Schoolgirl Secrets

Chapter Sixteen: The Rescue

Jenifer grinned at Jane who was scanning the room around her.

"Miriam, is that you?" Jenifer said loudly and clearly.

"Yes," said the little voice again. "Please help me. It's dark and cold in here."

"Where are you?" Jenifer asked, starting to knock against the walls with her knuckles, trying to find a hollow part where a door might be concealed.

"All I know is they shoved me into a tiny cage behind one of the blue paintings on the wall," Miriam answered. "But I don't know which one. I think it's one with a gold frame."

"They've all got gold frames," Jenifer grumbled, now examining the blueprints on the left wall, whilst Jane looked at the ones on the right.

"I think I've found it!" Jane squealed excitedly, and she grasped onto a frame and pulled.

It fell away, landing on top of Jane, and revealing; Miriam!

Jenifer ran forward, heaved the blueprint off her friend and fumbled with the cage door. It wasn't locked, just a simple bolt, but it was very stiff.

"Get me out, please!" Miriam begged.

"I'm trying, I'm trying. Help me Jane!"

And, together, the two girls opened the cage and set little Miriam free. She was weak, and tripped over when she climbed out. Jenifer held her up on her shoulders, and looked to Jane for an idea.

"We need to get her home, or at least to the school or the hospital," Jane said, also supporting Miriam. "Do you think you can walk?"

"I can try," she answered. "Let go of me Jenny."

Jenifer let her sister go only to see her take one shaky step and sprawl on the carpet again.

"No, I can't," Miriam said, disappointed, from the floor.

"It doesn't matter," Jenifer said hurriedly, picking her up. "What were they going to do to you?"

"I don't know exactly," replied Miriam, dusting herself off. "But I do know what they did to Alice Daffodil."

"What?" said Jenifer and Jane eagerly.

Miriam shuddered.

"You really don't want to know," she said, looking down at the floor.

"Maybe not," said Jane seriously. "But I think we need to know in order to help us stop this whole thing and save you!"

Miriam took a breath and said;

"She's dead. They took her out of another cage in here and through the big doors at the end of the hall, into the big test room I think. They made me watch so I'd stop trying to escape. It didn't work, but I saw everything. They got a needle out of a cardboard box and gave her an injection with it, like the school nurse does sometimes. But it made her go all stiff for a minute and then she just, died."

Jenifer and Jane stood for a minute in total horror. This mystery had gotton way out of hand, it wasn't just a schoolgirl game now. People were dying, children, and they could be next! They had to get home and get help!

"We need to get out of here," said Jenifer, hoisting Miriam onto her back and turning to face Jane.

"I can help you," came a voice behind them.

Jenifer and Jane both screamed so loudly that the whole hallway rang with it. Miriam thudded to the floor as both girls spun around to face, Gregory Latch once again.

"Oh my gosh! You almost gave me a heart attack!" Jane exclaimed, helping a very disgruntled Miriam back to her feet.

"Sorry about that," said Gregory, taking off his white helmet to look them in the eye. "But I can help you get out, I'm planning on making an escape too."

He left them for a minute while he headed into the big test room. When he returned he held a pair of handcuffs in one hand and towed a big cage on a trolley-on-wheels behind him in the other hand.

"They think I'm a guard, right," said Gregory, nodding at his gun and uniform. "I'm not, but they think I am. So if I handcuff Miriam, is it?"

Miriam nodded.

"Right. So if I handcuff Miriam and lead her along and I pull you two in the cage, they'll think I'm taking you to a test room or a cell, but really I'll take you to the back doors where we can all escape!"

"Brilliant!" exclaimed Jenifer, her hope restored. "Let's go!"

Gregory led them back into the main, dusty corridors and past many labs, where scientists were making different coloured smokes and flasks full of liquid.

They were lucky, no guards even questioned where Gregory was taking them the whole way along and, eventually, they reached a door. Gregory pushed it open and then closed and locked it behind him. They were now in a tiny rubbish-bin filled, cobblestone courtyard with a rotting wooden gate in one corner.

"Excuse me," he said, before letting Miriam, Jane and Jenifer out of their traps and taking off his uniform to reveal a very dirty school blazer and trousers underneath. "Now time to run!"

Miriam seemed to have gained in strength but she still could not run as fast as the older children. And as they bolted out of the old gate; Jane, Jenifer and Gregory sped ahead and Miriam tagged behind.

They sped, unnoticed, out of the shabby car park and onto the main road, where they dodged around an old lady carrying a bag of shopping.  

 They got off the main road and narrowly avoided colliding with an ash tree and a bulldog as they hurried along country lanes filled with cyclists.

It was early in the morning. Traces of orange sunset was visible behind the blue sky and swirling clouds, and the sun was low on the horizon.

As she ran, Jenifer began to wonder what her parents would say when she and Miriam turned up at the house, filthy and injured after being missing for at least a week! But there was no time to panic about that now, they had much more important things to worry about. Like the sleek, pink car that was speeding up behind them...