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“Tracy,” Ashley repeated.  She sounded distressed.  “Thank god you’re here.”

“What’s going on?” I asked slowly.  It was odd to see Ashley back together with the other girls.  I had thought she was just as angry with them as I was when I left her.

“It’s Liz,” Madison burst forth.  She looked downright stricken. 

“What about Liz?” I asked cautiously.  I hoped this wasn’t another ruse to get me to help them with the crystals.

“She’s been kidnapped,” Madison said.

“What?”

“She’s gone.  Taken away!”

“What?  Where?”  I could see the worry in all their faces.  “Quick, what’s going on?”

“We don’t know,” Eve said, “but we think your friend has something to do with it.”

“My friend?  What are you talking about?”

“Chris!” she replied.  “Liz has always had some kind of feud with him.   I saw the two of them together a few hours ago.  Since then, neither of us has been able to find Liz.”

I took a deep breath.  These girls were borderline hysterical.  “Just because she was talking to Chris doesn’t mean she was kidnapped!” 

“Oh?” Eve questioned.  “We searched the whole campus and haven’t been able to find her.  And then we went to her room, and found
this
.”  Eve thrust a piece of paper toward me.  It was a note, scribbled hastily.  The handwriting seemed somehow familiar.  Unfortunately, I couldn’t place it.  It was a quick message:

If you want to see Liz safe, bring Tracy Bachman to the crystal cave.

My eyes widened as I read the note.  The crystal cave.  That was what Chris had said to me just before he left.  He couldn’t actually be behind this, could he?  What on earth was going on between him and Liz?

“How do you know she’s been kidnapped?” I asked.

“There was sign of a struggle in her room,” Ashley answered.  “Furniture knocked over, papers all over the place.  It was a mess.”

“So you’re saying he took her there against her will,” I said.  “How?  How could he do it without anybody noticing?”

“We don’t know.”

“And what do I have to do with it?  Why does the note ask for me?”

“We were hoping
you’d
be able to tell us,” Eve said not-too-gently.

“I have no idea!”  If Chris had written this note – and that now seemed to be the only explanation – why did he want
me
there?  Was this some sort of ransom letter?  “We have to get an adult.”

“Nuh-uh,” Eve said quickly.  “No way.  We can’t arouse more suspicion.”

“What’s the crystal cave?” Madison asked.  “Tracy, if you know, you have to tell us!  We went to all the reservoirs on the island, all the caves with crystals in them, but they were all empty.  Nobody was there.”

I blinked.  That’s where these girls were coming from?  Coming to me must have been a last resort.  “There is an… ocean side cave.  Chris showed it to me one day—before I knew anything about your crystals.  He took me down there.  At the very end, there was this giant room.  Like a round cavern.  Right in the middle, there was an enormous growth of crystals.  I didn’t know what they were back then, but now I think I do…”

“A growth of crystals?” Ashley asked, startled.  “Like, rising from the rock?”

“Right from the ground,” I nodded.  “Why?”

“Liz said there should be such a thing, but we were never able to find it…”

“So you think it’s related to the power crystals too?”

“Of course it’s related!” Eve spat.  “Now, we have to figure out why Chris took her there.”

“What can he know?” I wondered out loud.  “You all took the same oath I did.  Right?”

“Yes,” Ashley said.

“So then if the three of you, plus me and Liz, are the only ones to know about the crystals… where does Chris come in on all this?”

“We don’t know,” Eve answered.  “But you have to show us where the crystal cave is, Tracy.  You saw the note.  He wants you there.”

“Why me?” I asked.  “This is all too much.”  I looked at Ashley.  “How do I know this isn’t another ruse to get me involved in something I don’t want?”

“Tracy, Liz’s life could be stake!” Eve exclaimed incredulously.  “And all you can think about is whether we’re trying to bait you into using the crystals?”

“I don’t know!” I protested.  “This is all too much.”

“Will you show us where we have to go?” Madison asked.  I paused for a moment, then gave a curt nod.  Despite my feelings toward Liz now, the last thing I wanted to see was the girl get hurt.  The relief on Madison’s face was obvious.

“Yes, but I don’t want to be forced into anything.”

Eve rolled her eyes, took me by the shoulders, and pushed me into my room.  “Get your coat,” she commanded.  “It’s pouring outside.”

Five minutes later we were slogging through the downpour.  I had my coat wrapped tightly around me, but the wind kept blowing the hood off my head.  In the heavy rain, it was nearly impossible to see.  The darkness only compounded the problem.  I was leading the way, because I was the only one who knew where to go, but my feet kept slipping on the muddy earth.  It was impossible to get a grip.  I was afraid the rain might trigger an avalanche of mud and dirt from the steep forested hill at our side.

“This doesn’t make any sense!” I yelled back to the girls.  They were close behind me, but I had to yell to be heard over the roar of the wind.  “Why would Chris take Liz there?  I know him.  He’s shy and withdrawn.”

“Apparently, you don’t know him well enough,” Eve answered curtly.

“What were they doing talking together, anyway?  From what I understood, they had some sort of disagreement between them.”

“None of us really knows Chris,” Ashley yelled back to me.  “Nobody at this school does.  He just sort of floats around without any friends.”

“Except that he took an interest in you, apparently,” Eve said.  “Enough to demand to see you tonight.”

I shuddered.  What could he possibly want from me?  Was this some sort of payback for dumping him?  I didn’t know, and did not want to find out.  Something I had done—or failed to do—had prompted all this.  Because of me, Liz was in danger. 
If you want to see her safe
, the note said,
bring Tracy Bachman to the crystal cave. 

“What did you do to him, anyway?” Madison asked.

“I don’t know!”

“You’ll be able to ask him yourself when we get there!” Eve snapped.  “Tracy, are we getting close?”

“It’s just up ahead.”

“Well, hurry up!”

I did.  Every extra moment we took meant another moment that Liz was alone with Chris.  And who knew what he would be doing to her?  I felt a dire sense of urgency about the situation.  I was determined to see Liz come out of this safe and sound, no matter my actual feelings about the girl.  Maybe, after all this, she would even forget about trying to get me involved with the crystal seekers.  Of course, I had to see her safe first.

I led the others toward the raised cliffs at the edge of the island.  It was extremely difficult to see in the dark, and I’d only been here once before, when it was daytime, so navigating proved harder than I expected.  We must have gone up and down the edge of land five times before I recognized the familiar boulders that marked the start of the path leading down.

“Over here!” I yelled, pointing.  The girls came up behind me, and I inched forward, very conscious of the fact that one misstep could send me flying down the side.  When my feet were right at the edge, I carefully leaned over to look down.

At that moment, an enormous bolt of lightning lit the night sky.  The brief flash of light allowed me to see all the way down.  The jagged rocks waiting at the bottom looked like the gaping mouth of a sinister beast, biding its time waiting for its next victim.  Even in the best of conditions, and in full light, the trail was narrow and tricky to navigate.  Now, with us completely shrouded in darkness, and heavy rain, it would be impossible to go down. 

“The path’s too narrow to traverse at night!” I screamed back.

“Don’t be a wuss,” Eve said, appearing at my side.  I was struck by the girl’s courage.  Or maybe stupidity.  Here I was, the only one of them to have been here before, clearly cautious of the fall below.  And there was Eve, stepping up beside me as if we were on absolutely solid ground.  “If Liz is down there, we have to get her.”

Well, at least she was faithful.  But going down in these conditions would be impossible.  “Eve, we can’t go down.  Maybe if there was no rain we could risk it, but the wet rock will make it too easy to lose a step and go tumbling over the edge.”  Straight into those jacked rocks.

Eve looked at me, determination plain on her face.  “I’m not leaving my friend alone,” she said stubbornly.

“None of us is,” Ashley said, placing a hand on Eve’s shoulder.  “But, Tracy’s right.  The path is too dangerous to use right now.”  She leaned over slightly to look down, and took a quick step back.  “Too dangerous, and way too high.  One misstep and you’re a goner.”  She shuddered.  “Besides, I might know another way.”

Eve rounded on her.  “You know another way?” she demanded.  “Why didn’t you mention this earlier?”

Ashley took a composed breath.  “Because, I wasn’t sure if the cave Tracy described was the same one.  I didn’t want to raise false hopes.  But now that I’ve seen where it is, I think there might be a connecting tunnel close by.”

I looked at Ashley.  “Are you sure?  Because if not…” I took a deep breath.  This was all my fault and I had to make amends for it.  “If not, I can try picking my way down.”  I wished desperately it wouldn’t come down to that, but I was prepared to take the risk.  “Of the four of us, I’m the only one to have climbed down before.  That gives me a small advantage in the dark.  But if I do it, I don’t want any of you going down with me.”

“No!” Ashley and Madison both exclaimed at the same time as Eve said, “Good idea.”

Ashley and Madison stared in shock at Eve.  Madison was the first to step up to her, placing herself between me and Eve.  “I won’t have Tracy risking her life for us!”

“She’s right,” Ashley said.  “Besides, she’s already done that once.”  She shot me a tight smile.

“And anyway,” Madison continued, “the note said to bring Tracy there,
alive
.  She won’t do anybody any good if she plummets to her death.”

Eve raised her hands defensively against the others.  “She was the one to suggest it, not me,” she said.

“No! That’s a stupid idea,” Ashley said.  For the first time, I was glad I could call her my friend.  Maybe things really weren’t that bad between us.  Despite everything, some of these girls did seem to care about me.  The rough patches we’d gone through only served to strengthen that bond.  Then again, maybe it was just the direness of the situation that made me feel closer to them.  “We’ll go the way I think we can, instead.  It’s not particularly close, so we have to hurry.”

“I hope you know what you’re doing,” Eve muttered under her breath.  Another bolt of lightning flashed across the sky.  If it were possible, the weather seemed to be taking a turn for the worse.  The wind had picked up, and the rain was even heavier than before. 

“Come on, it’s this way,” Ashley said, leading us away from the protruding ledge. 

Chapter Twenty-Six – Into Darkness

Ashley led us into the woods, where we took an unmarked path farther in.  The trees managed to buffer the worst of the storm, but rain still poured down, making me wish I had dressed better.  Every single part of what I was wearing was completely soaked.  My jacket offered little protection.  In the dark, it was impossible to see more than five feet ahead.  So, I had to huddle close to the others to avoid getting separated.  The woods were creepy like this: tall, dark shapes loomed over us as we passed.  It was impossible to say who or what else was out here.  At a time like this, my imagination was getting the worst of me.

After maybe twenty minutes, we started picking our way up a steep incline.  It was nearly impossible to do it in the dark.  The rain made it even worse.  The rocks and ground were wet and covered with overgrown moss and ferns, making the trail dangerously slippery.  I was glad they hadn’t taken me up on my offer to scale the cliff earlier.  After the troubles of this incline, I doubted I would have made it down in one piece.

We had topped the hill and started down when I felt my footing give.  The small rock I had thought was secure was not.  As I stepped onto it, it slid forward.  I let out a yelp, and the next thing I knew I was tumbling down on my backside.  Madison, who was right in front of me, let out a squeak and jumped out of the way, but Eve was not so lucky.  I crashed into her.  The collision took her right off her feet.  The two of us caromed down, a tangle of bodies and debris, until we both hit something hard.  The impact knocked the air out of my lungs.

“Oh my god! Are you okay?” Ashley cried out as she ran up to us. 

“Yeah,” I replied.  “I think.”  It took me a few seconds to get my bearings again.  Eve was rubbing her head but looked alright otherwise.  I stared up the hill.  From down here, I could see the path I made through the undergrowth clearly.  Crushed shrubs and bushes carved out a narrow depression down the hill.  Then, I noticed the large rocks and tree trunks on either side that I had just avoided hitting.  It was a wonder I made it down without a broken bone.