"You were the shadow to my light
Did you feel us
Another Start
You fade away."
~ Faded by Alan Walker
The cold, crisp autumn noon air entered Adalynn's lungs as visible puffs of breath exhaled from her mouth and nostrils. She glanced around furtively, her phone clasped tightly in her hand, as she walked hurriedly across the school's oval towards the edge of the woods lining it.
Ducking down into the thick underbrush, she followed an old bush track that wound its way through the greenery surrounding it. It led straight to an abandoned squatter's hut. Adalynn paused before the hut's door and knocked softly on it. When she heard no response, she pushed it open and peered inside.
"J-Jackie?" Adalynn whispered out into the darkness. "Jackie! It's Adalynn!"
"Holy crap!" she heard someone mutter from above her. Above her?
Adalynn tipped her head back and stared at the roof of the hut. "J-Jackie? Where the hell are you?"
"In the attic!" came the muffled response.
"Okay, I'm coming up," Adalynn withdrew a torch from her jacket pocket and switching it on, made her way to an old rickety ladder that was on the other side of the room. She clambered up it and poked her head through the attic opening. Her eyes scanned the room, eventually landing on the darkened forms of Jackie, Max and Ethan.
"Geez, you flipping scared us!" Max exhaled heavily. "We - we thought you were some random person who'd followed us here!"
"I scared you?" Adalynn gaped at him. "YOU scared ME! Besides, I sent you a Louie text saying I'd be here in five. Didn't you get it?"
Jackie shook her head. "No-o."
Adalynn frowned as she pulled herself up into the attic. Opening up her Louie, she scanned her recent text messages and gasped. "Oh no! I sent it to LEO!!"
Jackie stared at her. "You've got to be kidding me."
Adalynn shook her head in disbelief as she hurriedly typed out a message: Sorry Leo. Wrong person. Was just telling Jackie I'd meet up with her for drinks during lunch break. :/ see you soon.
"You think he's gonna believe that?" Jackie asked incredulously as she shuffled over to Adalynn and read the text over her shoulder.
"You got a better idea?" Adalynn snapped back as she shut off her Louie.
As she glanced up, she saw Ethan gazing at her with a somewhat upset expression. His eyes quickly darted away and he began fiddling with the hood strings of his thick jumper.
What's HIS problem? Adalynn frowned as she glanced around the attic. "So THIS was the best place you could find?"
"Ethan found it actually," Max piped up, a hint of brotherly pride lacing his voice.
Ethan shook his head and sent Adalynn a small, apologetic smile. "Sorry, but I couldn't find anything that was more secluded than this for our HQ. And we can't just discuss all our findings in the middle of the cafeteria, it's too suspicious."
"And us sneaking away all the time isn't?" Adalynn retorted. She bit her tongue in annoyance as she realised how snarky she sounded. "S-sorry. It's - it's great. It'll do for now."
"We never said it was going to be permanent," Jackie rolled her eyes. "Okay, so enough with the chit-chat already. Let's get down to business. Max, go close that attic door. Adalynn, bring your torch over here. The Ryan Operation Pact's first offical meeting has begun."
Adalynn let out a soft giggle. "You're so formal about this Jackie; it's unusual for you."
"Yeah," Max agreed, scrutinising her closely. "You're not sick are you?" he placed a clammy hand on her forehead.
Jackie let out a huff and shoved Max away as she replied, "Hayley Woods is our friend! Ryan Woods is - was - her mother. I refuse to let Hayley and Alex go their whole lives blaming themselves for their mother's death, thinking that they weren't good enough or wanted enough for Ryan to want to stay. Ryan DID NOT kill herself and I'm determined to prove it; for Hayley's sake."
"But let's face facts for a moment," Ethan spoke up. "What if she DID do it, Jackie? What then?"
"Well, you can't say I didn't try," she stated. "But if there really is something sinister behind all of this, it's our job to find out what it is. We can't sit back on our asses and do nothing! Hayley and Alex are suffering ... we need to be good friends to them and this is one way of showing it."
"But won't they get annoyed when they find out we're snooping around after their mum?" Adalynn asked doubtfully.
"Geez. You're the one who wanted to look into this further!" Jackie exclaimed in frustration. "DON'T tell me you're pulling out of this!"
"No!" Adalynn hastily answered. "No. I'm not."
"So," Jackie turned her attention away from Adalynn and glanced over at Ethan. "What did you find out?"
"Daniel wasn't much help, in fact he was kind of annoyed with me pestering him," Ethan confessed. "But I did manage to find out that his mum, Judy, invited Ryan to have dinner with the Hayward family once. But that was quite a few months BEFORE the launch."
"Which means they must've been friends," Jackie mused in a quiet voice.
"That's not all," Adalynn put in. "Judy and Ryan were co-workers. They studied at the same university and graduated in the same year. Coincidently they both got hired by a branch off NASA as meteor experts and researchers."
"What the hell is a meteor expert?" Jackie demanded, turning questioning eyes to Max.
"Oh, that's easy. A meteor expert is a scientist that studies rocks from outer space," he responded with a shrug.
"Yeah, but here's the funny thing," Adalynn continued to explain. "From the NASA records, it seems that Judy and Ryan were in different parts of the NASA building ... it looks like they were rivals in the work-field."
"But outside of work they were friends, right?" Jackie inquired.
Ethan shook his head. "No, I don't think so. Daniel said that that dinner with Ryan was the most uncomfortable he'd ever had to sit through. All Judy and Ryan did was argue about the effects of some sort of magnetite rock that was in the area."
"Wait!" Jackie held out a hand for them to be quiet. "Could it have been the same magnetite rock that Ryan discovered when she was 16?And if so, what on earth would JUDY have to do with that?"
"Hang on," Adalynn cut in. "Soo ... Judy and Ryan were acquaintances and work rivals ... NOT friends?"
"Yes but Ryan's dedication memorial is happening at the Academy tomorrow and Daniel mentioned that his mum was coming to it," Ethan said.
"We'll get to see her?" Adalynn asked excitedly. "We - we can ask her about ..."
"I don't think that's a good idea, Ad," Jackie frowned and shook her head. "If Judy was somehow involved in what happened to Ryan on that spaceship, then she's the last person we wanna talk too. There is, however, one person we need to see."
"When we were going back through yesterday's surveillance camera records, we picked up some suspicious activity," Max added. "We saw one of the Academy staff exit the building in the dead of night, a large bulky canvas bag under one arm. It was too dark to see where he went, besides, the cameras' line of sight can only go so far, but the situation didn't look good at all. The staff member was an overweight man with a grey beard. Even though we couldn't see his face, we know who he was."
Adalynn and Ethan exchanged confused glances. "Who?"
Jackie pressed her lips into a thin line as she nodded for Max to continue.
"He's the Academy Grounds Keeper. His name's Marcus."
~~~~
Gif: Jackie and Max!! :) they're soo cute together!!
A/N: Oooo okay. So they have a lead now: Marcus! Do you think he was up to something dodgy? Do you think he knows Judy in some way? Do you suspect Judy of being behind the rock explosion? Was she jealous of Ryan? What's up with her anyway? Please voice your opinions in the comments below, I'd love to hear from you. Thanks so much for reading and stay tuned for what happens next in the upcoming chapter! Love you all! xx