It took Rachel all day to finish her homework. Since yesterday was so busy with her and Lanie helping set up Jenny's funeral, she hadn't had time to work on her homework. But, after hours of hard work, she finally finished her assignments.

Rachel laid on her bed and sighed. What she really needed right now was a nice, warm bath to relax. Unfortunately, her dorm's bathroom didn't have a bathtub, so she couldn't exactly fulfill that need. Plus, she'd already taken a shower that morning, so she didn't really feel up for taking another one.

She was starting to wonder if she should go down to the orphanage's game room when she heard her phone buzzing. She looked at it and saw that she'd gotten a text from Lanie. "Oh that's right," she said. She'd been so wrapped up in her homework, she'd forgotten Lanie had gone off with Conner. But when she read the text message, her heart missed several beats. It read "Help! They found me! Washington D. C!"

"What in the..." Rachel didn't even have time to finish the thought. Right after she finished reading the text, she got an incoming call from none other than Conner Hawkins. She accepted the call and held her phone up to her ear. "Hello?"

"Rachel!" said Conner. He sounded panicked and out of breath. "Where are you?"

"I'm at my dorm at the orphanage. What's going on-"

"Oh, thank goodness," said Conner. "I thought they'd gotten you, too."

"Who?"

"That Angelina lady Lanie told me about."

Rachel was shocked down to her very core. "She found us?" she asked.

"Yeah. Me and Lanie were leaving the park when this black car came in our way, then Angelina came out of the car and knocked me unconscious. I just woke up, and Angelina and Lanie were gone."

This had to have occurred less than six hours ago. "Did they say where they were going?"

"No. If they did, it was after Angelina knocked me out."

"I just got a text from Lanie's phone," said Rachel. "It said they were going to Washington D. C."

"What?"

"Angelina must've hijacked Lanie's phone and texted me."

"So that's where they took Lanie."

"Yes," said Rachel. "And I've gotta find a way to get there."

"Whoa, whoa, whoa," said Conner. "You're not gonna go by yourself, are you?"

"Well..."

"I'm going with you," said Conner. "You can't do this alone."

"Conner, you do know what we're up against, right? Real witches. Witches who hate boys like you. This isn't some video game. You can't just restart when you get hurt or killed."

"Well, neither can you," said Conner.

Rachel sighed. "You're right," she said. "I'll let you come with me."

"Okay. So how are we gonna get to Washington D. C?"

Rachel thought for a minute. "Diana," she said. "She's got a car. She can drive us."

"You think you can convince Diana to drive us all the way to Virginia?"

"I don't know. But I'll have to try."

"Alright," said Conner. "You do that. Let me know if she says yes."

"Okay. Talk to you soon." Rachel hung up and went into her Contacts. She pulled up Diana's number and called it. "Please, Diana, please pick up the phone, Rachel asked, pleaded, prayed.

To Rachel's dismay, nobody answered the phone. "No! Diana, please!" Rachel groaned. Where was Diana? She didn't go to church on Sundays, did she? No. It was afternoon. Surely any church sessions being held today would be over by now. Rachel's first thought was that Diana was off with Penelope and/or Nicole...but if she did, then surely she'd have her phone on her?

Rachel decided to try a different tactic. She opened the Internet app, went onto the Eastside High School website, and looked up Diana Jackson's address in the directory. To her relief, Diana's house was just a couple blocks away from the Orphanage For All Ages. It would only be a ten-minute walk, if that.

***

Rachel walked over to Diana's house, which was located at the end of a T-intersection. She knocked on the door and waited for a response. After a minute, the door was answered by Diana. She was wearing a red bikini, and her hair was wet like she'd just gotten out of the pool. "Hey Rachel," said Diana. "What's up?"

"Diana, I need your help," said Rachel. "Why weren't you answering your phone?"

"I had it charging while I went swimming in the backyard with my family," Diana answered. "What's wrong?"

"Lanie just got kidnapped."

Diana gasped. "She what?"

"Yeah. There's this crazy lady who's been stalking me and Lanie for a while, and...look, it's really complicated. But I need you to drive me and Conner to Washington D. C."

"Washington D. C?"

"That's where they took Lanie. We've gotta go there and save her."

"Why can't you just call the police?"

"It's complicated. The police can't help us." Rachel's patience was wearing thin, so she took a deep breath to calm herself down. "Look, can you drive us, or not?"

"Well, about that," said Diana, "My car actually got wrecked yesterday."

"WHAT?"

"I was driving my sister home from ballet, and then the guy in front of me suddenly stopped, and I crashed into him. I had to call a tow truck, and he said it would take a week to fix my car."

"What about the rest of your family? Do they have any other cars?"

"No," Diana answered. "My dad took our only other car when he went to his work conference in South Carolina. He won't be back till Wednesday."

Rachel groaned. "Great," she said.

"Rachel, I'm really sorry," said Diana. "I want to help you, but..."

"No, it's okay," said Rachel. "I'll let you know if we do find another driver."

"Alright," said Diana. "Good luck."

***

Rachel left Diana's house and went back to the Orphanage For All Ages. When she got there, she was surprised to see Conner waiting for her in the lobby. "Well?" Conner asked.

Rachel shook her head. "Diana can't drive us," she said. "She got in a car accident yesterday, so her car's out of commission."

"Oh," said Conner. "That's not good."

"I know," said Rachel. "And I don't know anyone else who has a car or a driver's license. Aaron doesn't have one, Trevor doesn't have one, and I don't think Penelope or Nicole do, either."

"Actually," said Conner, "I think I know someone else who can help us."

For the first time that day, Rachel felt a spark of hope. "You do?"

"Yes. He's a friend from church. He's about seven years older than me, but he still lives at home. And he has a car."

"Good," said Rachel. "Where does he live?"

"Just down the street from me," Conner answered. "Come on."

***

Conner led Rachel to the home of his friend from church, who he said was named Bryce Tynes. The house was just a fifteen-minute walk from the orphanage. Ordinarily, Rachel wouldn't have been bothered by how long the walk was, but time was of the essence. Angelina had Lanie bound and gagged in her car driving to Washington D. C. For all Rachel knew, they were halfway there by now. And Rachel didn't want to find out what Angelina was gonna do with Lanie.

When they got to Bryce Tynes' house, Conner knocked on the door. A moment later, Bryce answered the door. "Conner?" he asked.

"Hey Bryce," said Conner. "Could you come outside for a minute? We need to talk."

"Alright," said Bryce. He stepped out onto the front porch and closed the door behind him. "What do you want?"

"We need a ride. Me and Rachel here."

"A ride? To where?"

"Washington D. C."

"Whoa," said Bryce. "Why do you need to go there?"

"Remember my girlfriend Lanie? Who I took out to Starbucks last week?"

"Oh yeah, I remember her."

"She got kidnapped. And the kidnappers are taking her to Washington D. C."

"Whoa," said Bryce. "Well, I don't know if I..."

"I'll pay you to drive us there," said Conner. He pulled out a big wad of $20 bills from his pocket. "Two hundred bucks."

"Whoa," said Rachel. She silently chided herself for not thinking of offering payment to Diana. "Where'd you get all that money?"

"My car fund," Conner answered. "My parents have been helping me set aside money for when I buy my first car next year, but I think this is enough of an emergency to break out some of that money."

Bryce nodded. "Alright, that sounds good," he said. "How soon do you need to leave?"

"As soon as possible," Rachel answered.

"Okay, I'll start getting some stuff together," said Bryce. "But I'm probably gonna need someone else to help drive-"

"Diana," said Rachel. "She has her license. She can come with us."

"She's referring to Diana Jackson," said Conner. "My ex."

"Ah," said Bryce. "I don't know if-"

"It's okay!" Conner quickly amended. "Me and Diana are good now. I think."

"Well, okay then," said Bryce. "Where should I meet you guys?"

"How about Eastside High?" said Conner. "We'll all get our stuff and meet each other there."

"Deal," said Bryce. "See you in a bit."

***

Rachel and Conner both went their separate ways to go pack up the stuff they'd need. As they went, Rachel texted Diana to let her know the change in plans. Within a minute, Diana texted back saying that yes, she would be ready to go with them ASAP. Once that situation was taken care of, Rachel went back to her dorm in the Orphanage For All Ages and threw together some stuff for the road trip. She got a couple changes of clothes, her phone charger, her toothbrush, some toothpaste, and a book to read to pass the time. She emptied out her school backpack and stuffed all her road trip stuff into there.

Once Rachel was ready, she left the orphanage and walked over to Eastside High. There, she found that Diana had already shown up with her suitcase full of stuff. "Hey Rachel," Diana said when she saw her.

"Hey Diana," said Rachel. "Thanks so much for coming."

"Of course," said Diana. "I just hope it's not too dangerous..."

"Don't worry," said Rachel. "All you and Bryce have to do is get us to Washington D. C. Nothing else."

"I hope you're right," said Diana. "Where's Conner?"

"He's coming," Rachel answered. "I think."

A few minutes later, Conner came carrying a backpack of clothes and other personal items, but also a large black suitcase. "What's that for?" Rachel asked, pointing at the suitcase.

"This is some stuff I think will come in handy," Conner answered. In an undertone, he added "My dad's shotguns and hunting knives."

"Whoa," Diana said, her tone a little frightened. "You're not actually thinking of fighting whoever took Lanie, are you?"

"We'll explain everything on the way," Rachel promised, though she herself was also surprised that Conner had actually managed to scrounge some weapons.

After a few minutes, Bryce came with his dark blue Honda Civic. "Hey guys," he said. "You ready to go?"

"Ready as we'll ever be," Conner answered.

"Good," said Bryce. "Just load up your stuff, and we'll hit the road."

Rachel, Conner, and Diana loaded their stuff into the trunk before getting in the car. Conner sat down in the shotgun seat while the girls got in the back. "This is it," said Conner. "This is where the adventure really begins."

"Washington D. C, here we come," Bryce said as he shifted into Drive and started off down the road.

To be continued...