Chapter 16

Instructions

Chapter 16 ----- I was just about to head out the door when I got a text on my phone from Via. - Via: could you come to the lake? Need help with something. Me: sure? - I shrug and walk out to the lake. When I reach it, I look around. "Via?" Suddenly, someone covers my mouth with their hand and I scream a bit. "You're coming with me" a gruff voice behind me says. I grope for my frying pan that should be tied to my waist. But... It's not. Great. Then I feel a pain the the back of my head and black out. ---- I wake up with my hands tied behind my back, to a chair and gagged. I roll my eyes and survey the room around me. It's all just darkness. Then someone rips the fabric tied around my mouth off and tells me, "Give me the Herz Der Sonne book and we might let you go." I blink multiple times, trying to remember what that is. Oh right, it's a book that has important maps in it. And they want it-? "No. I would never give you that," I say, stubbornness coming into my voice. "Oh, I think you will." "How so?" "Because if you don't... Well let's just say you better hope your par3nts are out of the kingdom." I gape and they walk out the room. "Wait- What?!" I yell as the door slams shut. I groan and hop in the chair, trying to make the binds come undone. I end up falling flat on my face. Ow. Thankfully, that did loosen the binds enough that I just grabbed a piece of string and it came off. I get up and walk to a door, and try to doorknob. Locked. "Dam it." I mutter, but then hear voices on the other side and try to listen in. It's Via, I think. "And why do you think I would do that?" I hear my best friend say, her voice wavering. She's getting nervous. "Because I have a little leeway, you might want to know about." I hear a unidentified voice say and someone grabs me from behind and pulls me where Via is. "I'll give you 24-hours to decide, otherwise you both d!e." They throw me to the ground and everyone else leaves. Via runs to me. "Lilly," Via says, then starts crying "I'm so sorry, Mateo told me he knew who was threatening our kingdoms, and I know this was reckless, but I'm freeking out and I'm so so so sorry." I choke up and can't hold my tears in. "They asked me for the Herz Der Sonne book, which has the map of the underground tunnels map, but I can't do that." I wipe my tears away. "How did they get you?" "I got a message from your phone that said to go to the enchanted lake, and they took my frying pan." "Oh." "Yeah..." I pull myself together quickly. Via sat up straight, "We have to find a way out of here." I do the same. "We do."