GRACE GASPED, THEN SLAPPED HER HAND OVER HER MOUTH. Stuckless stopped and peered into the trees toward them. Grace held her breath, hoping the gloomy forest hid them from view.
There was another squawk. “Dad, did you find them?” came a voice through the walkie-talkie.
“No,” Stuckless replied. “We must have missed them.” He turned abruptly and strode off.
Grace and Jeeter stayed there, still and silent as the woods, for several minutes.
“I think it’s safe,” Jeeter finally said, standing up. He grabbed Grace’s hand and pulled her to her feet.
“That was close,” Grace muttered.
“Yeah. I hope he doesn’t catch your buddies.”
“Crap!” Grace cried. “Our walkie-talkies are still off. We’d better find them.” She switched her walkie-talkie back on and bolted off through the trees.
Almost immediately, the woods got thicker and her steps got slower. Was she even going in the right direction? How do you check your location on a map when you’re surrounded by trees? Suddenly, Fred’s voice crackled over her walkie-talkie.
“Hello?” he called.
Grace waited for Mai to answer. She didn’t.
“Is anyone there?” he continued.
Fred’s voice sounded weird. And where was Mai? It sounded like he was alone.
“Mai, is that you?” Fred’s voice rose, sounding panicked.
Grace was just about to answer when—
“AAAAHHHH!”
Fred’s frantic cry was followed by static.
“Fred?” Grace yelled into the walkie-talkie, her heart pounding in her chest. “Fred! Are you okay?”
No answer.
Grace’s hand clenched her walkie-talkie. “Mai, are you with Fred?”
“No, he was behind me somewhere,” Mai answered, sounding breathless. “Sorry, I was yelling, but you didn’t seem to be able to hear me. I think my transmit button was stuck. I’m going back now to find him.”
“Come on, Jeeter,” Grace called behind her. “We’ve got to find Fred!”
Jeeter didn’t answer.
Grace looked slowly over her shoulder. “Jeeter?”
She was alone.
Where did he go? Grace wondered. He’d been right behind her.
Grace hesitated, worried. Should she look for him? Maybe he was in trouble, too. But what about Fred? She stared off into the woods, willing Jeeter to appear. Everything was falling apart.
“Grace!” Mai shouted so loudly that the walkie-talkie shrieked. “I found him! He’s not moving!”
Grace didn’t have to think; she was already running. Branches smacked her face and scratched her arms as she raced through the dense forest. It felt like the trees were trying to drag her backward, and she struggled with all her might to stay out of their clutches.
After a few minutes of running, she figured she must be getting close. Suddenly, she was flying through the air.
“Ouch!” she cried.
She opened her eyes to see that she was flat on her back, her arms and legs stretched out like a starfish. What had happened? Grace tilted her head back, her eyes following the path of her outstretched arm. Her pack was tangled up in the branches of a tree. Her arm was caught in the strap and she couldn’t move it. Great!
Reaching over her head with her free arm, she grabbed one of the dangling straps and jerked it hard. There was a ripping sound, but it didn’t come loose. That’s when she heard it—a voice. And it was close.
“I don’t see them, Hank. Double back and start over.”
Grace could see a tall man through the trees. He was dressed in blue. Oh no, one of the security goons from the strip mine! Or was it Stuckless again? She lay on the ground, helpless. She was a sitting duck!
Every second seemed like an eternity. Grace held her breath, her heartbeat pounding in her ears. A branch moved nearby. She closed her eyes. This is it! I’m done for! she thought.
But then, the second she was sure she’d be discovered, the guard’s footsteps crunched on the gravel, heading away from her. Grace let out her breath, but had no time to relax. She tried again to tug the strap free. Her knife! Lightning fast, she grabbed the knife from her pocket and slashed through the twisted strap. She jumped to her feet and took off through the trees. Within minutes, she found Mai in a clearing and rushed to her side.
“Mai, it’s okay,” she said. “I’m here.” She reached out and grabbed Mai’s shoulders. One of their caving ropes was twisted in Mai’s hands. “What are you doing?”
“He f-f-fell into that sinkhole!” Mai sobbed, gesturing with the rope toward a gaping hole a few metres from them. “It’s all my fault! I teased him—said he’d fall—that he’d g-gush blood.”
“It’s not your fault,” Grace said gently, taking the rope from Mai’s shaking hands and securing it around a tree with a sturdy knot. “You know Fred,” she gulped, forcing a grin, “he’s got a head like a rock. He’ll be okay.”
Wrapping the rope around her hand and holding it tight for balance, Grace leaned out over the hole and looked down. Her breath caught in her throat.
Fred wasn’t moving!