Here Today, Gone Tomorrow

Chapter Ten

It was about three months ago," Jenna told Ken. She had to yell into his ear to be heard, since the crowd was still cheering that last unbelievable basket. "I was with these friends." She hesitated. Just about everyone knew about her reputation, but she didn't want Ken getting the wrong idea about her.

"Well, they weren't exactly friends, just some people I was hanging out with because I had some problems at home, and-"

"Yeah, okay, whatever," Ken said impatiently. "What about the house?"

"We were looking for a place to sleep for the night," she confessed. "We'd been kicked out of the bus station …" She paused again. Thinking about her past on the streets wasn't easy. "Anyway, we saw this abandoned house, and we tried to find a way in, butit was all boarded up. I was kind of glad because the house looked so spooky to me. One of the guys, he had a can of paint, and he started spraying graffiti on the door. I don't know why. That was the house I saw in Carter's mind."

"Do you remember where it is?"

"I think so. I'll bet that's where Tracey and the rest of them are."

"There's only one way to find out for sure," Ken said. He stood up. "Is it far? Can we get there by walking?"

Jenna rose, too. "Shouldn't we go to the police and tell them?"

"Tell them what? That you read Carter's mind and now you know where the missing kids are? Come on, Jenna. They're not going to buy that."

He was right--Jenna knew that. There was also the fact that certain police officers might recognize her. . and they would be even less likely to believe any story she might tell them.

"But even if we find the house, what can we do?" she asked Ken. "Break in and rescue them? Whoever kidnapped them must be there, too, watching them. Maybe with weapons. How can we fight them?"

Ken thought for a minute. "We need Charles," he said finally. "Even if the kidnapper has a gun, Charles could get it out of his hand. Come on, let's get him."

At that moment, a whistle blew and a huge roar went up from the fans. Jenna glanced at the scoreboard and saw that Meadowbrook had won by a landslide.

They pushed through the excited crowd and made their way to the gym floor. Charles was still in the same place, applauding wildly and watching the team congratulate each other, slapping hands in the air and clapping each other on the back. Ken and Jenna hurried to his side.

"We think we know where the missing kids are," Ken told him hurriedly. "You have to come with us."

Charles stopped clapping. "Why?"

"Because you can make things move!" Jenna said in exasperation. "You might have to make a gun drop out of someone's hand or make a door open."

"I can't," Charles said. "Mike and the guys are going out for pizza and they invited me to come."

He smiled happily. "They think I bring them good luck."

"Oh for crying out loud!" Ken exclaimed. "Charles, your classmates could be in big trouble! Don't you want to save them?"

"I'd rather go out for pizza with the basketball team," Charles replied.

"Too bad," Ken growled. He went behind Charles and grabbed the handles of his wheelchair. Charles pushed on the brake so the chair couldn't roll.

One of the players saw them. "Hey, what do you think you're doing? Leave Charles alone!" He started to come toward them, and several teammates joined him. They didn't look happy.

"Ken, we can't force him to come with us," Jenna said hurriedly. "And I think we'd better get out of here or we won't be going anywhere either."

Once outside the gym, Ken turned to Jenna. "Which way?"

"You know the industrial park behind the bus station? It's just past that."

Across the street, in front of the mall, they had to wait almost half an hour for a bus, which let them off in front of the bus station twenty minutes later. It took them another fifteen minutes to make their way through the industrial park. But the house was right where Jenna remembered it was.

Without speaking, she and Ken went to the front of the place and looked for an entrance. She recognized the graffiti on the red door. Without much optimism, she gave it a push, but it didn't budge. They wandered around and looked for another way to get in. But the house was so boarded up, they couldn't even make out if there was a light on inside. They couldn't hear anything either.

Ken pressed his face up against a crack in a board. Seconds later he let out a cry of pain.

"What?" Jenna cried out in alarm.

"It's that woman in my head again!" Ken moaned.

Jenna could hear her. Talk to my son! Give him a message from me! It's important!

"Get out, get out!" Ken yelled.

"Shh," Jenna hissed. "I'll go and check out the other side of the house."

She didn't expect to find anything there that might give her a clue as to whether anyone was inside, but she needed to get away from Ken and what was going on in his head. She had an idea.

She thought about the time she'd been able to hear Emily's call for help. If Emily was in this house, Jenna was closer to her than she'd been that time. She pressed the side of her head against the house and concentrated.

She heard nothing-not through her ears, not through her head. She knew Emily was capable of blocking Jenna's mind-reading skills, but surely at a time like this she'd be trying to make contact.

She thought she heard something-a dull, low murmur. It could have been the wind in the nearby trees, she supposed. Or maybe her own heartbeat. But somehow, at that moment, she knew for certain that Emily was in this house. The others, too, probably, and whoever was holding them captive. But it was Emily she sensed. Emily was close by, maybe even leaning against this very same wall on the other side. If only she could understand what Emily was thinking. She was a mind reader, so why couldn't she read the mind behind this wall?

Because the mind on the other side of the wall wasn't sending a message. It was showing her a mood. Jenna could feel it. It was like a thick, dark cloud coming down over her, enveloping her in despair. Sadness. Hopelessness. That was what Emily was feeling at that minute.

Ken joined her. "I got rid of that woman. Have you seen anything?"

"Emily's in big trouble," Jenna told him. "Which means they all are. We have to get in there, Ken."

Ken nodded grimly. "Which means we have to get Charles."