Chapter 15: Riley's Message

POV: Riley Chen

I scratched the secret code into the concrete wall with a broken nail while Eleanor's guard wasn't looking.

"T-H-U-R-S-D-A-Y. W-A-R-E-H-O-U-S-E. F-I-F-T-Y."

It was the same code Tommy and I had used when we were kids playing spy games. Back then, it was just for fun. Now it might be the only way to save lives.

The guard turned around, and I quickly hid the nail behind my back. My heart pounded as he walked over to check on me.

"What are you doing over there?" he asked suspiciously.

"Just sitting," I said, trying to sound bored. "There's nothing else to do in this stupid basement."

He looked at the wall where I'd scratched the message, but it was too dark for him to see the letters clearly. After a moment, he went back to his chair by the door.

I'd been Eleanor's prisoner for two days now. She'd moved me from the tower to this horrible basement under the old fish processing plant. The walls were damp, it smelled like dead fish, and rats ran across the floor at night.

But the worst part wasn't being stuck. The worst part was knowing that Maya was in danger because of me.

I'd overheard Eleanor's guys talking earlier. They were going to kill Maya, Dr. Martinez, and Mrs. Patterson tonight. Maya thought she was coming to help me, but she was walking into a trap.

That's why I had to get my word out somehow.

Tommy had taught me the scratch code when we were twelve. We'd used it to leave secret notes for each other all over town. Under the dock, on the lighthouse walls, behind the school dumpster. Anywhere we could scratch letters into wood or stone.

The code was easy. Every letter was one scratch more than its place in the alphabet. So "A" was two scratches, "B" was three scratches, and so on. To anyone else, it just looked like odd marks kids had made.

But Maya was smart. If she found my message, she'd figure it out.

The trouble was getting the message to a place where Maya would see it.

I looked around the basement. There was only one window, but it had metal bars across it. The door was locked from the outside. The guard never left his place.

Then I remembered something that made my heart race with hope.

This morning, when they'd brought me food, I'd seen a teenage boy bringing water buckets. He'd looked at me with scared eyes but hadn't said anything. When the guard wasn't looking, the boy had mouthed the word "sorry" to me.

He was one of the stolen kids. Eleanor was making him work as a slave.

Maybe I could get a message to him.

I waited until the guard dozed off in his chair. He'd been up all night, and I could hear him snoring softly.

Very quietly, I scratched a longer message into the pavement near the window where the boy would see it when he brought my next meal.

"M-A-Y-A. T-R-A-P. T-O-N-I-G-H-T. W-A-R-N. H-E-R."

Then I scratched the most important part: "F-I-F-T-Y. P-E-O-P-L-E. T-H-U-R-S-D-A-Y. B-O-A-T."

I'd heard Eleanor talking on the phone about a "special shipment" coming Thursday night. Fifty people would be brought in on a big boat. Fifty scared families who had no idea they were traveling toward slavery or death.

If Maya could stop that boat, she could save fifty lives.

But first, she had to survive tonight.

The guard woke up and looked around suspiciously. "Did you hear something?"

"Just rats," I said. "This place is full of them."

He nodded and went back to his chair. A few minutes later, I heard footsteps on the stairs. Someone was bringing my lunch.

It was the same young boy from before. He was maybe sixteen, with dark hair and scared eyes. When he set down my food box, I pointed to the wall where I'd scratched my message.

He looked confused at first. Then his eyes went wide as he realized what the scratches meant.

"You can read it?" I whispered.

He nodded quickly. "My little sister and I used to make codes like this."

"Where is your sister?"

His face went sad. "Eleanor sold her to bad people in another place. I haven't seen her in six months."

My heart broke for him. "What's your name?"

"Carlos," he whispered. "But I can't help you. If Eleanor finds out, she'll hurt more people."

"Carlos, listen to me. There's a woman named Maya Chen. She's trying to stop Eleanor and save everyone. But Eleanor's men are going to kill her tonight unless someone warns her."

Carlos looked scared. "I can't leave this building. They watch us all the time."

"But you know other people who work here, right? Other kids like you?"

He nodded slowly. "There are twelve of us. We clean, we cook, we carry things."

"Someone has to get out and find Maya. Or find Sheriff Morrison. Anyone who can help."

Carlos was quiet for a long moment. Then he said, "There's a girl named Sofia who brings food to the guards. She's fast and good at hiding. Maybe she could sneak out."

"Can you trust her?"

"She's been trying to leave for months. She'll do it if it means stopping Eleanor."

I quickly scratched another message on a piece of concrete that had broken off the wall. This one was for Maya directly:

"M-A-Y-A. D-O-N-T. C-O-M-E. T-O-N-I-G-H-T. T-R-A-P. T-H-U-R-S-D-A-Y. B-I-G. B-O-A-T. F-I-F-T-Y. P-E-O-P-L-E. S-A-V-E. T-H-E-M."

I gave the piece of concrete to Carlos. "Give this to Sofia. Tell her to find Maya Chen and show her this message. Maya will understand what it means."

Carlos hid the concrete in his pocket just as heavy footsteps came down the stairs.

Eleanor Blackwood walked into the basement with three of her guys. She looked angry and scary.

"Carlos, get out," she ordered. "I need to talk to our young guest alone."

Carlos left quickly, but not before giving me one last look. I hoped he would find Sofia and that Sofia would be brave enough to help.

Eleanor sat down in the guard's chair and stared at me with cold eyes.

"Riley, I'm going to ask you some questions. If you lie to me, people will get hurt."

"I don't know anything," I said.

"Oh, but you do. You know where Tommy hid his camera before he died. And you know what other proof he might have left behind."

I tried to keep my face blank, but inside I was panicking. Tommy had hidden more than just the camera and notebook I'd found. He'd told me about a safety deposit box at the bank where he'd kept copies of everything.

"I told you, I don't know anything."

Eleanor smiled, but it wasn't a nice smile. "Your aunt Maya thought she was so clever, coming to help you. But she's walking into my trap right now. In a few hours, she'll be dead."

I wanted to cry, but I pushed myself to stay strong. "Maya's smarter than you think."

"We'll see about that. But first, you're going to tell me where Tommy's backup evidence is kept. Because if you don't, I'm going to make sure Maya dies very slowly and terribly."

Eleanor pulled out her phone and showed me a live video feed. I could see Maya, Dr. Martinez, and Mrs. Patterson tied up in another room. They all looked scared and hurt.

"You have five minutes to decide," Eleanor said. "Tommy's evidence, or your aunt's life."

I stared at the phone screen, watching Maya fight against her ropes. She was the only family I had left in the world. But if I told Eleanor about Tommy's safety deposit box, she'd destroy all the proof. Fifty people would die on Thursday, and Eleanor would keep hurting families forever.

"Four minutes," Eleanor said coldly.

My hands shook as I realized I had to make an impossible choice.

Save Maya's life, or save fifty strangers.

Either way, people I cared about were going to die.