Free The Crystal Code by Richard Newsome

back—gasps came from the others—but he didn’t strike. ‘We’ll see,’ he said.
    Gerald swallowed. Felicity was still at the head of their group. Gerald pulled himself away from the peephole and leaned forward to tap her on the shoulder. He pointed further up the corridor and she nodded. They moved off, painfully aware of the sound of their feet on the floor.
    They gathered at the end of the passage, inside a set of swinging doors. ‘This must be the kitchen,’ Gerald whispered. ‘Stick close.’
    He eased one of the doors open and poked his head through. It was just as Mr Fry had described. The door to the drying room was open at the far end: jackets and ski suits hung on pegs, and boots were lined up on racks.
    â€˜Come on,’ Gerald said over his shoulder. ‘Grab some gear and let’s get to this cottage.’ He channelled everyone into the drying room, and pulled the door shut behind them.
    Gerald, Sam, Ox and Felicity quickly had jackets, snow pants and boots on. But Ruby and Alisha’s gowns were causing a problem. ‘We can’t just pull pants over these,’ Ruby said.
    Gerald was peeking through a crack in the door back into the kitchen. ‘Then take them off,’ he whispered back.
    Ruby glared at the back of his head. ‘There is no way I am getting undressed in front of you.’ She turned to look at Alisha and found that she had already unwound her sari into a bundle on the floor and was pulling a ski suit over the thermal shorts and T-shirt that she had been wearing underneath.
    Alisha glanced up at her. ‘I always wear these in winter,’ she shrugged. ‘I’d freeze my butt off otherwise.’
    â€˜Great,’ Ruby muttered.
    â€˜Oh, get on with it, Ruby,’ Sam hissed. ‘No one cares about your undies.’
    â€˜Look the other way,’ Ruby said. Gerald rolled his eyes and turned back to peek into the kitchen. Sam and Ox readied themselves by the door to the garden.
    Gerald heard the sound of a zip, followed by the rustling of material. After a moment Ruby breathed, ‘Okay, I’m done.’ He turned to find her dressed in a red ski jacket, and lacing on rugged hiking boots. Alisha had folded her sari into a neat parcel that she slipped inside her ski suit.
    â€˜Can’t we just phone someone?’ Felicity asked, pulling ear warmers onto her head. ‘Call 911 or something.’
    â€˜There aren’t any phones here,’ Gerald said. ‘It’s too remote. Mr Fry said something about a satellite phone for emergencies but I have no idea where it is.’
    â€˜The helicopter!’ said Alisha. Everyone turned to her. ‘We could use the chopper.’
    â€˜And you’re going to fly it, are you?’ Ox said.
    Alisha shot him a filthy look. ‘There’s a radio in it,’ she said. ‘Foolish boy.’
    â€˜Actually, I’ve been taking flying lessons through my school’s aero club,’ Gerald said, ‘but I wouldn’t know where to start in a helicopter.’
    Sam looked at him. ‘Your school has an aero club? Just how posh is that place?’
    â€˜Pretty posh, I guess. But Alisha is right. We could radio for help from the hangar. I should be able to do that.’
    Ox zipped his jacket to the chin and led the way outside. Gerald and Alisha were last through the door.
    â€˜Ruby’s cost us some time,’ Gerald grumbled as they ducked into the night. ‘Was it really so shocking to see her in her undies?’
    â€˜Girls should be modest,’ Alisha said. ‘You never know when someone is going to grab you for a sly squeeze especially when the lights go out.’
    Gerald almost throttled himself on a low hanging clothesline at the edge of the garden.
    It was blowing a blizzard outside. A frigid wind sliced through them like a razor, driving snow in thick flurries before it. Gerald pulled a beanie from his pocket