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After asking around for a while, they found Solana's mother in the gigantic laundry room. Her long, curly brown hair hid her face and pretty brown eyes, but she turned to them when they approached, revealing a slightly large stomach. She smiled.

  "Mom, this is the girl we rescued recently. Her name's Dominica," Solana said.

  "So, you met chatterbox Solana," Miranda said, her eyes twinkling. "I'm Miranda, and in here is Ryan or Rae." She patted her stomach.

  "Hi," Dominica said politely.

  "Mom, do you know where Zadok is?" Solana asked.

  "I believe he's watching that baseball game again," she answered, sighing. "That boy is so addicted to it, I'm starting to think that it's the only thing he'll ever watch."

  Dominica and Solana went off.

  "Zadok is a baseball addict, not to mention he's addicted to golf, basketball, hockey, and almost every other sport imaginable," Solana said, rolling her eyes. "Well, let's go. He should be in the main room."

  They went back to the main room and they found Zadok there with two of his friends, Matthan and Lee. They watched the trio goofing off and making silly comments.

  "Do they do anything useful?" Dominica asked.

  "If you call raiding the kitchen and driving everyone crazy," Solana answered, "then yes."

  "I mean, do they do work?" Dominica asked.

  "Well, they do work when they have to, but they almost never really try to be useful. If they get too crazy, they're usually booted outside to do some foraging. They each have to fill up a big basket before they're allowed inside again," Solana replied.

  "Matthan! Matthan Lamar!" A short, skinny woman ran into the room. "Why didn’t you fix the door to our apartment?”

  Matthan sheepishly stood up. "Sorry, Mom. I-uh-forgot to make it this morning." He turned to his friends. "See ya later, guys."

  "Bye, Matt." Zadok waved.

  "Bye," Lee added.

  Soon after Matthan left, Zadok noticed Solana and Dominica.

  "Mom have more women's work for me?" he asked, with a curious glance at Dominica.

  "No, for once," Solana said, gesturing to Dominica. "Guys, this is the girl we rescued recently. Her name's Dominica."

  "Oh." Zadok turned to the game.

  "Hi, Dominica." Lee waved and turned back to the game. "Did you just see that sweet play, Zadok?"

  Solana tugged on Dominica's sleeve. "Come on. Let's go find Dad."

  They walked off.

 

 

 

 

  "When he's watching TV, you can just see how social he is," Solana said as they left the council room. "Oh, well." She rolled her eyes. "Let's go find Dad. He's probably talking with Nathaniel and playing golf in our underground range."

  "Who's Nathaniel?" Dominica inquired as they walked past the computer room, where Dylan was still working.

  "He's my dad's brother," Solana answered. "He's the best golfer down here, and he's a pro, so he's gone a lot. My dad always tries to talk with him when he's home. When Nathaniel's gone, Dad tries to spend time with his kids, Martin, Mark, Annah, and Maria, every day. They love it when he comes over. Even Maria and Mark, the teenage twins, have fun. Sometimes I go with him and help care for Martin, who's ten, and Annah, who's three. His wife had a baby a couple of months ago, but she died because she was already so weak, and the baby, Lauren, had a heart defect that proved to be fatal, and she only lived about twenty minutes."

  They walked on in silence until they got to the golf range. Several men were gathered there, playing a game of golf.

  "Surprise of surprises," Solana said when she looked at the score. "Uncle Nathaniel's winning." She peered around in search of her father. "He's over near hole seven. Come on."

  Dominica followed her to two men leaning on golf clubs and chatting. "Hi, Dad," Solana said to one.

  Her tall, black haired and blue eyed father turned to her. "Hello, Solana. What brings you to the land of the sport that makes you fall asleep so easily?"

  Nathaniel chuckled. "And the sport that keeps us awake with its abundant energy needs."

  "I came to introduce you to the girl we rescued recently," Solana burst in, "Her name's Dominica." She looked at Dominica.

  The two men shook Dominica's hand firmly and greeted her.

  When the greetings were over, Solana asked, "Dad, do you know where Thera is? Dominica's met everyone in our family except for her."

  "Last I knew," he answered, "she was helping our Rebekah and Scott. Their baby's due pretty soon, you know. I think she was planning on helping with lunch afterwards, too.

  The men men turned back to talking as the two girls walked away.

  "How talkative is Thera?" Dominica asked.

  "Not very," Solana replied. "Not many people try to start a conversation with her. She might add a funny comment or two to a conversation, then be quiet. More likely than not, she'll just be quiet and stay that way."

  "My mom was a quiet type," Dominica said. "Her quiet was more peaceful though. Thera's quiet sounds more...ominous."

  "I guess you could call it that," Solana answered.

  Solana led her friend to a door that said 'Scott and Rebekah'. She knocked.

  A man who looked to be about thirty opened the door. "Hello, Solana. What brings you here?"

  "Hi, Scott," Solana greeted him. "Is Thera here?"

  "She's getting ready to leave," Scott said as he let them in. "She just finished a load of laundry for Bekah, who's feeling pretty heavy these days, and can'tt work much." He winked at Solana. "Don't worry. I've been keeping an eye on her. I know how much you want another cousin."

  "Scott, would you mind bringing me that bar of chocolate we were snacking on this morning?" came a voice from another room.

  "Sure, honey," Scott called back. He shook his head. "She's just craving chocolate right now," he told Dominica and Solana. "Aside from tea, crackers, salad, and toast, she's been living on chocolate-really." He left on his errand.

  "Mom craved vanilla ice cream when she was ecpecting Thera and me," Solana said, "but I prefer chocolate ice cream."

  A girl who looked to be about Solana's age, with black hair and blue eyes, appeared out of a small room. She was slim and rather short. Her entrance came unnoticed to Dominica, but Solana noticed her.

 

 

 

"Hi, Thera," Solana greeted the girl as Scott came into the room.

  "Oh, hello, Thera," he greeted her. "Are you just leaving?"

  The girl nodded briefly.

  "Do you want to be paid?' Scott asked.

  Thera shook her head.

  "Very well," Scott answered, as Thera walked toward Solana and Dominica.

  "Thera," Solana said, "this is Dominica, the result of our latest rescue mission."

  Thera nodded at Dominica.

  "Uh..hi," Dominica said.

  "Are you leaving?" Thera asked.

  "Yes, we are," Solana replied, pulling on Dominica's arm. "Come on. I’ll show you our apartment."

   Though she was not used to being pulled around at a hurried pace, Dominica followed patiently.

  The apartment had four rooms; a main room, a girls' room, a boys' room, and a parents' room. Solana's and Thera's room was the smallest one of all, with a dresser, two desks, a set of shelves, and two cots packed into it. The boy's room had two dressers, two bunks, and several boxes of toys, personal possessions, etc. The parents' room had one large cot, a dresser, and some trunks and chests scattered around. The main room had a large table and a small table with chairs to fit them, and boxes of books and other supplies stacked neatly against the walls. There were two couches, three armchairs, and a TV in one corner.

  "Well, this is it," Solana said. "We're as snug as a bug in a rug. It's small, but it's cozy."

  "I shared a bigger house with almost half as many people," Dominica commented. "I always wanted more siblings to fill it up."

  "Did you ever talk to your parents about having more kids?" Solana inquired.

  "Well, a couple factors determined our family size," Dominica explained. "my parents wanted to fit in in terms of family size. They weren't even supposed to have kids. They tried their best to have kids, despite that, and they had three, as far as I know..."

  A concerned looking Zadok entered the apartment, abruptly ending the conversation. "Quick, you two! A bunch of policemen are coming our way. We need to hide!" 

  Having been drilled on how to act in emergencies, Solana took charge. "Zadok, go get the boys from the entertainment room, would you? Dominica, let's get food and blankets and go to our secret room."

  Dominica grabbed a bunch of blankets from the linen closet and followed Solana to the secret room. Solana swiftly punched a secret code into a set of buttons. She opened a door and they went inside.

  There were some cots and a table, with shelves for things that they needed. They made up beds on the cots and the floor and arranged the food on the shelves.

  Thera and Zadok appeared, herding Zerah, Jeconiah, and Mehujael. Their parents arrived soon after, with Rebekah and Scott, who had no secret room.

  Scott shut the door, plunging the room into total darkness. He turned on a radio, and put it on low volume.

  '...police are continuing to search for the girl who went missing from the Starview Hotel. No evidence found as of July 7, 4011...'

  '...tornado warning posted for Neils County, North Carolina, especially in Campbell City and the nearby hood Forest...'

  Miranda lit a lamp. "Turn off the radio, Scott. I don't like listening to the news very much."

  Scott switched off the radio and sat down on a cot next to his wife. "How are you feeling, Bekah?"

  "Fine, just-" Rebekah gasped at a sharp stab of pain.

  Dominica buried her face in her hands. Great, just what we need when we're in danger, she thought.

  "Solana, take Dominica and find the midwife," ordered her father.

  "Our midwife?" Solana asked as she leapt to her feet. "Majesta?"

   "Yes! Now go!" Jeff pushed the pair out the door. "Be safe."

   Outside, Solana turned to Dominica. "How ironic is that? Pushing us into danger and telling us to be safe?"

  Dominica chuckled. "Well, let's go. How far away is the midwife's apartment?"

  "She's not exactly a midwife, but she has twelve kids, and she's delivered lots of babies, including four of her own," Solana explained.

  "How many are boys?" Dominica asked.

  "Ten," Solana answered." Ask her how she survives. I don't know. I'd like to, though."

  "So where does she live?" Dominica asked.

  Solana pulled a piece of paper out of her pocket. "This is a map that my dad made for me because I'm always getting lost." She unfolded the paper. "Let's see... we're here, and Majesta's apartment is here..so we need to go straight for a while, then turn left, then right, and her door is the last one on the-" She cut off when they heard voices.

  "This must be their hiding place."

  "Whose hiding place?"

  "The kidnappers' hiding place, airhead!"

  "So many doors..where will we look first?"

  "I'll check this one. You stand guard."

  " 'Kay."

  Instead of fear, fury hardened Solana's eyes. "They'll kill my family if they discover the secret room. The secret code's still on the screen!" She uncovered a hidden belt and pulled a dagger out of its sheath.

  The guard let out a yell as he was knocked to the floor. A girl knelt on him, one of her knees digging into his chest as she held a dagger to his neck.

  "Who are you?" she demanded. "What are you doing here?"

  "Uh..well..I..um..." her captive stammered.

 "Stop blathering and answer me!" the girl ordered, pushing the dagger farther into his neck.

  "Uh..well...I..um..." he continued stammering.

  "What's going on here?" the man who had left the other as a guard came out. "What on-?" He jumped when he saw Solana threatening the guard.

  Solana looked up and saw the tall figure. She made out three white letters on his black jacket:

                                                      FBI

  Jumping off her captive, Solana held her dagger ready. "Catching flies?" she asked the man on the floor, whose mouth was open in pure shock. He shook his head.

  "What are you doing?" demanded his companion.

  "Go, Dominica," Solana calmly ordered her companion.

  Dominica didn't wait a minute. She sped off down the hall.

  "As for your question," Solana said, turning to the man who had asked her the question and sheathing her dagger, "I'm running for my life." She sprinted down the hall.

  The man whose question had been answered whistled sharply. "Rally to me!" he yelled. "We have found her!" He drew his blaster gun and fired the first shot.

  Thumping feet from all directions were heard. Soon a full posse of FBI agents was after them.

  Dominica saw what looked like an oak tree ahead. "Solana...?"

  "Oh, that." Solana ran right for the tree. A door opened and she ran right out the other side, not shutting the doors. Dominica was on her heels the whole time.

  The FBI agents went through the tree, firing their blaster guns.

  As they dodged the lasers, Solana looked at Dominica, grinning.

  "For FBI agents, their aim is horrible," she commented.

  An agent jumped out from a doorway and aimed at Solana.

  "Solana, duck!" Dominica called.

  Solana threw herself to the ground and rolled, knocking him over. She grabbed his blaster and thwacked him over the head, knocking him out.

  Dominica saw her friend's pained look as she saw that her victim could not have been more than twenty.

  The other agents did not see this incident because it had happened so fast. They continued chasing their prey.

  After rounding a corner, the pair hid in the shadows. The agents ran past them, and the girls ran back the way they had come. This was soon discovered, though, and the agents came back and ran past them again, and the girls ran in the opposite direction as their hunters.

  This continued for some time, until the leader of the agents got sick of running back and forth.

  "Come out, cowards!" he yelled. "It's no use running and hiding!"

  Looking thoroughly dejected, Solana and Dominica cam e out of the shadows and gave themselves up. The leader had them handcuffed, and they were brought out of the hiding place, through the woods, to a pair of limousines. They were put in different limousines, heavily guarded.

  Back at the police station, in a tiny room with a plain table and six chairs, Jimenitz sat with Solana, Dominica, the leader of the agents, Adam Allen, and two of his agents.

  "So, Dominica," Jimenitz said, folding his hands in his lap as he sat back in his chair, "how did your kidnappers treat you?"

  "Much better than your agents did!" Dominica spat out. "And they're not kidnappers!"

   "What are they, then?" inquired Jimenitz.

  "You will get nothing more from me." Dominica shut her mouth and was silent.

  "What about you?" Jimenitz pushed at Solana now.

  "The same from me." Solana gave him a quick smile and talked no more.

  "Give them two nights in cells." Jimenitz waved his hand. "No food, a bowl of water a day. Maybe then they'll talk."

  No one noticed the look the girls gave each other as they were led away.