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.Kale,Please cover for me.Mitch called asking me to meet him at Hillside Cemetery.He said it was important.Please don’t be mad.I had to go.I’ll be back soon.Love, JenI felt my stomach drop.He had gotten to her before I could warn her.I had to find the others to let them know.Running down the hall, I took the main staircase to the first floor.I shouted for the others, but no one answered.I searched the East Wing with no luck either.I could be here for hours looking for them, and there was no time.I dashed up the stairs to my room and changed out of my nightshirt into regular clothes.Running back to Kale’s room, I flipped Jen’s note over and scribbled a note of my own.Kale,Gone to find Jen.She’s in danger.I hope you find this.AzI wrote the word over and drew an arrow pointing to Jen’s note with the hope that Kale would find us.It was possible, if he found the note in time, he could beat me there.Outside the castle, it was extremely bright for the late hour.I was able to find my way to the small fishing boat with ease.I remembered everything Gage had told me that day at the marina.Starting it was no problem.It was figuring out where I was going–that was the challenge.The tiny engine roared to life.Earlier in the evening, I had watched the sun set behind the castle.I knew if I went in the opposite direction, it would lead me to land.I was full of confidence, until I noticed that the castle had disappeared in the background, and I was now completely surrounded by water.After several hours, I realized I had sadly misjudged my abilities to get to shore.The sea was merciless, and the waves became heavy–crashing against the boat.I killed the engine, saving what little fuel I had left.I decided to wait for dawn to break.Maybe I would have a better chance when daylight came of finding land.Even that too seemed hopeless, but I had to try.I lay down on the floorboard of the boat, looking up at the stars that were swiftly vanishing from the sky.I waited for the sun to make its way over the horizon.But when it did, I didn’t get up.The more I thought about it, the more impossible it seemed.Even with the sun, there was nothing but ocean.I would never make it to land in time….I would never make it to Jen in time.Rolling to my side, I pulled my knees to my chest.My stomach rumbled with hunger, and I wonder what would kill me first… the ocean or starvation.A flock of seagulls flew above me, squawking loudly as they headed out to sea for their morning feast.I envied them as my stomach grumbled again.But as I lay there, I became aware that the hope I had clung to, was completely gone.Another flock of seagulls flew above me.They were graceful, and I thought how freeing it must be to soar through the sky.Suddenly a memory it hit me….I remembered Gage had told me about the birds when he had taken me out in the boat.They flew out in the morning to catch fish, and then they would fly back to land in the evening.I jumped to my feet, looking in the direction that they had come from.I squinted my eyes and could see a landmass far off in the distance.It took a couple of tries to get the boat started, but luckily it did.I plowed through the waves, heading towards the land.It was far enough away to make me worry about the fuel, but I tried to push that thought out of my mind and focus on getting there.I felt relief when I got close enough–if I had to–I could swim to make it.It was a sandy shore, and there was nowhere to dock.I drove along the shoreline, my hand hitting the steering wheel repeatedly with impatience.Finally, I drove up to a remote home that sat on a hill in front of the beach.There was a long dock that led out to the water.The boat bounced off the dock as I jumped out.The hunger I felt earlier had been replaced with adrenaline.I ran at full speed up the hill to the house.I wasn’t sure where I was and needed help.Trying to keep low key, I knocked on the door softly instead of banging on it like I wanted to [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]