My latest fic!! Tadaa! Just one thing: the only characters I own are Jordan, Jan, Ruby, and a lot of the minor characters like Miss Jaquelynn and Jordan's parents. I don't own Holly, Trouble or anybody else. Just so you don't sue me. Okay...enjoy! Reviews and constructive criticisms welcome!

Prologue

Here I am, biking down the street as fast as I possibly can. There's only one thought on my mind: she's gone! The air around me is cold and the wind blowing past my face isn't helping. I'm too blinded by her disappearance to notice anything. And the gravel road in front of me where the pavement ends counts as anything. As my bike lurches forward, skidding on the gravel, I realize I probably should have pumped up my tires yesterday when I was meaning to. I fall off my bike and land hard on my knees and elbows. Sitting up, I examine my elbows. They're cut and they sting. A little blood is creeping past my poor sore, scratched up skin.

I cry out in pain and anger as I throw a piece of the evil gravel into the air. I'm almost too angry to hear the sound of rock against metal but I do and then I hear something fall to the ground and that something cries, "Ow!" Couriously, I pick up another piece of gravel and send it flying at the same spot I heard the painful cry. That same invisible something cries out again.

I know how it feels to be completely in the dark and everything and I also know that's probably how you're feeling right now. Maybe I should start at the beginning…

Chapter one

Jordan

I am a soccer player. I'm on a small boy's team. I'm not very good but everyone seems to think so. Of course, whenever you're good at something, most of the time, you don't think so. That's the way it is with me, mind you.

I am also not exactly a strait A student and this time it's true. That's why I have my sister, Janet. She's the smart one in the family, even though she's two years younger than me. And that's probably the only reason that good-for-nothing jerk of a sister is on this planet.

To tell the truth, Jan and I are as different as night and day. Not only in personality traits but in appearance. I have strait red hair that is usually uncombed and messy and a freckled face that almost all of the time looks like it has never seen the shower. I'm tall too, tall for a twelve year old. Last time I measured myself was half a year ago, and I was already five feet seven inches.

Jan, though, is short and skinny for her age. She's got really really dark brown hair so it's almost black which is a little straiter than curly and a little curlier than wavy. She's got these really dark eyes so sharp it looks like they could cut you in half, and malicious in my opinion.

Okay, on with the story. It was the morning of February 19, the day my life got better and worse at the same time, if that's possible. I was in English class today, as usual. Mrs. Jenkins was lecturing us about something not worth knowing, as usual. English is the worst class ever for many reasons. It's boring, Mrs. Jenkins is older than dirt and really strict, my sister is in it. There's another thing about my sister. She's only ten and already in seventh grade. She never attended third or fifth.

So, as I was saying, I was in English class doing nothing. We were supposed to be taking a spelling test and Jan suddenly walked up to Mrs. Jenkins and said something to her. I couldn't quite hear because they were talking in low whispers. Then Mrs. Jenkins walked over to my desk with her short, quick steps, her highheels making an annoying tapping sound on the floor. She bent low to me and whispered, "I need you to escort your sister to the nurse's office."

I got up, holding my breath, not daring to get any closer to that ugly old prehistoric bird. I scooted out into the hall, grabbing my sister by the sleeve on the way. Out in the hall, I let out that breath in a whoosh.

"You couldn't pay me to get that close to that fossil again," I gasped.

Jan rolled her eyes. "You're exaggerating. She's not that bad."

"Right." I pulled her sleeve and dragged her to the nurse's office. I would rather be in the nurse's office than in Mrs. Jenkin's classroom. Actually, I would rather be in the nurse's office than any classroom. All the boy's in school are purposefully hurting themselves all the time just to get to sit in the nurse's office. Miss Jaquelynn, as we're supposed to call her, looks more like a twenty-year-old college student than a school nurse.

She's got crazy curly brown hair that she keeps out of her eyes with a red head band and never, ever wears make-up. She says everyone should be glad about how she or she looks natually rather than smearing color on their faces to make them look better. I don't blame her, she is the prettiest teacher in Ireland .

Miss Jaquelynn put her hand to Jan's forehead. Then she walked to her cabinet and rumaged through it till she came out with a thermometer.

"Under your tongue," she reminded. A little while later, she took the thermometer out and said, "you've got one hell of a fever there, Jan. I think it would be best if you went home. Are your parents able to pick you up?"

"I don't think so."

"Well, I've never known you to lie. Jordan ?"

"Yes," I said instantly.

Miss Jaquelynn told me to take my sister home. She gave me a yellow sticky note with some messy handwriting on it. She told me to give it to Mrs. Jenkins excusing my sister and me from class. She said I should stay home and take care of my sister and make sure she didn't get in any trouble. She chuckled knowing that pigs would fly before Jan got in trouble. She was just being safe.

I took it in my hand. "Thanks, Miss Jaquelynn."

"No problem."

We walked down the sidewalk. "My head hurts," Jan said.

"Tough."

"I mean it hurts."

"Yeah, as I said, tough."

"Are we almost home?"

"Maybe."

"Are we?"

"Fine! Yes!"

"Okay." See what I mean? Now I regret arguing with her because while we were I didn't see the black van with tinted windows until it screeched to a halt in front of us when we got to the corner.

"Watch out!" I said as Jan and I toppled backwards onto the sidewalk.

We heard a door slam on the other side and a very very short woman came around and stood in front of us. She was dressed in a black leather jacket and jeans and wore mirrored sunglasses. Her strait black hair was in a pony-tail.

"You must be Janet and Jordan Smyth," she said.

"Yeah, so?" I was still angry at her for surprising us and knocking us down.

"Get up."

We did so and she opened the passenger door and sternly told us to get inside. She herself went around to the drivers side and got in. I could see that the seat had been raised so she could see out the window and there were wooden blocks attached to the gas and break so she could reach. She must have been three feet tall at the maximum.

"Who are you?" Jan asked.

The woman took of her sunglasses to reveal stunningly green eyes. She smiled brightly and said, "my name is Ruby. I believe your father is in the oil business."

"Yeah."

"I'm a scientist. And I need your help."

"What?" I said. "No!"

"Why not?"
"Because we have no idea who you are, what you're going to do with us or…um…anything else. C'mon, Jan. Let's go."

Jan resisted and said, "no, Jordan . I think it would be interesting."

I opened the door and hopped out. "Yeah, you think anything educational is interesting. C'mon."

Jan looked at Ruby, then at me, then back at Ruby. She turned to me again. "I think I'll stay here. I'm sure I'll be back by dinner. Ruby seems trustworthy enough. Tell mom and dad I'll be back by dinner."

"Fine," I say, walking away. "Suit yourself. Don't blame me if that lady kidnaps you." Now I regret that.

I wondered what I should do for the rest of the day. It's only one thirty and my teachers probably expect me to stay home with Jan and take care of her. Right. Of course, like any other teenage boy, I decide to skip.

……………………..

"Dude," my friend Connor, who was also cutting class, said, "you mean she went away with some strange lady? Dude. That is one dumb chick, dude."

I frowned at him. "I warned her. I told her 'we don't know who she is or what she's doing'."

"Maybe you should have taken her away from that lady even if she protested," said another friend, Jack. "Then you wouldn't be worrying now."

"Dude," Connor said, "if he did he wouldn't be here, dude. He'd be, like, babysitting his baby sister, dude."

"Yeah, so? He could be skipping any day. He should be home with his sister."

"Dude, that is so totally wrong, dude. Babysitting is, like, for sissy chicks."

"And what if she is bound and gagged and this lady is demanding a ransom?"

"Dude, that's just too bad. Not Jordan 's fault. Dude!"

I glanced at my watch. "I think I should be going now. It's three fourty. My parents would be expecting me home."

"Fine, dude. Skip tomorrow?"

"No, my grades are already bad enough."

"Your loss, dude."

…………………………

I trudged home, not too worried about Jan. She's fine—I tell myself silently—she can take care of herself.

I search for my key in the dark. It takes me at least half a minute to find it. I open the door and find myself buried in my mom's hug.

"Oh my gosh!" she said. "Thank goodness you're safe. Where have you been?"

"I was with some friends after…after school. Sorry I'm late."

"You haven't seen Jan?"

"Um…not since school."

Mom let go of me. "Oh no! She's not home yet! She always comes strait home. Oh, what are we going to do?"

My eyes began to grow wide as I realized what was happening. "Wait a minute, wait a minute. You mean she's not home? She…I mean…" I dropped my backpack on the floor and ran downstairs into the garage. I got my bike and, without stopping to find my helmet, biked out the door.

"Jordan !" I heared my mom call. "Where are you going?"

I didn't reply. I biked as hard as I could. All I was thinking about was finding Jan. She may be the brattiest little insect on the planet but she's still my sister. And nobody touches my sister. There was only one thought on my mind: she's gone!

I believe this is where we began. Just to refresh your memory, I landed hard on my elbows and knees. In frustration, I threw a piece of gravel into the air and it hits something that sounds like metal. Then I hear an "ow!" as something, or someone, falls to the ground.

Ooh! Cliffie! Keep watching for next chapter! Please review!! Please, please!!