Free The Impossible Race: Cragbridge Hall, Volume 3 by Chad Morris

wings after birds’ wings. Same principle. But Derick didn’t think about the science as he flew. It was more about the feeling.
    Out of nowhere two more falcons swooped down beside Derick and Rafa. Then another flew in a full loop while a final falcon dove through it. It took spectacular timing and grace, but they were all part of the Crash, the club of students that was the very best at avatars. They were used to doing the amazing.
    “Y’all started early,” one of the falcons said in a Southern drawl.
    “Hey, Malcolm,” Derick said. “I was just getting in some extra practice.”
    “Good,” a Latina responded. Maria. It had taken some practice, but now Derick could recognize everyone by voice. Of course, the robot animals themselves didn’t talk. He could hear the students’ voices because they had joined him and Rafa in the same room in the lab in their high-tech suits, harnessed to fly. “I think today’s the day,” Maria said.
    “The day for what?” Derick asked.
    “You’ll see,” another falcon said, flying in next to them. It was Piper. “Let’s go to the tower.” Piper flew out, leading the group.
    “Okay,” Derick submitted. “But Rafa and I have something important to ask all of you.”
    “Oh, really?” Malcolm answered, pulling out ahead of Derick and just to the side of Piper. “That’s really funny, because we’ve been asking you important questions for over a month now. And you’re always stalling.” They flew toward the center of the school.
    “Yeah,” Nia, another member of the Crash, agreed. “When are you going to tell us exactly what went on back in the lab?”
    “Um,” Derick stalled.
    “You know,” Piper said. “The day a bunch of soldiers invaded campus and an avatar bull tried to kill you. And somehow your grandfather, your parents, and four teachers ended up in comas. I’d think you’d remember something like that; I know I have a tough time trying to forget.”
    When things had looked the bleakest, Derick had called the Crash in to help and they had saved his life. Derick and Rafa had told them how Rafa’s mother was a key inventor of the avatars and that others had been after her. That part was true, but they hadn’t mentioned anything about the Bridge and the secret behind it. The Crash suspected Derick hadn’t told the whole story.
    “Ever since then, there’s a lot more security around this place,” Piper said. “Like the tower.” Usually the Watchman was the highest point of the school—a tower rising from the top of the commons building. But over the past month, security had built a steel tower and installed equipment meant to protect and control electronic transmissions and to strengthen their monitoring of the airspace. Each falcon landed on a beam near the top. It took Derick three tries; he kept missing and overcorrecting. Finally, he stood with his talons curled around the top of a beam nearly six stories in the air.
    “And like that guy,” Malcolm pointed a talon at a security officer standing on the corner of the roof of the building, looking down at the commons below. He was only one of many. A security bot rolled on its one wheel along the wall near the guard.
    “Have you finished the challenges I gave you?” Derick asked.
    “Some of them,” Nia said. “I studied George Washington for several hours yesterday, but I don’t see what he has to do with anything.”
    “The challenge is about having the same kind of character as great people in history before I can tell you the secret,” Derick said. “Plus, the secret’s not completely mine to tell. When my grandfather wakes up, he’ll know how to handle this. I’m just trying to get you ready.”
    The falcons all looked at each other. “The same answer,” Malcolm said. “My mama would tell me to find friends who don’t keep secrets from me.”
    “Actually, what I’m going to ask of you may help answer some of those questions,” Derick said.
    “It doesn’t sound like