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I was thrown into my room and fell to my knees before I could regain my balance. My lip was swollen, my hip hurt, and my whole body felt tingly and not in a good way. I heard Cassie holler and then heard the door of her room close. I imagined she'd have a talk with Mr. Big similar to the one I had. If she had a plan, she hadn't shared it. All I could do was pray for a positive outcome for both of us and await her return.
Despite the dire circumstances, I did a little happy dance because I'd been able to keep the pen and paper. It wasn't much, but it felt like a small victory.
I was worried about what tactic our captors would try next to extort the information I didn't have. I thought about stretching out on the bed, but I decided I should take advantage of the pen and paper. I took them in the bathroom, because I didn't want the guards to notice them when they came in. Before I started a list, I reminded myself that I shouldn't write down anything I didn't want our kidnappers to know. Once I realized that, my excitement at having access to paper and pen was short-lived.
I hid my pad and pen behind the bathroom door and stretched out on the bed. I tried to connect with Chance telepathically. I wasn't necessarily a believer in that sort of thing, but it couldn't hurt. When I first met Chance, I felt like we had a connection though I tried to fight it. That connection seemed stronger now that we were a couple. Maybe it would be strong enough for him to at least sense that I needed him.
Maybe it was a message from Chance, I don't know, but I realized one important fact—Cassie and I both stood a better chance of escaping our captors if we were in the wilderness. We needed a plan that would get our captors to take at least one of us into the woods. If we could do that, we would have a chance to escape and get help. Excited to share my insight with Cassie, I got up and paced around my room. I heard footsteps in the hall. I listened at my door, until I heard a door close and footsteps fade.
I moved to our shared wall and knocked. "You OK?"
"I'm fine. Don't know what they'll do next. We need a plan."
"I have paper and pen," I said, feeling the need to share my good news.
"I'm not sure how that helps."
"We need a plan that will get them to take at least one of us into the woods. Our best chance will be when we're in the wilderness. We'll take them out one at a time if we get an opportunity. Pick up anything you can use as a weapon if you have a chance."
"OK."
She sounded flat, tired. "Did they hurt you?"
"I'm OK, just tired. I need some rest."
Something was wrong, but I didn't know what, and there wasn't anything I could do about it in the current situation.
I sat down on the bathroom floor with my back against the tub. I took the pad and tried to write down the coordinates. I remembered looking up the coordinates for Wilkins' Gap when I was trying to determine if the numbers I found in Harry's journal were location coordinates. I closed my eyes and wrote down numbers. I had no idea if what I wrote were the coordinates to anything. I wasn't even sure how many digits coordinates have. I simply didn't make any attempt to commit it to memory. I hadn't thought I'd ever need to recall it. "Fudge. Why didn't I think of that sooner?" I smacked myself in the forehead. It was true that I didn't know the location of the BFFam, but I did know the location of the journal that had the coordinates in it. It had been added to our safe deposit box in Wilkins' Gap. I'd only need a few minutes with that journal to get the coordinates.
I hated to wake Cassie if she was resting, but I needed to tell her that there was a way to get the coordinates. I knocked on the wall and waited. After a few minutes, I knocked again. Still nothing. "Cassie. You OK?"
"Sorry. I was sleeping."
"I don't know the coordinates, but I can get them from the journal again."
"Where's the journal?"
"Our safe deposit box in Wilkins' Gap."
"I know the coordinates," she said.
"Then why didn't you tell them?"
"Because they aren't going to just let us go. We've seen all their faces. We need a plan that will keep us alive."
"Good point."
"Maybe we can use the journal thing. You'd have to go into the bank. That might be an opportunity. Let's think about that. Try not to tell them, until we have a plan."
"OK."