Page 114 of Captured Immune

“I’m sure she meant the song that way too. Now which way is east, because I have no idea.”

Finally! Something I can contribute!I point to our right. “It’s that way.”

Four hundred and twenty-four steps feels like a lot as an adult. I can’t imagine how I would have felt as a kid. When my parents said I should bring Aunt Debbie with me, I think it was more of a request than a suggestion: one, because I needed someone to drive me here, and, two, because they must have told Aunt Debbie that my mom’s song included instructions.

“Four twenty-two, four twenty-three, four twenty-four.” Arella stops taking her kid-size steps and glances at the huge tree standing in front of us. Its long branches loom above our heads like an umbrella. The trunk is so large, it would probably take at least three of my arms to wrap around it. Any other time, any other place, I’d see this tree and think nothing of it. Tonight, I’ve got a feeling this is it.

“What now?” I ask.

Arella paces around the tree, towing me with her. “I’m not seeing anything. Can you use your special eyeballs to check up top?”

My special eyeballs?I let out a light laugh, then do as I’m told. We walk around the tree twice, but I find nothing.

“Hmm.” Arella squats to examine the base of the tree.

I move my flames closer to help her see. “Anything?”

“Not yet.”

Suddenly, something shiny catches my eye.Now it’s your time to shine.The last line of my mother’s song. I wave at my fireball, and it floats back up to my eye level. The flames illuminate a shiny reflective device inside a little hole in the tree. It’s the same size as the hole in the rocky entrance to Shadow Ridge. I’m about to stick my index finger into the slot when Arella grabs my arm.

“What are you doing?” She gapes at me like I’m crazy. “You see a mysterious hole and you’re just going to stick your finger into it? What if you get your finger chopped off?”

“Relax. I think it’s a fingerprint scanner.”

“How do you know?”

“It looks like the same kind we use to open the door to the Ridge.” I stick my finger straight into the hole.

Nothing happens. No beeping. No ten-foot door sliding open. No guards greeting me with scowls on the other side. I glance around to see if there’s something off in the distance I might be missing. I don’t see a trapdoor that’s popped up from the ground, or an opening of any sort.

“What’s supposed to happen?” Arella asks.

“I’m not sure. Maybe I’ll try a different finger.” I stick my middle finger into the hole. Nothing happens. I try my ring finger. My thumb. My pinky. Same thing. I hope this isn’t the part I needed Aunt Debbie for, because her fingers are long gone.

“Try your index finger again,” Arella says. “Harder this time.”

After I blow some dirt out of the hole and wipe my finger clean on my sweatpants, I stick my index finger back in. Something clicks inside the tree, then a large part of the bark pops forward. I pull the bark back to reveal a hollowed-out tree trunk.

“It worked.” Arella’s jaw drops. “This is so cool. Like a real-life escape room, except we’re trying to get in, not out.”

It’s nice that she finds this amusing. I guide my fireball up the hollow. It’s a tight space, barely big enough for my broad shoulders. Downward is a flight of stairs. I flick my wrist, and my flames travel all the way down until they hit a metal hatch door.

“Me first,” I say as I step into the hollow. Our backpack hanging on my shoulders hits the walls of the tiny space. “Stay close, okay? And don’t let go of my hand.”

“Trey, we haven’t stopped holding hands this entire time. I’m not planning on going anywhere.”

And I hope she never does.

27

ARELLA

One-handed,Trey turns the hatch door’s wheel. It squeals as it twists to the open position. Together, we lift the heavy door. Trey waves his hand, making his fireball float down the hatch, revealing a set of stairs and a living room. I can’t see much else beyond that.

“I’ll go first to make sure it’s safe,” Trey says. Finally, we release each other’s hands. “Don’t come down until I say so, ’kay?”

After I nod, he heads down and disappears into the darkness. The wooden stairs creak under his feet.

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