Free Cragbridge Hall, Book One: The Inventor's Secret by Chad Morris Page B

answered, pulling out a shirt and then a pair of khaki pants. “I don’t know how they trapped us here, but I know this is dangerous—not just for us, but for everyone, everywhere. Our only hope is that those with the lockets will discover us, and for that to happen, we have to get up on the deck where they are most likely to search for us.” He changed into the shirt from the suitcase.
    “Do you think our kidnappers found our lockets?” she asked, a quiver in her voice.
    “No,” Jefferson responded. “We were smart to hide them where we did.”
    “But even for the others that have them, the lockets probably haven’t even—”
    “They will soon,” he interrupted.
    Hailey finally surrendered and looked in the woman’s suitcase on the other side of the room. After pulling out a simple dress, she asked, “What about your dad? Do you think he’s okay?”
    “He’s safe, if that’s what you mean,” he answered, now buttoning a pair of pants. “But I’m sure they’re holding us here as collateral. If he wants to save us, he’ll have to tell them his secret.”
    “There’s no chance he’d do that.”
    “No,” he said, folding his old clothes. He paused for a moment, “Not even to save us. Though it will rip at his heart, there is too much on the line.”
    Hailey, now wearing the dress and holding her nightgown, looked back at him. He could tell she was thinking. “Jeff?”
    “Just a moment,” he said. “Let’s get out of this room first.” They put the suitcases back exactly how they found them and left the cabin, locking the door behind them. With a little luck, the owners wouldn’t even realize their clothes were missing, or they’d think they had just forgotten to pack that dress or that shirt. Then again, unless the owners were going to wear the clothes very soon, it didn’t really matter.
    As they climbed the stairs, Hailey began again, “But there are others with lockets. They could follow the clues to save us.”
    “Yes. And that’s what we have to hope for. But they’d have to work fast and—against all odds—find out where we are. It’s our only chance, and it’s a long shot.”
    “The twins have lockets.”
    Abby’s father didn’t speak until after they emerged onto one of the decks of the ship. He leaned on the railing and spoke softly. “For them to figure everything out and face all the challenges needed to reach us would take everything they have,” he admitted. “And there are obviously those who would try to stop them. Whoever these guys are, they won’t give in easily. I’m not sure Derick and Abby stand much of a chance. They probably have no idea how much is at stake or how much their lives are about to change.” He dropped his pajamas over the edge of the ship.
    His wife looked down at the ship’s sleek floorboards. “How much time do we have?”
    “Two and a half days, and then ...” He didn’t finish the thought; he didn’t have to. They both knew that they, along with over a thousand others, would be dead. He grabbed his wife’s nightgown from her hand, threw it over the railing, and watched it fall into the ocean.
    • • •
    After Abby received her school-issued gold-colored T-shirt and blue shorts with gold trim, she found a locker. She changed and stepped into the largest room she had ever seen. It was like several gymnasiums combined. Most of the room looked like a regular gym. The south wall, however, did not. It was a mountain. Trees sprouted out sporadically along the rocky terrain, and stone steps carved a trail up the face.
    As Abby gazed in awe at the gymnasium, she heard a voice. “Hey there.”
    Abby turned to see a smiling blonde girl—Carol from English who had imagined a buffalo with an afro in a tutu. She used the vast majority of her arm to give an enthusiastic wave to Abby.
    “Hey,” Abby answered simply.
    “Sorry about Ms. Entrese. It was mean of her to suggest that you think about secrets. I couldn’t tell what they