makes us special and the more we give her what she wants the better shot we have of getting her to spill.”
I nodded. “I know. It won’t happen again.” Resuming the song at a softer volume, I caught snippets of the tune Rosa hummed. It sounded like a lullaby. “What’s going on? What is she doing?”
Erin looked over her left shoulder. “They moved away a little bit. Rosa’s humming and Dr. Phillips is writing something in her notepad.” Erin gasped and turned back to face the organ.
I increase
d the volume on the keyboard settings to cover our conversation. “What’s wrong?”
Erin shook her head and rested her hands in her lap. “I don’t know how to describe it but … it looks like Rosa is glowing.”
Pivoting on the bench to get a better look, I stopped when Dr. Phillips looked up. “Keep playing, girls.”
I nudged Erin in the ribs. “Play something.”
Erin wiped her hands on her thighs. “I don’t know what to play.”
“Play scales. It doesn’t matter. Just play. We don’t want to make her mad.”
Erin placed her hands on the organ’s keys and started to pick out a tune. I stayed put to watch the doctor work. Soon, the tiny room filled with the soft tune Rosa hummed and Erin’s counterpoint. Dr. Phillips bent further over the notepad and scribbled in even tighter scrawl. There was no way I could decipher any of the notes. Glancing at Rosa, I noted her pale cheeks and cracked lips. She gripped the edges of the chair so tightly that her hands drained of color. I could almost see a haze around her but it could have been the backlight from the room with the bookshelves.
“What’s she doing now?” Erin whispered while she kept playing.
“She’s still writing. It’s like she can’t stop.”
“Can I stop now?” Rosa gasped for air.
Dr. Phillips dropped the pen at the interruption and narrowed her eyes at Rosa. She bent over and scooped it up from the floor. “Just a few more minutes. I want to finish this part.” No please or thank you, just a command.
Rosa began to sway in the chair and her eyelids drooped. “I’m thirsty. Please, I need a break.”
Dr. Phillips let out a short huff and leaned in so she towered over Rosa. “You can last one more minute.”
Rosa shrunk back into her seat but complied and the doctor turned her attention back to the pad in her lap. It was only a matter of time until I would be in Rosa’s position. My mouth went dry at the thought. I prayed we would figure out what she was really after and make a break for it before it was my turn. Finally, Dr. Phillips’s hand went slack and she sat back against the chair. Her face was flushed and sweat beaded on her forehead. “Very good, girls. This is more than I expected on our first try.” She gathered pen and paper and stood up. We’ll continue later.”