Chapter Three

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After supper, I began packing up everything that I needed for the trip to Forlot.

"Toothbrush? Check. Alarm clock? Check."

Why am I bringing an alarm clock, you ask? Two words: heavy sleeper.

"Video games? Check."

Hey, video games may not be essential, but if my sister and I are traveling by plane, then I have to do something on that airplane.

I took my crossbow out of my backpack and stared at it for what seemed like a long time, debating on whether or not to bring it.

"No," I heard Scarlett say as she walked into my room, holding her cell in one hand.

"Huh?" I turned to look at her. "What do you mean 'no'?"

"I know what you are thinking." She pointed at my crossbow. "You want to bring that with us, but that would not be such a great idea."

"Oh? And why not?"

"Margie, you have seen those high-tech security systems on TV. Everyone has to go through them before they get on any plane. It is to make sure that no one has anything that could hurt anyone."

I sighed and looked down. Scarlett was right. There was no way that I could take my crossbow on the plane. The security guards would just consider it dangerous and confiscate it. I could have argued with her, like they would not suspect two young girls, especially a thirteen-year old, wanting to do harm to anyone, but what would be the point? My sister was not voted 'Most Likely To Be Correct' at school for nothing.

Scarlett felt bad for me and pulled me into a hug. "You can still bring your monster books though," she told me, trying to cheer me up.

I slowly nodded. The incident at school started boiling in my mind. The way the arrow bounced around the classroom. The way all of my classmates quickly got under their desks and were freaking out. It was horrible. Such a terrible experience. I held back tears, so my sister would not notice that I was upset. If I told her everything that happened, then she would not take it very well. It was best that I kept it a secret.

"Did you call the airlines yet?" I asked, changing the subject.

"Yep," she replied. "I ordered the tickets. We will pay for them when we get to the airport tomorrow."

"Wait, how are we going to pay for the tickets? Tickets cost a lot these days."

"Why, with the money that our parents left for us."

"Oh, right." I had completely forgotten that our mom and dad gave us a ton of money before they left on their business trip. Did I mention that they were kind of - okay, really - rich? To them, I guess money was more important than family.

Money really is the root of all evil.

My sister dialed on her cell. "Who are you calling now?" I asked her.

"Sarah. She might want to come along with us." Sarah is Scarlett's best friend.

"But...did she not tell us that she gets airsick?"

"I thought that she said seasick."

I shrugged. "You can try convincing her, but I would not be surprised if she did not come."

Scarlett stepped out of my room and chatted with Sarah for a bit, and I decided that it would be a good idea if I looked up some information on the town of Forlot. I sat down at my computer and typed in Forlot. The screen loaded, and I scanned the results. Nope. Nothing about Forlot. Maybe I needed to be specific. After all, I had not heard of the town until I received the letter, so it probably was not a popular place.

I grabbed the letter and examined it, and then typed in "Forlot - Mr. Hawk." I waited a couple of minutes for the computer to load - and the screen suddenly went black.

"What the...?" I tried turning the computer back on, but it was no use. I unplugged and plugged and pressed the button three to four times, but nothing happened.

"Great! Just great! My computer broke!"

I was about to head back to my suitcase and finish packing, when I heard a loud beep coming from my computer. I looked at it, and the screen went white.

And a message appeared.

A disturbing message.

"DO NOT COME TO FORLOT - OR YOU WILL DIE."

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