by Rose Pressey
Meredith smiled at me. Then she reached out and grabbed the book from my arms. Ron shoved me to the ground and they both ran off.
Mary Jane and Grandma Imelda had turned their backs to look at the house. They didn’t even realize that Meredith and Ron had taken the book from me.
“Elly?” Grandma Imelda called out.
“I’m down here.” I stumbled to my feet as Grandma Imelda and Mary Jane ran over.
“Are you okay?” Mary Jane asked.
Grandma Imelda touched my arm. “Nothing seems to be broken.”
“They got the book,” I said. “You two go in and check to see if anyone is in the house. I’m going after the book.” I took off running in the direction Meredith and Ron had disappeared in.
“Elly, you can’t go by yourself,” Grandma Imelda called out.
I didn’t stop. I just hoped that Mary Jane and Grandma Imelda did as I asked them to. I didn’t want them to follow me.
I focused on the area in front of me. I didn’t want to fall. The ground was uneven and there were a lot of fallen branches on the ground. The trees blanketed the area in darkness. The occasional ray of sunshine peeked through the tree branches.
I hadn’t made it far when I spotted Meredith and Ron up ahead. They weren’t even running and as far as I could tell they didn’t know that I was behind them. I slowed down.
Fallen branches snapped under my feet and they immediately looked my way. What had I been thinking? There were two of them and one of me. I wouldn’t be able to get the book from Meredith and they looked as if they wanted to kill me. Now I had no choice but to turn around and run away. I had to make it back to the car.
I took off and ran as fast as I could. My lungs and legs burned. I panted for air. It was hard to see where I was going. I couldn’t slow down to look back and see how close they were.
I took one more step and my leg twisted. I fell to the ground with a thud. My face landed in leaves and other debris. I was in trouble now. There was no way I could get away from them. I tried to get up, but the next thing I knew there was a hand wrapped around my leg. Ron had a hold on me. He pulled me and I slipped across the damp earth. The smell of moss and earth filled my nose. What was he going to do to me?
Chapter 28
Meredith stopped behind him with a smirk on her face. She still had the book in her arms.
“Take care of her,” she snapped.
My stomach twisted. What did she mean by that? I was sure it meant bad news for me.
Ron pulled me to my feet. “Get up.”
I stumbled as he pulled on my arm. Meredith took off at a quick pace. She was leaving with the book and I knew I would probably never see it again. Now I was worried that I would never see Grandma Imelda or Mary Jane again either. I should have never left them.
It was too late to think about that though. There was nothing I could do to change what had happened.
Ron’s eyes narrowed and an evil smile spread across his face. He tightened his grip on my arm and led me through the trees, further away from the house. I hoped that Mary Jane or Grandma Imelda didn’t come to look for me. I didn’t want Ron to get them too. Where was he taking me? What would he do to me? What I couldn’t do right now was give up. I had to try to get away from him.
I knew that I couldn’t go back to the house if I got away. Ron would chase after me and I didn’t want him to be anywhere near Mary Jane and Grandma Imelda. But if I got away, would he just go there to look for me anyway? Maybe I did need to go back to the house so that I could make sure that they were okay. If I could get back to the car then we could drive off. I wondered if they had found Rory, Tom or Reagan.
“You didn’t think you would get away with the book, did you?” Ron said as he pulled me along.
I didn’t answer him. There was no way I wanted to speak to him.
He turned me to the left and guided me down a path. We’d gone quite a distance when he stopped. He looked back and then to his left and to his right. Ron pulled on my arm. “Come on.” We went to the left again. After just a few steps, he stopped again and looked around. What was he looking for? Did he expect to find Meredith? He just stood there.
When I looked at him, he said, “I don’t know which way to go.”
A noise sounded from somewhere nearby. It seemed to come from directly behind us. When Ron turned around he didn’t see anything. I thought it might have been Meredith, but she was nowhere in sight.
I now realized that Ron was nervous about being in the woods. Was he more creeped out by it than me? He pulled me over to a big tree. Was this when he was going to kill me?
“Be quiet,” he whispered. His eyes were wide and he looked as if he was terrified. What was he hiding from? He peeked out from behind the tree.
Maybe I should try to scare him even more. He might run away and leave me here. Okay, that was wishful thinking. There was no way he would do that. I had to find a way to get away from him. Now that he was distracted maybe it would be easier. If only that noise would come back. I would use that as my chance to get away. I could run. He didn’t know where he was, so maybe I could lose him. Apparently Ron had a terrible sense of direction. I knew that this was my only chance to get away.
While Ron peered around the side of the tree, I decided to try to break free from his grip. I yanked my arm and to my surprise, it came free. It occurred so quickly that I didn’t think what happened registered with Ron for a couple of seconds. I ran as fast as I could away from the tree. I darted to my left in the hopes that he wouldn’t see where I went. I tried to look down so that I wouldn’t fall again. One wrong move and this would all be over. The next time he wouldn’t be so careless as to let me get away.
I was shocked that he hadn’t caught up with me again. The thought had barely left my mind when Ron grabbed my arm again. He yanked me and I fell back.
“You’re stupid if you really thought you were going to get away.”
Not so much stupid as desperate.
He pulled me up again. “Now tell me how to get out of here.”
I stared at him. Was he serious? Did he actually think I would tell him how to get out of there? Then it hit me. I would tell him where to go, but it wouldn’t be the direction he wanted.
“I think I know how to get out of here. You have to tell me where we are going,” I said.
He narrowed his eyes. “Why should I tell you that?”
“Because otherwise how can I get you to where you want to go?” I shook my head.
He smirked as he realized I had a valid point. “I want to go back out to the road. We know this leads over to the main road. Meredith is having someone pick us up out there. If I’m late she will kill me.”
I didn’t know if he meant that figuratively or literally. Either way, I wasn’t taking him to the road to find out. I could lead him back toward the house, but I’d rather just lose him altogether. I moved forward and he had no choice but to move with me.
“Come on, let’s go this way.”
“Are you really taking me to the road?” he asked.
“Of course,” I said in a sweet voice. “Why wouldn’t I?”
This was just too easy. I couldn’t believe how dumb he was. As we moved forward, Ron kept looking around. I could tell he was nervous. That same sound of movement came from the right.
Ron turned to look. Maybe this wasn’t the smartest move, but now that he was distracted I decided to make my move. Running wouldn’t be enough. In one swift movement I lifted my leg and kicked him in a not-so-nice area of his body.
I felt a little bad for the pain he would endure, but not bad enough that I didn’t do it. My life was in danger, so I had to do what I had to do. Plus, he would recover in a couple minutes… or hours.
My foot made contact with his body. He clutched his area and fell to the ground with a groan.
That had worked out quite nicely. Why hadn’t I thought of that sooner? I ran away from him as quickly as possible. He was still on the ground when I looked back. But th
at was when my plan hit a wall. I hadn’t expected to hear the noise again. And this time I knew for sure that I was hearing footsteps. Since Ron was still back there on the ground, it wasn’t him. For all I knew, it could be Meredith coming back to see what was taking us so long. I couldn’t let her find me.
I ran over to the biggest tree I could find and hid behind it. I was disappointed because I could have gotten away. Now I was stuck behind this tree. As soon as I thought it was safe to run again I would give it my best shot.
My body was pressed against the trunk. A rich earthy scent of moss and grass surrounded me. The sound of brush crunching under feet came from somewhere nearby. After a few seconds passed, the sound hadn’t returned. I had to take a quick peek to see if Meredith had found me or if Ron had gotten up.
I poked my head around the tree. I was shocked and excited when I saw Tom behind a tree across the way. He looked right at me and smiled. I motioned toward where I had left Ron. Tom shook his head. Apparently he was well aware of Ron. What would we do now? I was so happy to see Tom and to know that he was safe. I motioned in the direction of the house to see if I should turn in that direction. Tom held up his finger, indicating that I should wait a minute. I hoped that he would give me the signal when I should go.
I needed to make sure that Grandma Imelda and Mary Jane were okay. What about Rory? Where was he? I heard a sound again. My heart beat a little faster. I knew that it wasn’t Tom because I was still looking at him. I prayed that it wasn’t Meredith or Ron.
When I looked to my right I spotted Rory. He looked tired but he smiled the brightest smile at me that I’d ever seen. Rory looked like his normal self. He didn’t have that strange look on his face like he’d had over the past couple days.
Tom looked to his left and saw Rory. They nodded at each other and now I knew that they had come together. Tom motioned toward Ron and I knew that they had a plan to get him. What they were going to do with him I didn’t know. I just wanted to get out of there.
I peeked around the tree. Ron was just sitting on the ground. Rory and Tom didn’t have to sneak up on him. He looked as if he was tired and didn’t even want to fight. I knew that Ron was totally lost.
Now he could tell us where to find Meredith. We had to get the books back.
When Rory and Tom approached Ron, he held his hands up. Tom wrapped an arm around Ron’s neck and drew him upright. After Ron stumbled, Tom managed to get Ron steady on his feet, then turned him around to face them. I watched them talk for a few seconds, but I wasn’t about to go over there. I had had enough of dealing with Ron.
Tom and Rory led Ron toward me. I stepped out from behind the tree, but I was still ready to run if I had to. I didn’t want to deal with any more tricks from Ron. He still looked exhausted though and like he didn’t want to be there anymore.
Rory ran over and hugged me. He held me as if he would never let go.
“Are you okay?” I asked.
He pulled away slightly and looked at me as if it had been years since he’d seen me. “I’m okay now.”
I glanced at Tom who was still holding Ron by the arm. “Are you okay?”
He smiled. “Never been better. Let’s take this guy back to the house so we can find the books.”
“She’ll never let them go,” Ron said as we started walking.
“We’ll see about that,” Tom said.
Rory reached out and grabbed my hand. He smiled again. I still had a lot of unanswered questions.
Chapter 29
After the long walk we reached the end of the wooded area. The sun brightened the area and I stepped out into the sunshine. The car was still parked in the same spot in front of the house.
“Where are Grandma Imelda and Mary Jane?” I asked, feeling a bit of panic when I didn’t see them right away.
“They were here when we left,” Tom said.
We walked around the car and I spotted them sitting on the porch steps of the old house. Our eyes met at the same time. They jumped up and ran toward us. It felt so good to be back here at the house with Grandma and Mary Jane.
Grandma grabbed me in a hug. “I’m so glad to see you. I knew Tom would find you.”
Rory looked a little sad when she didn’t mention his name.
She noticed his expression. “I’m glad Rory and Tom found you.”
“What happened?” Mary Jane asked as she eyed Ron.
He was still acting as if he just wanted to go home. Meredith had gotten the best of him. I wanted all this to be over too.
“What about the book?” Grandma Imelda asked.
We gave her a glum look.
“Meredith got away with the book.”
“Ron said she is meeting someone with a car who is picking her up at the road. Maybe if we hurry we can catch them.”
“Let’s go.” Grandma Imelda motioned toward the car.
We looked at each other.
“Are we all going?” I asked.
“Rory and I can drive over there and check it out,” Tom said.
I shook my head. “I don’t want to stay alone here with him.” I gestured toward Ron.
He shrugged as if to say he couldn’t blame me.
“Okay, we can take him with us,” Tom said.
“That’s probably best anyway. He can tell us exactly where Meredith was going,” Rory said.
“I really don’t want to stay here anymore.” Mary Jane looked as if she was ready to have a panic attack. “This place gives me the creeps.”
“Okay, let’s all get in the car.” I opened the back door.
“I’m driving.” Grandma Imelda waved the keys.
Tom and Rory exchanged a look. There was no point trying to convince her otherwise. She wouldn’t let anyone else drive. I was trying to figure out how we would all fit in the car.
“Ron should sit in the middle,” Tom said. “That way he can’t jump out.”
Ron looked at him. “You think I’m going to jump from a moving car?”
“Anything is possible,” Tom said.
“I’ll get on one side and you get on the other with this guy in the middle.” Rory gestured.
That left Grandma Imelda behind the wheel.
“What about Mary Jane and me?” I asked.
“We can share the front seat,” Mary Jane said.
We filed into the car with Mary Jane and I squeezed into the front seat. Grandma Imelda cranked the engine and turned the car around in the drive.
“Any recent traffic violations, Grandma Imelda?” Tom asked.
“Nothing other than being pulled over for driving one hundred in a thirty-five speed limit zone.” She looked at him in the rear-view mirror.
By his smile he knew that she was teasing. No one should ever question Grandma Imelda’s ability to drive or bake.
When we reached the end of the driveway, Grandma Imelda asked, “Which way do I go?”
We all looked at Ron for an answer.
“Turn to the left.”
He had better not be playing games with us. She pulled the car out onto the road.
We drove a little way down the road.
“I don’t see her,” I said. “Are you sure this is where she was going?”
“This is what she told me.”
“Maybe she’s already met up with the people,” Rory said.
That was what I was afraid of. If we didn’t find her here I had no idea what we would do next.
“There she is.” Mary Jane pointed up ahead.
“Where? I don’t see her,” I said.
“She’s hiding over by that tree.”
“I see her.” Grandma Imelda sped up.
“I hope she doesn’t hear the car and run,” I said.
Grandma Imelda pulled the car over a little ahead of where Meredith stood so that maybe she wouldn’t notice we’d found her. We all got out of the car. She still hadn’t noticed us. She was busy looking the other direction.
“The car coming to pick her up must be coming from
that direction,” Rory said.
If she saw all of us she would probably run back into the woods. I definitely didn’t want to go back in there and chase her. Just then I heard a car.
“It’s the Organization members,” Tom said.
I doubted she was planning on them showing up.
The car pulled up to the side of the road. Surprisingly, Meredith didn’t run when she saw the car.
“What do you think she’s doing?” Mary Jane asked.
With Meredith I had no idea.
“Why didn’t she run when she saw their car?” Grandma Imelda asked.
The group walked over to the side of the road and Meredith came out from behind the tree. She still had the book. She held it up in the air to show them.
“Why isn’t she running now that they’ve gotten out of the car?” I asked. “And why did she just show them the book?”
“I can tell you why,” Ron said.
I glanced over at him. “Why?”
“Because they are all together. Those people aren’t here to help you.”
“What do you mean?” Tom asked. Obviously this was all a surprise to him. And to the rest of us too.
“You mean the Organization was behind this all along?” I asked.
“They’re not with the Organization,” Ron said.
Tom looked defeated. I couldn’t believe that they had tricked him all this time. Did that mean I was never supposed to get an award after all? I should have known that was too good to be true.
Meredith raced up to the side of the road and met with the men and women whom I’d thought were a part of the Organization. Who were they?
Tom yelled out to them. “Stop. Don’t make another move.”
They froze and looked over at us. Now what would we do? It looked as if they weren’t going to listen to Tom’s command because they started walking toward the car again.
“It looks as if we will have to get the book from them,” Tom said.
This wasn’t going to end well. I had hoped we’d be able to avoid a fight.
Why had they done this? What made them want the spellbooks? I looked to Ron. “Why are they doing this?”
“They didn’t tell me why,” he said.
