“So, we’re in a hurry, Kelly,” said Abby, sitting on the bed, “but we owe you an explanation for what’s been going on. Here’s the one-minute version. . . .”
Abby told Kelly everything: building the forts, discovering the links, Alaska, the Council, the attack, how our parents reacted—all of it. Kelly listened, her eyes growing wider and wider.
“And Dr. Hetzger,” she said, turning to me when Abby was finished, “she’s your mom? Weird!”
“Not that weird,” I said. “Your fort’s linked in because my mom took some crimping scissors from my fort and gave them to you.”
“Oh, those are yours?” said Kelly. “Do you want them back?”
“No, thanks,” I said. “They were actually my mom’s, but they’re yours now. They’re your token.”
“If we took those scissors out of your fort, we wouldn’t be able to visit you at all anymore,” explained Abby. “It’s having the scissors here that makes it possible. That’s what ‘token’ means.”
“This is all pretty confusing,” said Kelly.
“It is,” agreed Abby, “and if you want, we can go over all of it again once we rescue Maggie’s uncle Joe.”
“And Uncle Joe needs a doctor,” I said, walking over to the door, “which is why we’re here to get my mom.”
I had my hand on the doorknob when Kelly shouted.
“Stop!” she said. “You can’t go out there. You don’t know where she is. You’ll get in trouble with the doctors.”
“Ooh! She’s right, Mags,” said Abby. “There are probably lots of grown-ups wandering around, and we’re not exactly supposed to be here.”
“But we have to find her,” I insisted. I was getting more and more anxious by the second. How long had it been since I’d left Uncle Joe all on his own? We’d been wasting time.
“And we will,” said Abby. “But we need a plan.”
“What about this?” Kelly pulled a push button on a cord off the wall beside her. “It’s my emergency button. I’m only supposed to use it for big emergencies, but this probably counts. Dr. Hetzger should be who answers it.”
“Perfect!” said Abby. “You’re good at plans, Kelly. But what should we say when she shows up? How are we going to convince her to get in the fort?”
“We’ll just have to wing it,” I said. “We’ve got to do this. Ready?”
Kelly grinned and pressed the emergency button.
Twelve seconds later my mom burst through the door.
“Kelly? What is— MAGGIE?!” She goggled, spinning from me, to Kelly holding the emergency button, to Abby, who waved, and back to me again. “What do you think you’re doing here? You’re supposed to be at home. You’re supposed to be grounded!” I opened my mouth, but she cut me off. “No, never mind, you can explain later.” She crossed to the bed and put a hand on Kelly’s shoulder. “I’m so sorry about this, Kelly, but I’m proud of you for using the button and calling for help.”
“I wasn’t calling for help,” said Kelly.
“You weren’t?”
“No,” said Kelly. “I pressed the button so you’d come to Alaska with us.”
I looked at Abby in surprise. When did we say Kelly was coming with us? Apparently she had some plans of her own.
“That sounds like a nice game,” said my mom. “But this isn’t a good time for games.”
“It’s not a game, Ms. H.,” said Abby.
My mom’s jaw tightened. “That is enough, Abigail. You two are going to leave, now, and Kelly is going to get some rest, and there’s nothing more to say.”
“What if I do this?” said Kelly, and she jumped out of bed.
“Hey!” said my mom as Kelly shoved her feet into a pair of hospital slippers and pattered over to the fort. Abby whooped. I shook my head. This little girl had some serious nerve, and if she felt well enough to decide she was going to come along, I wasn’t going to stop her.
“Head through the link, Kelly,” I called as she disappeared into the entrance. “Then take the second pillow to the right and straight on to Alaska.”
“Stop it!” said my mom, crossing to the fort. “Kelly, come out of there, sweetie. You can play in your fort later.”
There was no reply.
“She’s not in there anymore,” said Abby. “We told you—she’s on her way to Alaska.”
“I said stop it! This is absolutely not a game, girls!” My mom looked more upset than I’d ever seen her. She ducked inside the fort.
“Get the door!” hissed Abby, following my mom. I bolted for the door and locked it, turning off the lights for good measure, and scrambled after them just as my mom cried out.
“Holy— What?! What is this?”
“Hey, keep it moving, Ms. H,” said Abby, bumping into her from behind. “Just follow the open links.”
We crowded into Fort McForterson just in time to hear Kelly say, “Whee!” as she tumbled through the pillow to Uncle Joe’s. My mom stopped dead and stared around openmouthed.
“But this is your—our— We’re in—”
“Yes, yes,” I said. “It’s the fort in our living room, but right now we’re heading to Uncle Joe’s place up in Alaska. He needs our help.”
“Joe . . . ?”
“Joe, your little brother, yes. Oh come on, Mom!”
Coaxing and tugging, we finally got my mom through the forts, past the stomach-churning link, and out into Uncle Joe’s cabin, where Kelly was running out the front door in her bathrobe and slippers.
“Kelly, wait! You’ll freeze!” I called.
“I’m on it!” said Abby, pulling a pair of jackets from the closet and running after her. I turned to my mom. Her eyes were spinning between the fort and the cabin and the windswept tundra outside. She looked completely bewildered. I grabbed her shoulders with both hands and prepared to take control of the situation.
“Mom,” I said, “I know this is confusing, but take a deep, slow breath, remember? I need you to listen to me.”
We both looked around as heavy feet thudded up the front steps, and Matt came tromping in.
“About time!” he said. “It stopped raining, but he’s still
