Chapter 4
Chapter Four
Freddie had been studying the closet shelf for anything that could help when he noticed the silence.
Now, with him and his brother, that silence would be normal sometimes. However, with Daisy, it instantly set off alarm bells inside his head.
Turning around, he saw her standing in the middle of the room, staring at the ground. Since the lantern was on the floor, both her hands clenched and unclenched, a tic that told him something was wrong.
He walked over and said her name a few times, but she didn’t respond.
Every once in a great while, Daisy would get stuck in her head, as she put it, and not be able to get out of it.
Usually, it happened when she felt sad or guilty, or was struggling with something that she tried not to show to the world.
He hated when she was upset. Maybe if he could snap her out of her mind, he could find out what bothered her. “Hey, Daisy. What’s wrong?”
She looked up, finally, and the guilt and sadness in her eyes made him blink. What had happened?
“I’m sorry, Freddie. I’m so, so sorry.”
Before he could ask why, she started crying. Not quietly, but in giant sobs.
For a beat, he didn’t know what to do. Then he awkwardly patted her shoulder.
She then leaned against him and wrapped her arms around him. After a few more seconds, he wrapped his arms around her, too. “Tell me why you’re crying, Daisy.”
She shook her head, her curls having dried from the rain and bouncing everywhere.
As she continued to cry, his dragon spoke up. She probably feels responsible. You know how she often takes the blame for things.
Her former human teachers hadn’t been kind to her most of the time, telling Daisy that she was behind all the trouble in their classrooms. And because of her, the other students weren’t able to focus and learn anything.
Her mother had fought for her, of course. And had suggested some techniques to get Daisy to focus. But the teacher had said no one should get special treatment, and that if she couldn’t sit still and behave, maybe she should find a different school.
However, Freddie knew Mr. MacLeod and the other Stonefire teachers were different with Daisy.
Sometimes she needed to take a break in the corner or in the hall, and then after a few minutes, she was fine.
She rarely interrupted and was as good a student as everyone else.
Better than Freddie most of the time, for sure.
His dragon spoke up again. Let her cry, and then maybe she’ll talk.
Freddie listened to his dragon, and once Daisy was mostly quiet again, he said, “I’ll get us out of here, Daisy, I vow it. So don’t worry about that.”
She lifted her head, and he hated the tears on her cheeks. He never wanted his best friend to be sad or upset.
Her voice was scratchy as she said, “You can’t promise that, Freddie. This place was here for years and years, and no one found it. If we can’t open that door, we’ll die.”
“Hmm. Well, I have this friend who always says that we need to think of the positive, when possible, to find a solution. I think we should listen to her.”
She smiled slightly. “I say that.”
“Yes, you do.” He hesitated before wiping the remaining tears from her face and said, “And now that your shock has worn off, take a look around the room, a good look, and what do you see?”
She glanced around. “A lot of boxes and junk.”
“Nope. I see possibilities. We have no idea what’s in those boxes, and there might just be something we can use to get out of here.”
What he didn’t add was that once the lantern’s battery ran out, as well as the one in her torch, they might be in some trouble.
But he refused to think about that right now.
He stepped back, and Daisy rubbed her eyes. “I wish I still had my phone, but I think I dropped it when we were trying to open the door. I don’t know if there’s service down here or not, but it probably would’ve made things easier.”
“When they built this place, there were no mobile phones. And there are no landline phones in here, either, I think. But there has to be some supplies to help with opening jammed doors. We’ll work together to sort through one shelf at a time, and that way we only need to use one light. That’ll make them last longer.”
She studied him for a beat before replying, “I don’t know what I’d do without you, Freddie. I probably would be crying in a ball if I were by myself.”
“No, because you wouldn’t have come here on your own.
You may be impulsive, but you’re clever enough to know when you need some help.
Well, most of the time, anyway.” He gestured toward the closest shelf.
“Now, let’s get to work. I don’t know exactly what we need, but anything that looks like it could open the door, or undo it from the hinges, or pry it open. Stuff like that.”
And so they went to work.
Hours later, a loud banging noise jolted Daisy from sleep. She and Freddie had found some musty—but not moldy, thank goodness—blankets and, after a few hours of finding nothing to open the door, they’d decided to sleep for a while.
But they’d turned off the lantern to save the battery, and she blinked in the total darkness.
Bang. Bang. Bang.
Then there were some muffled sounds she couldn’t make out.
She shook Freddie. “Wake up, Freddie! I think someone’s outside the door! Hurry! We need to let them know we’re here.”
Fumbling, she found the lantern and turned it on.
She closed her eyes and then blinked slowly.
As soon as she could see without being blinded, Daisy jumped up and circled around in place until she spotted the wrench they’d found.
It hadn’t helped to open the door, but it was metal and solid and would make noise, so she picked it up and raced to the door.
She banged three times and waited. Freddie was at her side when someone banged back three times.
“Freddie, someone found us!”
“Let’s hope it’s not the dragon hunters.”
“No way. It has to be someone from Stonefire.”
There was a new noise, something that whirred, and then they both jumped back as a drill punctured the door. It quickly retreated, and she heard Kai’s voice ask, “Daisy, Freddie, are you in there!”
Daisy replied, “Yes! We got stuck. I’m so sorry, Kai. I am. Please get us out of here.”
The next voice was her mother’s . “Daisy, thank goodness! I was so worried, love. Are you all right?”
Then Freddie’s mother’s voice came through. “Freddie! Tell me you’re okay, lad.”
Daisy said, “Mum, Mrs. Atherton, we’re both fine. A little cold and dirty, but nothing else.”
Kai’s voice was next. “Stand back, both of you. We’re going to force the door open, and I don’t want you to get hurt.”
“We’re going!”
Daisy took Freddie’s hand and tugged. They waited on the far side of the room, hands clasped, and Daisy shuffled her feet. “I wonder how they found us.”
He squeezed her hand in his. “It doesn’t matter. But see? We’re not going to die, like I said.”
“There’s no way you could’ve seen this happening.”
“But I did. Stonefire wouldn’t just give up looking for us. I knew they’d find me. Find us. We’re clan and family.”
She hesitated before asking, “Even me?”
He turned his head and frowned at her. “Of course you. Why would you ask that?”
“I-I just sometimes think that they don’t want me to live on Stonefire.”
“I want you to live there, and so does my family. As do Bram, Kai, and Mr. MacLeod. And so many others. You’re part of Stonefire now, Daisy. Don’t ever doubt that.”
She’d known that, of course she had. But the doubts had always followed her around.
However, something about Freddie saying it made her believe it more.
The door crashed open, and she jumped and nearly fell backward. Freddie caught her and steadied her.
In the next second, her mum and Freddie’s raced in.
Her mum pulled her close and hugged her a little too tightly. “Oh, Daisy. I was so worried. And when your phone’s tracking signal disappeared?” She held her tighter. “I’m so glad you’re okay.”
She hugged her mum back. “I’m sorry, Mum. But I learned about the buried Stonefire treasure, you see, and wanted to find it. But Freddie shouldn’t get into trouble. I convinced him to come. It was my idea, and I should be punished, not him.”
Mrs. Atherton, who was hugging Freddie, replied, “We’ll talk about all that later. Let’s get you two out of here and to someplace warm. Once you’ve eaten and slept, then we’ll talk about this latest escapade.”
Someone grunted, and Daisy looked up to see Bram.
And he didn’t look super happy.
She opened her mouth, but he beat her to it. “Your mothers are right, and we’ll discuss this in the morning. I don’t condone how you went about it, but I’m interested in how you found this place when no one has done so for decades.”
Freddie replied before she could. “It was Daisy who found the clue. She wanted to give Stonefire some of its history and treasure back, to prove she’s part of Stonefire too.”
Her cheeks heated. Why was Freddie saying that in front of not only Bram, but Kai, Nikki, and their parents, too?
Bram’s face softened. “You’ve been a part of Stonefire for a long time, lass.
You have nothing to prove there.” He looked at her mum and then Freddie’s.
“Nikki will escort you all outside, where Dr. Sid will check them over. If they’re fine, then take them home and make sure they rest. We’ll talk more tomorrow.
” His gaze met Daisy’s again. “Even if we need to go over the clan rules a bit more—and extract a firmer promise to follow them—this place is amazing, Daisy. You’ve definitely given Stonefire some of its history back, and everyone will know you and young Freddie did it.
” He arched an eyebrow. “But let’s follow the curfew hours from now on, aye? ”
She bobbed her head. “I’ll try. I really will. And I only say that because if there’s an emergency or something, I might have to break curfew. But I won’t do it anytime soon for adventure reasons.”
Since the others had brought additional lanterns, she could see his lips twitch. “As I said, we’ll discuss more about your adventures in the morning. For now, get checked out and get some rest. Good night, you two.”
The next hour or so was a blur as Dr. Sid examined them—they were fine and only had a few bruises and scratches—and their mothers escorted them home.
Her stepdad Blake hugged her tightly when she got home, too, and soon her parents were tucking her into bed.
As soon as they turned off the lights, she struggled to fall asleep at first. But Bram’s words about her being a part of Stonefire for a while finally soothed her, and she dreamed of exploring the bunker again and seeing all the treasures inside.