"And I won't let you get me down
I'll keep gettin' up when I hit the ground
Oh, never give up, no, never give up no, no, oh."
~ Never Give Up by Sia
"Adalynn, we need to talk."
Adalynn glanced up at the sound of her bedroom door opening. She frowned as she looked into Jackie's solemn face. "O-okay?"
"At the HQ," Jackie persisted. "I'll meet you there in ten."
The door closed and Jackie disappeared.
Adalynn bit her lip as she slowly scrambled off her bed and shut the lid of her laptop. She was in for it now. Tucking her device into a computer bag, Adalynn slipped the strap over her shoulder and ventured out into the hallway.
It was nearing dusk by the time Adalynn arrived at the abandoned hut in the woods. She knocked the secret knock, she entered on silent feet, she clambered up into the attic, she looked into the stern faces of Ethan, Max and Jackie.
"Hi," she said as she shut the trap-door behind her and settled herself on the floor. "What's up?"
"You've missed our last two ROP meetings, Adalynn," Jackie began. "You're acting suspiciously. You, out of everyone in this Academy, was conveniently chosen to go to the launch today. What's going on? Seriously, Adalynn, you need to tell us."
Adalynn hesitated. "I - I wasn't chosen by Louis."
Ethan's brow crinkled into a confused frown. "If not Louis, then who?"
"Judy."
Everyone inhaled sharply at about the same time.
"I - I can't keep sneaking off from the Academy. I'm being watched. Judy is suspicious of me and my actions and is making sure that I don't cross the line."
"How do you know this?" Max piped up.
Adalynn pulled her laptop from her bag and set it up on the floor in front of her. "This is why," she returned as she scrolled through a bunch of recordings. After selecting one, she pressed PLAY.
The entire conversation between Judy, Jason and Marcus played through the speakers. Jackie, Ethan and Max crowded around the screen, staring at it in shock.
After the recording was finished, Adalynn shut off her computer and turned around to face the others. "I'm in trouble. But you guys aren't. You can still carry on with your mission, but for me, it's too risky. From now on, I need to keep investigating this on my own."
Jackie shook her head. "No, no I won't let you. If you're in trouble, Ad, let me help."
"I think we need to involve an adult," Max spoke up. "You - you can show this video to Louis, Ad! Surely he'll believe you if he sees this."
Adalynn shook her head. "I still don't have enough proof. I could be expelled for accusing Judy of something so drastic."
"Isn't the fact that the satellite is offline and now unreachable proof enough?" Ethan questioned.
"Louis adores Judy," Adalynn told him. "He'll never believe us. He'll think we set this up as a joke. I can't risk exposing that I know all of this information. Not yet. We don't know how far this could go. I - I might be killed or worse."
Ethan pursed his lips together. His face had gone deathly white. "Adi ..." he began softly. "How - how did you get this video?"
Adalynn froze. "I - I ..."
"You're the one who attached that pocket cam to my jacket, didn't you?"
She gazed at him for a minute before breaking it and glancing towards the ground. She swallowed hard. "Y-yeahh ..."
"You never needed that cam for a school project!" Max exclaimed, horrified. "You - you still think Ethan's involved in this somehow, don't you?"
"NO!" Adalynn was quick to reply. "No, I don't ... I - I just needed more information; this was the only way to get it."
"Yeah, but now you know that you're in big trouble, Adalynn," Ethan gritted his teeth. "You won't stop with this, will you? You could get yourself blooming killed! That wasn't the plan!"
"Jackie, c'mon!" Max urged her. "Say something. Tell Adalynn she's wrong and that she needs to drop this."
Jackie paused before looking up at Adalynn. "No. I won't. Because she's right. We need more proof and that's exactly what we're gonna get."
"Look, I'm sorry but I refuse to involve myself in this anymore!" Ethan lifted his hands in the air. "If something sinister is really going on, I, for one, am NOT going to be caught in the middle of it. Suit yourselves but Max and I are officially withdrawing from the ROP."
Jackie stiffened up. "Whatever. Just go."
Adalynn's eyes narrowed dangerously as she watched Ethan and Max scramble back down the ladder. She heard their footsteps plodding across the wooden floorboards below. A door opened and closed and the two girls were left alone in a deathly silence.
"Thanks for sticking up for me, Jackie," Adalynn spoke up softly.
"It's fine. I - I'm sorry for being such an asshole. I - I didn't realise that you were actually trying to help."
"Don't mention it, Jackie. We - we'd better go though before someone realises we're missing."
"Agreed."
"So, now what?" Adalynn asked.
"Now, we go to the cliffs."
"Are you ready?" Jackie's urgent whisper cut through the darkness of the Academy as she leaned over Adalynn's still form and shook her awake. "C'mon, Ad, you weren't supposed to fall asleep!"
Adalynn opened one eye and then the other. She rolled over with a muffled groan. "I - I'm coming."
"Hurry up. We need to go."
A few minutes later, with baited breath, the two girls, fully clothed and rugged up, stepped out into the Ravens' hall. They crept down the length of the passage, through the Ravens' clubhouse, out the door, down the steps, through the lobby and finally, through the front doors of the Academy.
The chilly air hit Adalynn like a blast and she gasped, glad that she had at least thought to bring a jacket.
"It's this way!" Jackie indicated left as she switched on her torch and started off. "C'mon!"
The darkness closed over the girls and enveloped their forms as they hurried through a thick section of bush in the direction of the paddocks. If Adalynn had been alone out there, she would've been scared senseless. She hated the dark, especially because she couldn't see in any two directions at once. That very fact alone caused her to shiver. At least Jackie was with her. Otherwise she would have never agreed to the preposterous proposal in the first place: break curfew and go to the cliffs to watch some bad guys in the dead of night. It wasn't her idea of a pleasant outing ... at all.
"C'mon, you're slowing down!" Jackie urged as they broke through a clearing. "We're nearly there."
Adalynn rolled her eyes and pushed her legs to go faster.
Finally, after a few minutes of hard walking, the girls arrived at the cliffs. At first, they stayed on top of them, keeping a sharp eye out for any intruders. But, as the minutes dragged on and on, there was no sign of anyone. Eventually, they both ventured down the trail winding it's way among the pointed rocks and came to a stop in the place Jackie had seen Marcus disappear.
Adalynn shone her torch up onto the massive cliff, but there was nothing there, no cave, no door, no nothing. It was just plain, sheer rock.
"Are you sure you saw him go INTO the cliff?" Adalynn questioned doubtfully as she and Jackie searched the nearby area for clues.
"I'm positive!" Jackie responded sharply. "Damn it!" she exclaimed, slamming a hand against a nearby stone. "We - we're so screwed. There's NOTHING here."
"Jackie, Jackie," Adalynn leaned over and grasped her shoulders. "Just ... calm ... down ... alright? We can come back tomorrow."
Jackie heaved a deep breath. "Fine. But it's too dangerous to come here during the day. We could be spotted."
"It - it won't be too dangerous for me," Adalynn ventured. "They - they already I'm involved. You could still keep under cover and keep your eyes and ears open while I openly continue the search?"
"No," Jackie shook her head. "Jason will make sure you get expelled. I - I can't do this without you."
Adalynn smiled. "You won't do this alone, I promise."
"Okay, well, we'd better get back. I don't want anyone, especially Aspen, realising we're gone and more importantly WHERE we've gone."
Ducking their heads in annoyance and defeat, Adalynn and Jackie trailed back up the path and headed towards the woods. They had just arrived back in the Academy campus when suddenly, Jackie froze stock-still, causing Adalynn to run straight into the back of her.
"W-what? What is it?" Adalynn demanded, glancing upwards as she spoke. Then she gasped.
Judy Hayward was standing beneath a bright street-lamp in the school's car-lot, fiddling with her phone. Abruptly and out of nowhere, a black SUV van swung into the parking space next to her just as two hooded figures emerged from the shadows near the Academy building. A few seconds of conversing occurred between Judy and the driver of the van, then, she slid open the back door and hopped inside the vehicle. The two figures followed her example.
Then the SUV pulled out of the school's parking lot and raced, at break-neck speed, down a side road leading towards the main highway!
It was the same SUV they had seen a couple weeks before.
"Oh my god," Adalynn breathed.
"Now we know," Jackie whispered. "Now we know WHY Ethan and Max left the ROP. They're involved. They're involved in this whole deceptive web of lies. They're working for Judy!"
~~~~
Gif: The street-light under which Judy was standing.
A/N: Sorry for the long chapter guys! I just thought it was very, very important to add all these facts in. So, what do you think? Are the two hooded figures Max and Ethan? Are they really working for Judy? And what about Marcus' disappearance into the hill-side? Is there a secret entrance in there somewhere? Do you think Jackie and Adalynn were right to leave the school grounds? What would you have done if you were in their shoes? Thanks so much for reading and stay tuned for the next chapter coming up! xx