must have been vibrant once, with green grass and colorful flowers. The plants that grow now are a sickly brown, although here and there, I see thriving patches of red clover. When the path forks, we follow the sharp turn to the left. The trees lining the path are more plentiful. The bushes fuller. The thicker foliage makes it hard to see what is ahead. The walkway curves again. My steps grow slower, more cautious, as I peer through the trees, trying to see if danger lurks around the next bend.
We come to a large building. The roof is collapsed in a number of places. Weather and animals have eaten away pieces of the dark gray walls. The doors look as though they haven’t been touched in at least a decade. I am trying to decide if we should attempt to open them when a blood-chilling scream rips through the air.
Will.
Instinctively, I run to help. The scream came from somewhere through the foliage. Will must have decided to explore while the rest of us looked at the building. My foot catches on a piece of broken stone. I take the left path, which I hope will lead me to Will. The footsteps at my back tell me my teammates are close behind. And when I burst free of the trees, I am prepared for the worst. Which is why, when I spot Will dangling upside down, looking red-faced and very much alive inside a large metal structure, I begin to laugh.
“Don’t just stand there,” he yells. “Help me get down.”
Will struggles to grab the rope holding his ankles. The movement makes him swing back and forth, making me laugh even harder. Next to me, Enzo and Damone are fighting their own amusement. Finally, when our laughter subsides, I move closer for a better look.
Standing at least twenty feet high, a rusty but still sturdy-looking chain-link fence makes up three sides of a cage. The metal fence is attached to the building, which forms the fourth side. Metal bars spaced two to three feet apart make up a grid that forms the roof. More chain link covers the grid. The rope Will dangles from is attached to a roof support located in the middle of the enclosed space. On the far right side of the cage is an opened door. That must be how Will got inside. On the left of the cage is a door that leads into the attached structure.
“I might be tall enough to reach the rope around his ankle,” Damone offers.
“Maybe,” I say, although I doubt it. When Damone tries to reach, he proves me right. Drat. And from the looks of the knot around Will’s ankle, working the rope free is going to take time. Meanwhile, other teams are getting closer to finding the nest and moving on to the next location. We need to get Will down and get moving—now.
I fish my pocketknife out of my bag, climb through the cage door, and eye Damone’s lanky build with a frown. “Do you think you can lift me onto your shoulders, Damone?”
Damone is tall but slight. And while I’m not very big, my brothers used to say that carting me around was like lifting a cow. But Damone doesn’t think I look too heavy and squats down so I can climb onto his shoulders. Moments later, I am high in the air, sawing the rope. Every time Damone shifts under my weight, I hold my breath and prepare to hit the deck. But Damone is stronger than he looks and doesn’t falter as I run my blade back and forth until finally . . .
snap
. The last threads of rope break free, and Will tumbles to the hard gray stone ground.
When I am safely standing on my own two feet, I shove the knife into my pants pocket. Then, shrugging both of my bags onto my shoulder, I turn for the door in time to watch it slam closed. The distinctive clank of metal against metal announces loud and clear that the cage has been locked. Will, Damone, and I are trapped inside.
Chapter 7
W ILL RACES PAST me to the door and yanks on the handle. Enzo tries opening it from the other side. I’m not surprised when neither is successful. Whoever rigged the rope and door traps did a good job. But we’ve already beaten
We come to a large building. The roof is collapsed in a number of places. Weather and animals have eaten away pieces of the dark gray walls. The doors look as though they haven’t been touched in at least a decade. I am trying to decide if we should attempt to open them when a blood-chilling scream rips through the air.
Will.
Instinctively, I run to help. The scream came from somewhere through the foliage. Will must have decided to explore while the rest of us looked at the building. My foot catches on a piece of broken stone. I take the left path, which I hope will lead me to Will. The footsteps at my back tell me my teammates are close behind. And when I burst free of the trees, I am prepared for the worst. Which is why, when I spot Will dangling upside down, looking red-faced and very much alive inside a large metal structure, I begin to laugh.
“Don’t just stand there,” he yells. “Help me get down.”
Will struggles to grab the rope holding his ankles. The movement makes him swing back and forth, making me laugh even harder. Next to me, Enzo and Damone are fighting their own amusement. Finally, when our laughter subsides, I move closer for a better look.
Standing at least twenty feet high, a rusty but still sturdy-looking chain-link fence makes up three sides of a cage. The metal fence is attached to the building, which forms the fourth side. Metal bars spaced two to three feet apart make up a grid that forms the roof. More chain link covers the grid. The rope Will dangles from is attached to a roof support located in the middle of the enclosed space. On the far right side of the cage is an opened door. That must be how Will got inside. On the left of the cage is a door that leads into the attached structure.
“I might be tall enough to reach the rope around his ankle,” Damone offers.
“Maybe,” I say, although I doubt it. When Damone tries to reach, he proves me right. Drat. And from the looks of the knot around Will’s ankle, working the rope free is going to take time. Meanwhile, other teams are getting closer to finding the nest and moving on to the next location. We need to get Will down and get moving—now.
I fish my pocketknife out of my bag, climb through the cage door, and eye Damone’s lanky build with a frown. “Do you think you can lift me onto your shoulders, Damone?”
Damone is tall but slight. And while I’m not very big, my brothers used to say that carting me around was like lifting a cow. But Damone doesn’t think I look too heavy and squats down so I can climb onto his shoulders. Moments later, I am high in the air, sawing the rope. Every time Damone shifts under my weight, I hold my breath and prepare to hit the deck. But Damone is stronger than he looks and doesn’t falter as I run my blade back and forth until finally . . .
snap
. The last threads of rope break free, and Will tumbles to the hard gray stone ground.
When I am safely standing on my own two feet, I shove the knife into my pants pocket. Then, shrugging both of my bags onto my shoulder, I turn for the door in time to watch it slam closed. The distinctive clank of metal against metal announces loud and clear that the cage has been locked. Will, Damone, and I are trapped inside.
Chapter 7
W ILL RACES PAST me to the door and yanks on the handle. Enzo tries opening it from the other side. I’m not surprised when neither is successful. Whoever rigged the rope and door traps did a good job. But we’ve already beaten
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