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

to answer. “Keep thinking of more ideas,” he finally managed.
    “More like the first two, or more like the last one?” Carol asked.
    Abby couldn’t decide how she felt about Carol’s flirting with Derick. It made her feel awkward, which she didn’t enjoy. But it also made Derick feel even more awkward, which she did enjoy. “Derick and I have to go to the Bridge labs to do some homework. Want to come?”
    • • •
    Carol was going to do her homework in another Bridge, and had promised to sync up with a friend from home, so Abby closed the steel door to a Bridge with only Derick next to her.
    Abby synced her rings, entered the date and code, and waited.
    A message reading “seeking authorization” scrolled across the screen.
    “That’s new,” Abby said.
    “What?” Derick said.
    “I need some sort of special authority to ... oh, wait,” Abby said.
    A new message appeared.
    Attachment recognized. Sync will continue momentarily.
    “We needed my ring attachment to watch this,” Abby said.
    “That’s different,” Derick agreed.
    What was going on? Grandpa said that they would need the attachment for unlogged entries, including his journal. Maybe that was it—something like a journal. In a moment, both she and Derick stared at the phantom image of Grandpa Cragbridge. He stood only slightly hunched over in the center of the room. If Abby had to guess, he was at least fifteen years younger. She remembered the date she had entered. It was eighteen years ago. Her guess had been close.
    “Hello,” Oscar Cragbridge said, “to whoever you may be. But whoever you may be, chances are that you are a good friend of mine, and someone I respect very much.” Abby smiled to think that what her grandpa said applied to her. She also realized there were probably more people with the lockets than just her and her brother—after all, she hadn’t even been alive when he made this message.
    “If your locket has opened,” the ghost of Grandpa continued, “that means that something has happened to me. Every day before noon, I trigger the device that keeps the lockets closed. When the locket opened, it was the first day past my ability to keep it closed. This could mean that I have died of natural causes. Or it could mean that someone has ...” Grandpa paused. It looked like he was choosing his words carefully. “That someone has sought me out with other intentions.”
    Abby’s heart beat faster. Could Grandpa really have died? Abby imagined him in a long mahogany casket with friends and family gathered around. Her heart felt as though it would collapse on top of itself. No. He seemed fine yesterday. He was probably safe and sound, working hard on his next project, reading an old classic, or catapulting marshmallows as her parents tried to do their work.
    And what did he mean that people would seek him out with “other intentions”? Abby didn’t like the sound of that; it seemed sinister or conniving, as though her grandfather actually had enemies. The thought made Abby sick. Could someone really have done something to her grandpa? Was he okay?
    Grandpa cleared his throat. “Either way, I now bequeath a great secret to you—the beginning of it, anyway. You’ll want to ...” Abby couldn’t handle it anymore. She shut off the Bridge and threw open the door. Derick followed quickly afterward.
    “Hey, guys. Are you done?” Carol asked.
    Abby didn’t bother answering. She selected communications mode on her rings, then set them to her grandfather’s number. She paced the lab as she waited for him to sync.
    She waited longer than usual. Or did it just seem longer because she was under stress?
    “Call Mom and Dad,” Abby told Derick. “We need to make sure ...” She had trouble saying the words. “We need to make sure Grandpa’s okay.” Her eyes welled up with tears.
    “Already on it,” Derick said, his trained fingers moving quickly.
    Abby still waited. And waited. Grandpa wasn’t syncing back. Why not?