At the Academy [ATWQ]

Taken

For a moment, no one spoke.

The four of them -- Cleo, Moxie, Kellar, and Jake, stared at each other in shock. The only sound that could be heard from the van of the Department of Truancy were their own shaky breaths.

Kellar broke the silence. "I'm sorry. I knew I should have warned you." He gestured to the wall of the van, but it was completely dark. "That's my mother up there, you know."

"Your mother and whom?" asked Cleo. "There were two people."

"A man named Hangfire," said Kellar. "I think."

Once again, the van was silent.

They thought of Hangfire and his treachery, from attempting to drown Dame Sally Murphy to kidnapping Cleo not long ago. And now here they were again, kidnapped.

"We never should have gotten in here," said Jake, standing up and beginning to pace around. "We should have stayed with Snicket."

"They didn't try to take Snicket," Cleo reminded him.

Kellar turned to Moxie, who had not spoken the entire time. "By the way--Moxie, I'm sorry about your typewriter. You can mine, if it's still there when we arrive."

"It's fine," she said stiffly.

Cleo put an arm around her sympathetically. "When we get out, I'd be happy to help you pick out a new one. It is hard to find them around here."

Jake turned to Kellar. "Where are we going, anyway?"

"The Wade Academy," said Kellar with a shudder. "I heard my mother talking about it. She said that they're taking all the schoolchildren there - and once you're in, you can't get out."

"No way," said Jake. "There's got to be a way out. But it's not a school, is it?" he said, recalling what he'd learned at Roe House. "It's all made up. So what's the deal?"

Moxie sat up a little straighter as Kellar began to talk, to better take in his words.

"I barely know anything," said Kellar. "My mother's been asking me to do all this strange stuff without explaining, and I think Hangfire has been asking the same of her. He threatens us."

"Hangfire is a villain," she said. "You can't work with him."

"I know," said Kellar. "I tried to tell my mother that, but she wouldn't hear it. She's worried, we both are. A little while ago she tried to lure Snicket away to some made-up house, so I tried to warn him."

Moxie suddenly stood up. "They're taking us to the Wade Academy, right? They're the ones who ring the bell, aren't they?"

Kellar nodded. "Hangfire's trying to get us all in one place," he said, frowning. "But why?"

"Maybe they don't want us messing with his plans anymore," suggested Cleo.

Jake shook his head. "Then why would they kidnap all the schoolchildren? And why not take Snicket?"

Kellar shrugged sadly.

Moxie sat back down beside him. "I wish I could lay out all our notes. None of this makes sense."

"I'm sorry."

"It's not your fault."

"How long until we get there, now?" Cleo asked. "I don't have a watch on me."

Moxie looked at her wrist. "It's about 9:45. So we should have 45 minutes or so."

"What are we going to do until then?" Kellar asked, as the van swerved roughly and pushed all four of them to the side.